Anyone remotely familiar with the Hong Kong action industry during the 1980s and early 1990s should know that the pool for martial arts actors was overflowing with capable talent. Pick your poison: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Donnie Yen, Collin Chou, Ken Lo, etcetera ad infinitum. In like manner, there were a number of martial arts actresses floating around: Yukari Oshima, Moon Lee, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, and Joyce Godenzi, to name but a few. Unfortunately, the girls were not allowed to attain their full potential because the directors and producers were either too stupid or too incompetent to use them properly, opting to saturate their films with boring filler material and lame humor. How many times did Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima sign for the same film, only to then fight for a grand total of 2 friggin minutes over the course of a 90 minute running time? I honestly lost count, and it really ticks me off because Yukari and Moon should have accounted for at least 30 minutes of action per movie. There's no excuse for falling short of that quota, and these "Golden Age" directors/producers should be ashamed of themselves for essentially wasting these actresses careers.
If there's one type of action movie that really hits the spot for me, it's the "girls with guns" or "girls kick a$$" subgenre. Some of my favorites involve non-athletic actresses, but there's something really special about watching a highly athletic girl strut her stuff without the help of stunt doubles. JeeJa Yanin, in and of herself, demands excitement after her phenomenal debut in "Chocolate" (2008). And despite the fact that the pool of martial arts actresses is very thin at the moment, Luxia Jiang has impressively demonstrated her abilities in "Coweb" (2009).
A female bodyguard attempts to rescue her kidnapped boss. It's no understatement to say that this film is as action-packed as humanly possible. Within the opening 15 minutes the viewer is treated to a brutal, lengthy kitchen fight and the subsequent brawls (in a knee-deep water pit at a disco, at a warehouse, on a bamboo scaffold, in a marketplace with breakdancers, etc.) follow in quick succession. The plot simply serves the purpose of transporting our heroine from one clash to the next, which isn't a problem for fans of no-brain action. Jiang is a highly athletic specimen who easily carries the film on her back. Her spin kicks are awesome, and she breaks out a few nifty acrobatic jumps. There are other flaws here for sure. Direction and sound design are amateurish, wires are used regularly, and the martial arts choreography is a bit repetitive at times (more variety would have been nice), but this is very entertaining fare that will please those viewers who love to see girls kick a$$.
It's definitely nice to see that modern filmmakers are capable of avoiding the same mistakes of those during the "Golden Age." I'm sure lots of people will complain about the weak plot and characters in "Coweb", but a non-stop exhibition of girl-inflicted destruction is a major rarity in the world of cinema. How many more crappy big-budget Hollywood action flicks (with actresses who have ZERO talent) do you need to watch before appreciating a Luxia Jiang or JeeJa Yanin flick? I've seen more than enough already to fully appreciate these girls. If they are fortunate enough to each make one action-packed film per year over the next decade, I'll be in heaven.
If there's one type of action movie that really hits the spot for me, it's the "girls with guns" or "girls kick a$$" subgenre. Some of my favorites involve non-athletic actresses, but there's something really special about watching a highly athletic girl strut her stuff without the help of stunt doubles. JeeJa Yanin, in and of herself, demands excitement after her phenomenal debut in "Chocolate" (2008). And despite the fact that the pool of martial arts actresses is very thin at the moment, Luxia Jiang has impressively demonstrated her abilities in "Coweb" (2009).
A female bodyguard attempts to rescue her kidnapped boss. It's no understatement to say that this film is as action-packed as humanly possible. Within the opening 15 minutes the viewer is treated to a brutal, lengthy kitchen fight and the subsequent brawls (in a knee-deep water pit at a disco, at a warehouse, on a bamboo scaffold, in a marketplace with breakdancers, etc.) follow in quick succession. The plot simply serves the purpose of transporting our heroine from one clash to the next, which isn't a problem for fans of no-brain action. Jiang is a highly athletic specimen who easily carries the film on her back. Her spin kicks are awesome, and she breaks out a few nifty acrobatic jumps. There are other flaws here for sure. Direction and sound design are amateurish, wires are used regularly, and the martial arts choreography is a bit repetitive at times (more variety would have been nice), but this is very entertaining fare that will please those viewers who love to see girls kick a$$.
It's definitely nice to see that modern filmmakers are capable of avoiding the same mistakes of those during the "Golden Age." I'm sure lots of people will complain about the weak plot and characters in "Coweb", but a non-stop exhibition of girl-inflicted destruction is a major rarity in the world of cinema. How many more crappy big-budget Hollywood action flicks (with actresses who have ZERO talent) do you need to watch before appreciating a Luxia Jiang or JeeJa Yanin flick? I've seen more than enough already to fully appreciate these girls. If they are fortunate enough to each make one action-packed film per year over the next decade, I'll be in heaven.