Asian Action Cast

Are you in the mood for fear? Horror? Then join us for this spooktober episode as we hang up the Human Lanterns! Shaw Bro.’s 1982 martial arts murder movie stars a delightfully deranged serial-skinning star Lo Lieh, and smarmy pretty-boy Tony Liu, featuring the irrepressible moustache of Shaw alumni Chen Kuan-Tai. What starts as a tale of one-upping your neighbour turns sour as it delves into the...

The Asian Action Cast gets locked up with a Ghost in the Cell in 2026! Joko Anwar’s Indonesian horror comedy ("horredy"?) ticks all the boxes in delivering a gorefest of creative killings while ratcheting up the tension, and the comedy too, in one of the year's most satisfying action flicks. Delivered by a masterful and confident story teller, this movie follows the exploits of a ven...

Pedring Lopez’s 2019 Netflix action thriller, Maria, brings Filipino actress Cristine Reyes to the Streaming Screen as trained assassin MARIA! She thought she left that life behind, but the sins of the past never remain dead for long. Cristine Reyes proves she can be a strong, sexy lead with the physicality and agility to be a bona fide action hero, unfortunately Maria is held back by a derivative...

Sonny Chibas 1977 love letter to Kyokushin Karate founder Mas Oyama, Karate for Life, rounds out the trilogy of his exciting exploits. No stranger to fighting bears and wolves, this chapter focuses on his potentially fictitious prowess as a wrestler and TB survivor. Guaranteed eyebrows, intense stares and now violent asthma, Sonny Chiba holds you in his Karate Grip and never lets go, Karate4Lyf fo...

It's time to kick back, relax and journey back to the past as we showcase some of our favourite clips from the past (nearly) ten (10!) years of the AAC. Episodes covered include Bio-Zombie, Buddhas Palm, Devilman and more. We watch, review, recap and re-vap the best and worst of Hong Kong and asian action cinema. We'l be back in a fortnight with a regular episode, thanks for listening!

Larger than life, cartoon characters like Tak Sakaguchis Shozo bring hilariously fun fighting for half a film. The latter story does suffer from the whiplash tone change as it explores the tragedy of Jun Murakami’s Tetsu, and fumbles as it blends this with strangely funny/eroti-sex-violence? Yakuza weapon regularly forays into absurdity and lingers a bit overlong, but the colours and characters su...

Kenji Tanagaki’s prodigious 2026 martial arts film, The Furious, is a non stop kinetic revelation that ratchets up tension and creativity beyond anything you’ve seen. The Furious reinvents child star Xie Miao into a modern leading hero, blending an all star action cast with Joe Taslim, Joey Iwanaga, Yayan Ruhian, Brian Le and a bevy of har knock stuntmen selling brutal hits. The action is relentle...

Yuen Woo Pings 2026 Blades of the Guardians spins an epic wuxia tale of murder, betrayal, love, desert, brotherhood…in fact it’s too many tales. The labyrinthine plot and overbloated but underdeveloped character list does hide some great (plentiful) action, if occasionally marred by shaky cam (it’s Jet Li and Wu Jing!) and unnecessary CG. Despite its flaws it is still a media and audience darling,...

Fan Siu Wongs 1991 ‘splatterpunk’ entry, The Story of Riki, aka Riki Oh, is a great example of cult cinema - the hyper violent martial arts exploitation flick made barely a splash on entry but has gained notoriety after. With sensational blood and gore effects, Siu-Wongs justice laden acts of brutality still invokes awe and revulsion. Directed by SFX veteran Lam Nai-Choi (the Cat, 7th Curse, Peaco...

Sammo Hung’s 1997 film, Once Upon a Time in China and America, takes Tsui Hark’s beloved franchise off shore with Jet Li in his last outing as the legendary Wong Fei Hung. A surprisingly clumsy handling of triple A property, and with less than half a year production time, it shows. This cobbled together affair is a pale shadow of the far better (produced, acted, plotted) Shanghai Noon which Sammo...

Frankie Chan takes us on a moustachioed journey through the trials, tribulations and twists of a crime family full of backstabbing, plots, and melodrama in this Hong Kong game of thrones. Our hairy hero doesn't even show up until at least halfway but his presence is felt both in the writing and as the director in his 1989 vanity project, barely resembling the Shoguns' Samurai from which it...

Jimmy Wang Yu’s 1970 trailblazer Chinese Boxer, AKA Hammer of God, may seem quaint now but don’t be fooled. This movie introduced the righteous revenge formula taken to even greater heights by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and a myriad other homages.   Unique for being the first film to focus primarily on unarmed combat we have a two armed Jimmy Wang Yu who plays a vengeful student who powers up from...

