Corey Yuen Movies

When the population of a village in rural China must defend themselves against a formidable enemy, a local blacksmith (director/star/co-writer RZA) forges the weapons they need to emerge victorious from the bloody battle to come. Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu co-star in this period action thriller co-written by famed horror director Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An all-star cast of action-movie icons headline Sylvester Stallone's explosive action thriller about a group of hard-nosed mercenaries who are double-crossed during a treacherous mission. Approached by the shadowy Church (Bruce Willis) to overthrow tyrannical South American dictator General Gaza (David Zayas) and restore order to the troubled island country of Vilena, stoic soldier of fortune Barney Ross (Stallone) rounds up an unstoppable team that includes former SAS soldier and blade specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham); martial arts expert Yin (Jet Li); trigger-happy Hale Caesar (Terry Crews); and cerebral demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Traveling to Vilena on a reconnaissance mission with his old pal Christmas, Barney meets their local contact, a cagey guerrilla fighter named Sandra (Giselle Itie), and together the trio scopes out the landscape.. It isn't long before Barney and Christmas have discovered that their actual target is not General Gaza but James Monroe (Eric Roberts), a former CIA operative who has recently gone rogue. Monroe won't be easy to get to either, because his hulking bodyguard Paine (Steve Austin) is a force to be reckoned with. When their mission is compromised, Barney and Christmas are forced to flee, leaving Sandra behind to face almost certain death. But Barney isn't the kind of soldier to abandon a mission, or a hostage, and now in order to get the job done he'll need the help of his old crew. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Hiroyuki Kitakubo's cult anime hit comes to life in this live-action adaptation starring Gianna Jun as Saya. Saya has been hunting demons and slaying vampires for 400 years. Now it's the 20th century, and Saya is working for a clandestine organization known only as the Council. She's the last of her kind, a half-vampire, half-human samurai dedicated to ridding the world of monsters. Now with the Vietnam War raging in the background, Saya is dispatched to an American military base to do battle with the most dangerous vampire of all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Strong-armed into transporting the kidnapped daughter of the head of the Environmental Agency for the Ukraine from Marseilles to Odessa, skilled wheelman Frank Martin (Jason Statham) enlists the aid of Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand) in accomplishing the treacherous assignment in this action-packed installment of the popular action series produced by Luc Besson (who also co-scripts). Frank isn't exactly thrilled with his latest assignment, but when his employer turns up the pressure, he has little choice but to deliver. His cargo is a feisty young girl named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) -- who just happens to be the daughter of Leonid Vasilev (Jeroen Krabbé), the powerful top dog of the Ukraine EPA. Now, as Frank makes his way through Stuttgart and Budapest on the road to the Black Sea, Vasilev's men besiege his car from all sides, and his cynical young passenger gets a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. As the driver and his cargo grow increasingly close, they both realize that making even a single mistake could cost them dearly. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Legendary Hong Kong action director and choreographer Corey Yuen brings Tecmo's best-selling video-game franchise to the big screen in a martial arts extravaganza featuring an impressive quartet of female fighters including Devon Aoki, Sarah Carter, Jaime Pressly, and Holly Valance. Tina (Pressly), Christie (Valance), Kasumi (Aoki), and Helena (Carter) are four skilled martial artists whose outwardly sexy appearances betray their true lethal natures. When the fearsome females each receive an invitation to take part in an illegal martial arts competition to be staged on a remote Asian island, the prospect of a ten-million-dollar top prize is only sweetened by the fact that they will be facing off against some of the toughest fighters on the planet. Now, in order to defend their honor and search for the answers to life's greatest mysteries, Tina, Christie, Kasumi, and Helena will check their inhibitions at the beach and prepare for a series of fights that will test not only their strength, stamina, and endurance, but the very foundation of their dedication to the martial arts as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jeffrey Lau's epic, mythological fantasy adventure A Chinese Tall Story unfurls in the distant past, when a small band of travelers - monk Tripitaka (Nicholas Tse) and his (human) companions Monkey King (Chen Bo-lin), Piggy (Kenny Kwan) and Sandy (Steven Cheung) - embark on a lengthy, danger-filled quest through the Himalayan foothills to retrieve some Buddhist scriptures. En route, they encounter all manner of obstacles, such as being sabotaged by The Tree Demon and attacked by a band of cannibalistic lizard men. In a more realistic episode, Tripitaka must grapple with the unrequited love that a homely outcast, Yue Meiyan (Charlene Choi) feels for him; he then ultimately winds up in the midst of an elfin storybook village where he encounters an empathetic waylaid princess (Fan Bingbing). Throughout, director Lau plays aggressively with the film form, packing in everything from witty puns to cinematic allusions to postmodern cultural asides. