A Bloody Fight fits the late 1980's Hong Kong action movie template to a tee, with Norman Chu starring as Keung, a hit man trying to get out of "the life". Of course, Keung's bosses won't let him go that easily, which leads to a claret-soaked path of destruction that's fun for the whole family -- if your last name happens to be Manson.

But wait! There's a big twist here! Gordon Liu plays Fai, a cop who was Keung's childhood chum and is now investigating a series of assassinations. Do you think the two will meet up and become enemies, only to become friends again? Will Keung fall in love with Fai's sister, which leads to a tragic end? Does this movie feature an annoying kid whom you'll be glad gets blowed up real good? Dear reader, I'm glad to inform you that the answer to all of these questions is "yes".

Now, if you're worried that A Bloody Fight's been spoiled for you, don't worry -- there wasn't much present here to begin with. Cheung Lai-Ling's script is so flimsy and full of holes, one has to seriously wonder if he was even trying. Case in point: Fai's sister is kidnapped on a deserted street while escorting a blind man. How could a blind man give descriptions of the suspects to the cops? And then, how the hell would Keung know exactly which boat in Hong Kong Harbour the kidnappers were hiding out on?

There's no doubt that A Bloody Fight is unpolished. Take the soundtrack, for example. Producer/director Wilson Tong must have blown the budget on the Cantonese version of Europe's pop-metal classic "The Final Countdown", because it's played three times during the movie, with the rest of the score coming from stock sources, or outright ripped off from US releases like Halloween.

Despite its' many flaws, A Bloody Fight still ends up transcending the realm of the average and becoming a fairly fun movie, mostly on the strength of its' action scenes. There's nothing fancy or inventive about them -- if fact, the action direction is quite sloppy at points -- but if you're a fan of ultra-violent gags like baseball bats to the nads, people getting impaled with the fork they're trying to have dinner with, or just good old-fashioned dual pistol-wielding bullet ballet, A Bloody Fight ultimately brings just enough to the table to satisfy Hong Kong action movie fans.

RATING: 6.25