Reuniting most of the cast of 2005's hit SPL (aka Killzone), Dennis Law's Fatal Move was a highly anticipated release for action fans. There's certainly quite a bit of action, and it's done well for the most part -- it's a shame that the scenes surrounding them aren't pulled off with the same panache.

The film revolves around Lung (Sammo Hung), the head of a powerful Triad group who is looking to retire after the birth of his son. But that won't be very easy, since Lung's second-in-command, Tung (Simon Yam), is depleting the gang's reserves due his addiction to gambling and fast women, and the cops, led by Chung (Danny Lee) are determined to bring him down. Matters become even more complicated when Lung discovers that there is a rat in the gang.

Like SPL, Fatal Move takes a standard flimsy Triad movie plot and tries to run all the way to the end zone with it. The actors do a decent enough job, but the script, which literally stops the action in its' tracks at points to have the characters deliver hammy dialogue, is one a bit below average to say the least.

Case in point: after Lung finds the rat, he doesn't kill them, but engages in a long conversation, and then gets into a pointless fight with his bodyguard (Wu Jing) -- all while the cops have his hideout surrounded. The ending is also almost totally incomphrensible. It tries to evoke the hitman/baptism sequence of The Godfather, but comes off as just confusing and unneccessary.

Again, like SPL, what ultimately saves Fatal Move are the action sequences. They're not up to the level of SPL, but they're solid enough to satisfy adrenaline junkies looking for a high body count. Dennis Law must be a fan of 300, because there's enough chopped limbs and blood spilled to fill an olympic-sized swimming pool.

It's too bad that similar to 300, the claret is of the CGI variety for the most part, and looks too fake to be truly effective. However, at the end of the day, if you're a fan of brainless ultra-violent action films as only Hong Kong can produce them, then Fatal Move might be right up your alley. But if you're looking for anything somewhat serious or thought-provoking, then you'd better go elsewhere.

RATING: 7