Lethal Angels

A Naked Killer/Weapon wanna-be… While back in the 90s, a movie from the Wong Jing's factory called Naked Killer caused some sparks and even a small cult following, the formula of using hot chicks as lethal weapons isn't exactly that original. In the 21st, Wong Jing attempted to continue to cash in by producing an awfully acted, yet graced by the sexiness of Maggie Q and Anya. Now director Steven Cheng attempted to continue the legacy and the result is even cheaper than the two predecessors and compounding with some truly awful acting. It is still a huge question mark across Neo's mind right now, as to how can someone so criminally under-use the ever charming Cherrie Ying and how the hell did they manage to grasp a hold on Jordan Chan to even appear in such a non-existent role. Perhaps the answer is replicated to the fact that it is a Charlie Heung production, but seriously Lethal Angels struggles to be qualifying as a movie and sometimes being sexy is just not enough.

While it is undeniable that there are plenty of moments within sexiness and appeal that the flick is able to consent out, but being sexy is one thing and being able to act is another. Despite the fact that Jordan Chan and Cherrie Ying is embracing the audience on a false marketing DVD cover, the leads of the film is really Andy On and Tawianese model Tien Hsin. Tien Hsin is sexy and there are some shots of her that are worthy of taking pictures for a feature magazine, but when it comes to acting she seems more artificial and wooden than raw. Being the lead of the film, her abilities to portray emotions is rather forced and difficult to endure. Perhaps the only moment that she really convinces is when she kisses Andy On and the procedure that comes after. Likewise Andy On fails to impress once again and continue to confirm that his scene stealing performance in Star Runner is a one off fluke.

Sometimes, Neo just wonder what the hell is within the director's mind. Why cast Cherrie Ying in such a non-existent role. Cherrie Ying is without doubt a heck of a natural talent and the beauty combines well with her figure and a hint of innocence. Ying is wasted in a role that the audience hardly even notice her and let's hope that she does not become the next Kristy Yang. Likewise, Jordan Chan is critically annoying and suitably wasted in a role that is more suited for B-list actors than a talent like Chan. If Chan continues to stare in such nonsense roles, his career is heading the direction of suicide.

All in all, Lethal Angels is really one heck of a bad movie and sometimes Hong Kong movies should draw a margin between what qualifies as a movie as what qualifies as not. It is a shame that director Cheng fails to make use of the talents in Cherrie and Jordan and likewise fails miserably in casting Andy On and Tien Hsin as the leads. While Wong Jing's Naked series was at the very least mindless entertainment, Lethal Angels is totally mindless and even at times sexy, but minus the fun part. The result is a below average B-movie and really even Wong Jing could have done better…

I rate it 3.75/10

• www.thehkneo.com

The plot is similar to that of "Naked Weapon" and "Naked Killer"! Beautiful women who are forced to be ruthless assassins! Using their body and beauty to lure them and kill them off! Other than similarities with these movies just mentioned "Lethal Angels" has nothing what those movies did offer! Most of the story is quite boring and not interesting! But who cares! What about the action? Well, there are very little action scenes to begin with! And the few scenes that contain action are very short! So why should I watch this movie? The director apparently thought he had a finished product by using beautiful women as the main characters! I must admit that some of them were attractive! But come on they had to do something! Absolutely ignore this movie! The producers should be very ashamed of ever making this!

In a plot that borrows a lot from "Naked Weapon", young women, usually with a traumatic past, are taken under the protection of a slightly older woman who trains them as professional killers and sends them out on missions of revenge against the people who wronged them. Their latest mission includes the killing of a 6-year-old girl, and one of the women tries to find a way to avoid doing it. That same woman is also recognized by a young cop investigating the murders as his college almost-girlfriend, and he approaches her with the intention of getting her to surrender to the police....The main strength of this film is the casting: in the main lead Tien Hsin is gorgeous, but the show is stolen by Fei Lei as the girls' trainer / master, who plays her role with authority and is the most convincing woman in action, and Hua Wei as Dora, the one who enjoys killing the most and is so irresistible that men can't get away from her even when they sense the danger. However, there are two problems with the action in "Lethal Angels": 1) It's too infrequent, as the romance between Tien Hsin and Andy On takes center stage, 2) It's often shot in too-tight close-ups which makes it hard to see properly. At least they saved the best fight for last. Also be warned that the film is excessively violent. ** out of 4.