"Actor: Siu Tin Lai"

• Red Wolf | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £18.98   |  Saving you £6.01 (31.66%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Director Yuen Woo Ping's The Red Wolf is, like Under Siege (1992) and Speed 2 (1997), essentially Die Hard on a ship. However, rather than being "inspired by", this movie is virtually a Hong Kong remake of the Bruce Willis action classic, right down to the jump-off-the-roof crash-through-the-window highlight. The setting is New Year's Eve on a cruise liner which happens to be carrying a consignment of plutonium. Gangsters hijack the ship and it's up to an unnamed security officer (Kenny Ho) and tender-hearted pickpocket Lai (Christie Chung) to save the day. Budget limitations are revealed by only having about 60 passengers, and by an almost complete absence of shots of the sea, but the director manages to pack plenty of extremely violent action and by playing things straight generates considerable suspense from the formulaic story. Helping immensely are strong turns from Elaine Lui and Wing Cho as the psychotically ruthless main villains. Some of this film is very nasty indeed, so a tension-shattering detour into slapstick by Chung is simply bizarre, and the finale goes laughably OTT. The dubbing is mediocre but the blend of furious marital arts and Terminator-style slaughter is still a winning combination for hardcore action fans. --Gary S Dalkin

• Red Wolf | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Following the tragic death of his wife a top undercover police-officer (played by Jackie Chan screen-partner Kenny Ho) resigns from the force to take up a position as chief security officer on a luxury cruise liner. When the ship falls victim to a sophisticated terrorist sting operation instigated by the men under his command he must fight to keep himself and the other passengers alive! Directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping action-director of The Matrix Matrix: Reloaded Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Iron Monkey.