Tiger Cage

Yuen Woo-ping's 1988 Hong Kong film is a hard example of the eighties formula that joined police story to fight choreography. Something is wrong inside the anti-drug unit; the corruption reaches the top, and the few honest officers who know it are forced to race the clock when they are themselves accused of murder and trafficking. Yuen Woo-ping's choreography is the real reason for the film: the fights happen in tight spaces among furniture and glass, and the stunt work is dangerous by current standards. Donnie Yen and Simon Yam are early in their careers here. The story is scattered in places and the characters stay thin, but that is not what the film is claiming to do. Who it's for: viewers who like Hong Kong action and Yuen Woo-ping's fight work. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a coherent crime plot; the story exists to carry the action.