I find the pacing of the film really ruined the experience for me. While the side stories dominated the majority of the opening, it had a big fight just past the half way mark when it felt like it was the end of the film. Instead, the movie went on, however, none of its later half lived up to the pace and excitement of the first half that could easily lose its audiences. Also, the film ended hastily despite some of the solid characters and side stories, perhaps preparing itself for a sequel, but it does feel unsatisfying and ungratifying. For a Chinese sports film, the movie definitely took advice from films like Rocky, and not a poor effort during the actual fighting scenes. Also needs to be mentioned is the awesome performance by Nick Cheung.
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