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A monk and a pickpocket become unlikely allies in this action adventure story. Sixty years ago, a nameless monk (Chow Yun-Fat) was appointed the guardian of a mysterious scroll that grants remarkable powers to those who possess it. After six decades of traveling the world to protect the scroll, the monk must find someone new to assume the responsibility, but as fate would have it, the new caretaker turns out to be Kar (Seann William Scott), a scruffy and distinctly non-enlightened petty thief living in San Francisco. As the monk attempts to educate Kar in the powers and responsibilities of the scroll and the ways of a monk's life, they discover they have a rival for the possession of the valuable scroll. As Kar and the monk fend off their mysterious adversary, they are aided by Bad Girl (Jaime King), a beautiful Russian mob affiliate with amazing martial arts skills and a vested interest in keeping the scroll in virtuous hands. Bulletproof Monk was based a comic book series published in 1999; Chow Yun-Fat's frequent collaborators John Woo and Terence Chang produced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An outlaw finds his life becoming all the more dangerous when he turns against a gang of criminals in this action drama. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a former Special Forces officer who lives on the French Mediterranean and has a lucrative second career as a underworld courier for hire. Martin will deliver anything anywhere, but he has three iron-clad rules - once the plan is in motion it cannot be changed, neither he nor his customers are to ever use their real names, and under no circumstances will he open the package. Martin is hired to make a delivery to a wealthy but unscrupulous American known as Wall Street (Matt Schulze), but after taking possession of the package he realizes that whatever is inside happens to be alive. Breaking his own rule, Martin opens the bag to discover a beautiful Asian woman, Lai (Shu Qi), who is bound and gagged. Lai briefly escapes, but Martin captures her, and delivers her to Wall Street as promised. However, after being given a parcel to deliver by Wall Street, Martin finds out what Wall Street is up to - in partnership with Lai's father Mr. Kwai (Ric Young), Wall Street is part of a scheme to smuggle Asian illegal aliens into France. Martin's conscience gets the better of him, and he sets out to rescue Lai and put Wall Street and Mr. Kwai out of business; however, as if this wasn't enough of a challenge, Martin discovers a French detective, Tarconi (Francois Berleand) has gotten wind of his illegal business. The Transporter was the first English-language feature for Hong Kong-based director Corey Yuen, who along with directing a number of HK action flicks designed fight choreography for several American films. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The work of two of Hong Kong's top action directors, Andrew Lau and Corey Yuen, The Avenging Fist is a science-fiction-fueled action epic set in a futuristic city where violence and weapons are outlawed. Out of this time comes a weapon known as the Power Glove, which activates hidden powers in the human brain that enable those who wear the glove to have super powers. When a former special agent known as War 21 shows up with a Power Glove planning to use it for evil, it's up to Nova (Wang Lee-Hom) to stop him. The Avenging Fist also stars martial arts film legends Sammo Hung, Stephen Fung, and Yuen Biao. ~ Jason Gibner, Rovi

William Shakespeare's streak as the hottest storyteller in Hollywood continues with this modern-dress variation on Romeo and Juliet. In this loose adaptation, Hang Sing (Jet Li) is a former police officer from Hong Kong who comes to the United States following the death of his brother, the leader of an Asian crime ring. Hang Sing discovers that his brother had become involved in a turf battle with an African-American gang, led by Isaak (Delroy Lindo). But his blood lust begins to subside when he falls in love with Isaak's daughter Trish (Aaliyah) and finds himself torn between his affection for her and his desire for justice against the men who killed his brother. Romeo Must Die was the directorial debut of noted cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak; the supporting cast includes Russell Wong and Isaiah Washington. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) re-teamed for their fourth foray together in this buddy-cop action comedy series based on characters created by Shane Black. With the passage of years, Murtaugh's daughter Rianne (Traci Wolfe) is now about to upgrade Murtaugh to grandfather status, while Riggs' relationship with internal affairs officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) means he'll become a proud papa. Elsewhere on the family front, Chinese triad members in Los Angeles smuggle families from the mainland, but this is only one item on the criminal agenda of triad leader Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), who executes balletic martial arts maneuvers with blinding speed (fight sequences were staged by Hong Kong director Corey Yuen). The film opens with fire (when Riggs and Murtaugh encounter a flame-thrower in a bulletproof suit) and travels an entertaining popcorn plot path to a frightening, watery climax (which we won't reveal here). In between, Riggs and Murtaugh tackle the troublesome triads with an assist from wickedly witty, sharp-edged newcomer Lee Butters (Chris Rock) and private detective Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), the character first seen as a mob accountant in the second film of this highly popular series. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Corey Yuen Kwai and David Lai Tai-wai team up once again to direct this yarn about Fan Sau-tin (Josephine Siao Fong-fong), a middle-aged cop and mahjong fanatic who flees Hong Kong for mainland China when her gambling debts grow too huge and the mob comes to collect. There she realizes that she needs to get married and quick to stay in the country. Gambling ace Quick-hands (Zhao Wenzhou), who is looking to move to Hong Kong to make pots of money there as a card sharp and to avoid the mainland mob, offers his hand in marriage. Unfortunately, not only can neither stand the other's company but Fan and Quick's own personal entanglements are making their marriage of convenience a whole lot more complicated than either reckoned: Fan's suitor / debt collector Blackie (Blackie Ko Shou-liang) is starting to poke around while Quick's love -- a beautiful young lass named Kwan (Desiree Lam Kee-wan) -- is hoping to see Paris before she dies tragically of brain cancer and he doesn't have the money to buy it. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi