I liked the lead actors a lot. I thought they all did a good job, as opposed to the usual Chinese acting in movies in the genre. And I thought the basic concept of the film was great! There is this evil killer that just gets put in jail in the first part of the story, but then the fact that he is an important political figure starts to stir all kinds of things. It was almost a censure of the Chinese political system.
However, this is where the good things end. The plot was convoluted enough to never learn much about the individual characters, thus they are hard to empathize with. Time management isn't great either. Half of the movie happens in a day and the second is not clear, since a guy has time to travel with children to the capital and back and save the day. The kung-fu was minimal and still a bit too much. For example there is a scene where they destroy all munitions so that they have the opportunity to fight hand to hand.
Bottom line: it was enjoyable and I liked the underlying message, but the film was pretty bland.
However, this is where the good things end. The plot was convoluted enough to never learn much about the individual characters, thus they are hard to empathize with. Time management isn't great either. Half of the movie happens in a day and the second is not clear, since a guy has time to travel with children to the capital and back and save the day. The kung-fu was minimal and still a bit too much. For example there is a scene where they destroy all munitions so that they have the opportunity to fight hand to hand.
Bottom line: it was enjoyable and I liked the underlying message, but the film was pretty bland.