Johnny To’s dark, brooding 2006 crime thriller Exiled explores the complex relationship of a group of best friends turned gangsters and killers on opposing sides. A novel take on the blood is thicker than water tale, it is one part Sleepers and one part Reservoir Dogs, but comparisons are reductive to Johnny’s unique flair, humor and pathos. The characters will capture you, from Anthony Wongs conf...

Sabu’s 1996 Directorial debut, Dangan Runner is an absurdist gang caper comedy that has a lot of humor and heart. Coming out a full two years before Run Lola Run, and Lock Stock, it blazed the trail of nailing cinematic serendipity amidst our heroes’ journey (literally) across Tokyo. Tomoro Taguchi, Diamond Yukai and Shinichi Tsutsumi are our running leads, the loser, the drug addict and the yakuz...

Bruce Lee’s 1972 directorial debut, The Way of the Dragon, not only teases the beginning of what could have been, but also introduces the world to the indomitable beast, the late great Chuck Norris. With only one line of dialogue Chuck chews almost as much scenery as Little Dragon Lee himself, mugging and slugging their way across the silver screen. A patchy film at best but shines evermore as a t...

On this episode of the AAC the gang tackle the classic 1987 Hong Kong crime thriller CITY ON FIRE. A direct inspiration for the 1992 smash 'Reservoir Dogs' CITY ON FIRE features an effortlessly cool and fresh faced Chow Yun Fat. Chow is an undercover cop trying to bring down a violent gang, but juggling police infighting, trying to earn the trust of the ganghes infiltrating and keeping his...

Re:born is a 2016 military action thriller starring Tak Sakaguchi as the impassively stone faced killer, Ghost, who seems incapable of showing emotion whether on the surface, inside, on or off camera. Featuring a very healthy dose of kinetic and frenetic action with amazing stuntwork, great choreography and visceral kills, the lack of plot barely gets in the way of an entertaining watch. You might...

This 1997 hidden gem 'Too Many Ways to Be No. 1' from Johnnie To's Milky Way galaxy of genre films comes not just with Golden Harvest's classic Bong Bong but the incredible mind melting enhanced reality of a criminal satire. Featuring a typical Johnnie To understated protagonist Sean Lau as directed by Wai Ka-Fai, what follows is an uneven but incredible intriguing sliding doors st...

Jackie Chan’s 2025 thriller, The Shadows Edge brings our hero firmly into the world of spy vs spy counter espionage genre facing off against the masterful Tony Leung Ka-Fai. Not without its flaws, with incomprehensible 1 second smash cuts, pacing and bloat, what shines though is a genuinely tense mental chess game with real stakes. With an actor (Ci Sha) so handsome he had to be more than one char...

Buddy cop movie with moustaches sums up this 1989 Melvin Wong produced vehicle, but 48 Hours it is not! Melvin against type plays a good Hong Kong cop with a penchant for getting into trouble. Lam Wai is his mainland moustachied equivalent, crossing the border to help with an organised crime case. Simon Yam is just starting to get into his deranged criminal role phase too. A less well known action...

The Asian Action Cast finishes 2025 in style with the annual tournament to determine the best movie of 2025! We've got plenty of jokes, awards, stats and general tomfoolery for your listening pleasure. Thanks to everyone that has listened this year - look forward to more shenanigans in 2026 and as usual stick around for the remix!

Stroll with the AAC through Johnnie To’s 2004 neon saturated streets of Throw Down, play in a world full of style and character. The action is just the window into the disparate lives of these meandering souls as they help each other find joy and purpose - the satisfaction of a life fulfilled. Johnny imbues this film with honest moments, stringing gorgeous visuals cobbled together to weave a tapes...

Taking on the INVINCIBLE ARMOUR is no easy feat, but our heroes John Liu and Tino Wong crack the code! Director See-Yuen Ng’s 1977 action romp is a densely packed thriller that goes from fight to fight, it’s thick, fast and deadly. No technique is undefeatable and this movie is a cautionary tale for why it sometimes might be a good idea to wearing a metal chastity belt.

For a Halloween special that's twice as nice, we bring you Black Magic Part 2! Same director, same actors as the first but it's turned into a Scooby Doo style mystery in tropical Singapore! Lo Lieh has channeled his charisma into becoming a black magician who keeps zombies in his dungeon. Our heroic trio of doctors (Ti Lung, Tien Ni and Lin Wei Tu) don't believe in magic, but let's...

Asian Action Cast's Spooktober celebrations begin with the Shaw Brothers 1975 exploitation horror fest BLACK MAGIC! Starring a wooden Ti Lung and magnificently creepy yet charismatic Lo Lieh, it tells the cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t roofie someone to get them to love you. With incredibly budget effects and jarring musical pivots, the nudity alone cannot salvage this movie, but it is a...