Leaning heavily on the “old-school Asian martial-arts movie meets local Italian melodrama” gimmick, the film offers little beyond a handful of well-executed action sequences. Flat characterization makes it difficult to invest in the central revenge narrative, while the direct-to-video vibes and demanding runtime ultimately constrain its impact. Still enjoyable nevertheless.

This is a good Chinese Kung Fu movie, but made in Italy. Definitely the fight scenes are the best parts. They are intense, well filmed (no shaky camera all the time), greatly choreographed and they don't look all the same. You have the duel, the one vs many, the pursuit, some with weapons, some hands only, some with whatever is at hand, some funny stuff, some pretty brutal ones too. The story around is ok but drags a bit too much. It is pretty obvious very early [spoiler]Anibale is probably the one that killed the father[/spoiler], and I guess it's only for the scenario needs that [spoiler]Wang killed the sister afterwards[/spoiler]. Would have been really interesting if [spoiler]he actually had no hand in any death and she realized that after killing him[/spoiler]. There's some funny stuff inside, a interesting take on the daily life in Rome (though, I wouldn't be able to say how real it is). The way Wang is so fan of his son, knowing his lyrics, going to the concert secretly, even genuinely offering the CD to Anibale, that's a nice touch. The love stories however are ultra cringe. First the father, with a girl a third of his age with shitty lines like "she makes me feel alive", the most cliche midlife crisis bullshit. Abandoning his wife, his son, his restaurant, willing to give away his (and his family's) only capital and job, without even warning them. As for the son, come on... There is nothing there. There is absolutely no other reason than they are the male and female lead and they had to push a romance in there. It is so forced and out of place, you're wondering if they didn't cut 20 minutes of the movie that would have justified that. The way she behaves all happy touring the city is just completely weird too. Anibale is the only character (and actor performance) worth noting outside of the fights, but he's damn good.

[Fantasia '25] There are some interesting elements in this effective martial arts film set in a Roman Chinatown, such as the references to the rise of nationalism in the face of the arrival of immigrants, which are somewhat reflected in the present day. But it's above all a commercial film with good fight scenes that incorporates the characteristic elements of Gabriele Mainetti's cinema, for better or worse. It's well executed, but also possesses a certain bombast and a tendency to drag the story out too much. The presence of screenwriters Stefano Bises and Davide Serino is surprising in this type of film.