Synopsis: Unbeatables tells the tale of Hong Kong triads Flames and Shiny, as they climb the ranks of the underworld in the Philippines and take on powerful criminals in a bid to become the best.

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Views: The gorgeous and underrated Louis Fan Siu Wong stars as Flames, a kick-ass gangster with style who has fought to make something of his life from his time in prison to the streets of Manila. After he is hired by crime lord Li Cho Hung, Flames introduces his best friend and partner in crime Shiny and soon, the pair find themselves as the go-to men for Li's dirty work which includes killing off rival gang bosses. But when the wicked General Ray arrives on the scene to throw his weight around, the trust between Li and his new recruits grows thinner and even more so when Shiny takes a liking to his woman, Pinky – a move that sees the gang boss order a hit on his rival lover. Shiny's life is saved by Flames when he kills Li in a fight which makes the friends the new bosses of Manila's Chinatown, as appointed by General Ray. Soon after, Shiny and Pinky marry but it's far from the life of happiness they had hoped for with Pinky addicted to drugs, and leadership becoming the main focus of Shiny's life. After his sister May comes to visit, she soon falls for Flames and the pair begin dating. Enraged by his own failed love life and angry at Flames for wooing his sister, Shiny attacks the General and his men in a fit of anger that leaves him dead. Now, it is up to Flames to return to Manila and exact revenge for the sake of his brother!

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It's been some time since I last watched Unbeatables, and now I can remember why. Directed by the prolific Philip Ko Fei, this film is another of his many low budget disasters after his move to the Philippines. That said, there was definitely more than a few Ko Fei titles from this period that were very enjoyable and while I can see here that he wanted to deliver a stylish flick, with plenty of comic book angles and editing akin to Jingle Ma's hugely successful Tokyo Raiders, Unbeatables falls flat with its low production values and weak script, courtesy of Benny Tam Wai Shing who penned titles like Conan Lee's Scheming Wonders, Joey Wong's Demoness From A Thousand Years, and Moon Lee's Secret Police, before moving on to low budget and lesser-known titles such as Drug Fighters and Vengeance Is Mine with Yukari Oshima, Nightmare Zone with Max Mok, Man Wanted 3 with Simon Yam, The Story Of Freemen for Philip Ko, and the bigger budgeted Virtual Recall with Stephen Fung. The trouble with his script here is that nothing really happens! While it may start with some excitement and bits of action, Unbeatables quickly resorts to a case of having seen it all before with arguing Triad bosses, a drug fuelled gangsters moll, forbidden love, and plenty of back-stabbing all wrapped up in a boring screenplay...

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Apart from a strong cast in Fan Siu Wong, Roy Cheung, Billy Chow, and even Pinky Cheung, director Philip Ko pops up as a rival gangster boss although he doesn't really get to do too much except a little over-acting before he is shot up and killed. The incredible Fan Siu Wong leads the way as Flames, a flamboyantly dressed gangster who is the real brains of the operation – although the script would have you think it was Roy. Although he gets to kick ass in a few fight scenes, the camera work and editing is often so tight that most of his great moves are lost. Even the final fight between him and the brilliant Billy Chow is slightly underwhelming due to the aforementioned reasons, although it's probably the highlight of the film to be honest in terms of the action. This was somewhat of a rematch between the pair having faced off in the much more exciting Death Games, from just a few years previous and joined each other on-screen in the well-received television series New Shaolin Temple, alongside Wu Jing as a continuation of Yuen Woo Ping's Tai Chi Boxer (Tai Chi 2). Regardless, Fan is always a joy to watch and it's just a shame that this period of his career saw him stuck in many low budget films (many of which were for Philip Ko) such as The Story Of Freemen, Shadow Mask, Spice Cop, Power King, and The Boxing King with Cynthia Khan and Yu Rong Kwong. Billy Chow wasn't doing too well himself with his choice of film titles, but I do feel that this was all down to the state of the Hong Kong film industry since the handover right into the early 2000's – to be honest. From Iron Monkey 2 and City Of Darkness with Donnie Yen, to Roaring Dragon Bluffing Tiger with Anthony Wong and Hero Youngster with Yuen Biao, many of Hong Kong cinemas finest were on a downward spiral but that's not to say that every film from then was completely unwatchable. Roy Cheung is just okay as Shiny the wannabe gangster boss. It's a role he has played a number of times throughout the years, and I wouldn't say that he brought anything new to the screen in Unbeatables. This would have been his 11th title in 2000 after making a big impression in Johnnie To's The Mission from the previous year, and obviously saved his more exciting stuff for films like White Storm, Born To Be King, and Dante Lam's Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone alongside Sandra Ng and Tony Leung Ka Fai.

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The rest of the cast is made up with Pinky Cheung who stars as Pinky, the gangster's moll who falls for Roy Cheung and has a drug problem. Although she has starred in almost 60 films since the early 90s such as Young & Dangerous 4, Raped By An Angel 3 & 4, Tricky King, and Colour Of The Truth, Pinky has never really did make it as big as the likes of Chingmy Yau, Shu Qi, or Vikki Zhao Wei for example. Saying that, the girl obviously had something and later appeared in Dante Lam's Fire Of Conscience, Clarence Fok's Don't Open Your Eyes, and Dennis Law's Fatal Move, Bad Blood, and Vampire Warriors, as well as The Leakers from Herman Yau. Chan Hiu Kei makes her debut as Roy's sister May and Lily Chung, from films such as Midnight Angel, Die Harder, Eternal Evil Of Asia, Millennium Dragon with Yuen Biao, and many of the previously mentioned Philip Ko projects, stars as the other sibling. Japanese actor Nishikawa Takakazu makes his Hong Kong film debut as gang boss Li, before going on to star in more low-budget flicks like Dragon The Master with Dragon Sek, and Ko Fei's Killing Skill, Spy Gear, The Story Of Freemen, Shadow Mask, and Final Edge. And finally, Hong Kong actor and director Calvin Poon pops up as Ken. I wish I could say that they all made it a little more exciting, but I'd be lying if I did. Philip Ko regular Alan Chan Yiu Lun is joined by Lam Chi Keung as the action directors of the piece that, while they tease some exciting bits here and there, never really wow us given the talent involved losing many great moves with the flashy camera work from Ardy Lam...

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Overall: I'll probably never need watch it again, but Unbeatables isn't the worst film in the world!