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There was a span of time from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s where Chinese action films from Hong Kong were produced with such regularity that it seemed like instant classics were constantly appearing in video shops. Films by performers like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Jet Li came in like a steady stream but the reality was not all of these films were great. The consistently high volume of output from the HK film industry in those glory days meant that for every actual classic that got released, there were dozens of other action films released that were less than memorable. Even these second or third-string titles though often had an enthusiasm and urgency to them that made up for their poor acting, cheap sets, and incoherent scripts. They also always had action that was head and shoulders above anything else being produced in the world at the time. The worst Hong Kong action film during this time would still reward a patient audience with at least one solid moment of kinetic mayhem for sitting through a ninety minute film of questionable quality.

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