It holds up.

Rothrock and Yeoh are great together, particularly in the final fight scene. They’re two highly skilled athletes working with Corey Yuen, who knows how to direct an action scene and get the best out of everyone. It’s notable for how brutal it is, despite the relatively comedic tone: the hits are jarringly hard for everyone. 

But there’s more to the movie than the legendary ending. Yuen had a good eye for shots, particularly transitions. There’s a fluidity to his camera work that stands out for the time; these days the cool angles are routine but not so much then. There are also a handful of clever transition cuts that’d hold up against anyone’s work.

Tsui Hark gets a special shout-out for his performance as a pure agent of chaos, and for holding down his end of the dizzying chase scene in his ACME brand apartment. He’s clearly having so much fun; makes me wish he’d spent more time acting, but I wouldn’t want to lose his directing career either.

The new restoration on the 88 Films box set is delightfully crisp, and the supplements are a blast. I could listen to Cynthia Rothrock reminisce during action scene commentary all day.