When it come to creating action flicks Hong Kong has been creeping up on film makers here in the states. As with any great proliferation this new genre has been diluted and there are now more bad flicks in it than you can fling a flying dagger at. Fortunately, there is still at least one person over there who still knows how to deliver the goods; Benny Chan. His latest opus, ‘Invisible Target’ brings back good old fashion Hong Kong action and reinvents this sagging variety of film. This movie contains so much adrenaline that it could be used as a treatment for anaphylactic shock. Of course being true to the origins of the format has its drawbacks. The dialogue is lame at times and the story sags between the numerous fights. But that is okay, no one goes to a Hong Kong action flick for a story anyway. All you need is to be able to identify the good guys, the bad guys and the beautiful girl. Then most fans are just content to sit back and watch the amazing stunt work. The flaws of the flick are mostly technical in nature and are made up for by the quick paced action sequences. The DVD is released by the new quintessential Asia action distributor, Dragon Dynasty; in association with parent group, The Weinstein Company, and like other releases it is sure to satisfy the die hard fan of the genre.

For the last eighteen years or so Benny Chan has been plying his craft. He scored big both in Asia and the West by featuring a legend of the genre, Jackie Chan, in a straight, hard core action drama, ‘New Police Story’. He also gave fans everywhere another Jackie Chan slapstick flick with ‘Ron-B-Good’. Much of his basic style is homage to the greatest director of Asian action movies, John Woo. Like Woo, Chan takes the action and associated violence to the ultimate extreme. This is not a film for the faint hearted. There is blood and plenty of it to be found here. While there are elements of the classic wire work here Chan reduces it in favor of good old fashion ultra realistic violence. There is no build up to the action in this flick. The audience is not made to wait until things heat up. Chan drops you directly in this violent world of crime and deception. The exposition comes later with a bit too much time explaining the backgrounds and motivations of the main characters. While this helps to further the story it could have used some more time in the editing room. Coming in at just over two hours the film could have been tighter in its presentation. A rare treat for this type of film is how Chan manages to maintain the narrative of the somewhat convoluted story through the movie. There is a reason for the mayhem and while this is secondary in such a flick it does keep the audience watching while they recover from the latest explosion or fight. The union that handles glass work in movies must have all paid off their mortgages with what they earned here. Chan has yet to find a piece of glass that he could not shatter into a million shards. While some of the stunt work here is not the best in the field Chan is able to cut the film together to coax more out of it than you would think was possible.

Chan is joined in the writing chores here by relative newcomer Chi-man Ling. This is only his second script but he has associated himself with someone who can certainly show him the ropes of the business. At its core this is a relationship story. There is a group of dedicated, albeit violence prone police officers out to get a rouge group of over the top criminals. The crooks in this case have killed the fiancée of an officer and now must be held accountable. There is deception in but ranks; motivations are not always what they seem. One reason for all the added exposition is all the interdependent plots and hidden motivation. It does get tedious at times but in many ways it is good to see an action film that makes a try in telling a story. He does make a little action film history by directing Jaycee Chan here. He is the son of Jackie Chan and is certain to engender a new generation of fans. This is a caper flick with numerous plot twists but the ‘shocking’ finale is hinted at so heavily that there is little to no surprise when it comes time for the ultimate reveal. Just to lighten the mood a bit Chan does throw in some of the mandatory comic bits. Usually they are a distraction but here they work to break up the mood without destroying the pacing of the overall movie.

As the film opens an armored car carrying $100 million in cash is waylaid by the Ronin Gang. They shoot the guards on the spot, kill or injury the responding police officers and cause an explosion that destroys a nearby store killing several bystanders including a young woman. As it turns out that young woman was the fiancée of the head of the Crime Investigation Department, Chan Chun (Nicholas Tse). The gang disappears for over six months but when truck is stopped at a routine check they kill a group of policemen. A new Inspector, Fong Yik-wei. (Shawn Yue) was in charge of the men and wants to find the criminals responsible. Together the two officers now have personal reasons for bringing the crooks to justice; revenge. Wai King-ho (Jaycee Chan) is new to the force. His brother has gone missing. Wai fears that he has joined up with the gang. He has been working undercover and may have switched sides. Wai finds himself suspended from duty due to his familiar connection with a now wanted man. While trying to track his brother down Wai gets in over his head in a night club. He is rescued by Chan and Fong who are looking for Wai’s brother as a lead to the whereabouts of the gang. This leads to a cat and mouse game as the detectives hunt down the mobsters.

As always Dragon Dynasty delivers the best possible DVD release. The video is a crisp, clear anamorphic 2.35:1. There is a great selection of audio to choose from; Cantonese Dolby 5.1, Cantonese DTS, English dubbed Dolby 5.1 and optional English subtitles. This two disc set is crammed to the brim with extras.