Product: Michelle Yeoh Action Series [VHS]
Rating: 3.0
"Is It Still An Oath?" ~ Love, Hope And Friendship In A Post-Apocalyptic World
Note: Chinese with English subtitles.Synopsis: The '93 release of `Executioners' reunites the fab Heroic Trio for one last go against the forces of evil. If you thought the storyline in the first film was rather grim wait until you see this one. The three heroes now dwell in a dark and dismal China, a place where mankind is barely surviving after a nuclear holocaust. Shadow Fox (Anita Mui) has retired her mask and cape and now fills her time with taking care of her husband and little girl. Invisible Woman (Michelle Yeoh), no longer possessing her cloak of invisibility, works tirelessly to protect essential supplies coming into the city for the suffering masses and Chat (Maggie Cheung) is still making a living as a thief catcher for hire.If things weren't bad enough, dwelling in the shadows of this devastated landscape resides a sinister, masked madman known as the Black Knight who is determined to rule the world. With the military under his control and the fresh water supply cut off from the city it's only a matter of time before he takes over. That is unless the Heroic Trio rise up and make things right.Critique: while I enjoyed seeing these three lovely and talented ladies together again I was somewhat disappointed to see that the overall feel of the film had lost that campy, superhero vibe so pervasive in the first movie. What remains in its place is a highly post apocalyptic study on madness, disorder, the corruptive nature of power and the amoral reasoning methods used by both sides of the conflict. There's a lot going on here so the storyline takes a long time to unfold, leaving little time for the delightful martial arts sequences that made the first film so popular. Sadly, the Heroic Trio doesn't get back together as a fighting until the last twenty minutes or so of the film, much too long a wait if you ask me.Overall an interesting film but I wouldn't recommend it for children. There are some pretty disturbing moments such as; a despondent young women committing suicide with an automatic weapon and a beheading to name a few. The scene of the starving Anita Mui and the rat was definitely not for minors. However if you're a fan of Hong Kong cinema and the fabulous Mui, Yeoh and Cheung enjoy!