Die Another Day had a huge disappointment for me when Bond did that obviously CGI'd surfing stunt. Bond doesn't do CGI--period! Casino Royale was a refreshing return to form. (Hearing my dad, disillusioned movie fan that he is, gasp at the construction-site chase showed me how effective that film was.)

Good characterizations are crucial in good action flicks, of course. You can have your cheesy one-note villains, but make sure they're performed by good actors who can make the scenery-chewing interesting (Alan Rickman in Die Hard, Dennis Hopper in Speed, even the ever-changing list of people playing the villain in The Hidden were distinguished by their love of fast cars and headbanging music). If your hero is going to be stoic (Keanu in Speed), pair him up with a well-defined sideman and give him an interesting love interest (Sandra Bullock's only really good work on film, IMO, was Annie--"Get your ass behind the yellow line!").

For all its dumbass storyline, the recent Casino Royale did pretty well with these.

I do disagree with Tom on more than one of those reasons. Bond? Random love stories? Not that often, because he wasn't the love type. The most random of his loves, to me, was DEFINITELY Vesper Lynd. Not only did it make no sense to me, it was jammed down my throat violently enough to trigger my gag reflex.

If your hero is going to be stoic (Keanu in Speed), pair him up with a well-defined sideman and give him an interesting love interest (Sandra Bullock's only really good work on film, IMO, was Annie--"Get your ass behind the yellow line!").

Hmm. Yeah. Hated Speed too. I thought Neo was stoic but Jack Traven was wooden.

And Dennis Hopper lost his second note somewhere around when Jack Nicholson did. Rickman, OTOH, was a thing of glory in a movie I didn't like.

There's another historical HK movie she was in that involved a lot of fighting on bamboo scaffolding. Jet Li might've been in that

Once Upon a Time in China. With a homage to it in a Xena episode.

Once Upon a Time in China. With a homage to it in a Xena episode.

That's not the one I'm thinking of, though obviously there are a lot of kung fu historical movies involving bamboo scaffold fighting.

I'll go look it up...

Wasn't it the Jackie Chan movie where she plays his stepmom?

Okay, so Project S is better known as Supercop 2 or Police Story 3 Part 2 (very confusing).

The user comment backs me up on the fight scene though:

My favourite scene is Michelle's fight against one of the mercenaries: a 7 feet giant trying to hit a 5 feet girl, and you bet he's getting his butt kicked really hard – I've never seen something like this before.

The historical one might be Wing Chun but now I'm wondering if I'm conflating it with another movie.

Enthusiastic user comment on Wing Chun:

Wing Chun is arguably the most entertaining Kung Fu movie of all time! Michelle Yeoh, who matched Jackie Chan stunt for stunt in 'Supercop', is both very tough and very cute as the title character. Yuen Woo-Ping (fight choreographer of the Matrix) directs this film with his usual gusto. The fight scenes are some of the most fast-paced and imaginative ever commited to film. This film is incredibly under-rated, even by Kung Fu fans, which has always left me scratching my head. Please, do yourself a favour and check this thing out!

Hmmm.

Huh. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are both in The Mummy 3.

Aha! Got it. Not a Michelle Yeoh movie after all, but Fong Sai Yuk. Kicks Ass!

From an epinions review:

Fong Sai Yuk is also chock full of action. There are 5 or 6 major fight sequences using wire-fu (which makes it appear as if the fighters can hover and even fly through the air). This is used to very good effect. I'm more impressed with the fight scenes in this movie than in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. These are very elaborate hunks of choreography that go on for lengthy periods of time. Kudos go to director Corey Yuen and fight director Tak Yuen. Although there are many moments where you can see the wires suspending the performers themselves, this just fits into the amusing atmosphere of the film. Check out the part where Fong Sai Yuk and Ting Ting's mom actually have to stand on top of other people in the crowd during their battle. That's exhilarating and amusing.

Dang, I miss my Chinatown theaters. All closed now.

That's the first reason I've had to actually watch Mummy3.

Not only did it make no sense to me, it was jammed down my throat violently enough to trigger my gag reflex.

I thought it was some sort of drug-induced hallucination for at least 5 minutes. I kept waiting for Bond to wake up. Boy did it not fit.

For those of you who need some gay love to make your picture perfect, here's the Planet Out review of Fong Sai Yuk.

In Legend, the fighter Fong Sai-Yuk (Jet Li) learns his skills from his mother (Josephine Siao). Mrs. Fong is a resilient woman who submits to her husband`s cruel abuse but is protective of her son. When her son competes for the hand of a woman in marriage, he is defeated by her mother, Mrs. Lu. To regain her family honor, Mrs. Fong dons men's clothes and passing herself off as Fong Sai-Yuk's brother, Fong Dai-Yuk, challenges Mrs. Lu.

In the course of their spectacular kung fu match, the two women fall in love with each other. Mrs. Lu confides to Fong Sai-Yuk that while her husband is a good man, she has never felt passion for him the way she does for Fong Dai-Yuk. In the film's bittersweet romantic conclusion, Mrs. Lu declares to Mrs. Fong, "maybe in another life, there will be room for our love."

Of course that's nothing compared to the transgender shenanigans of The East is Red but it'll do.

HK films always did allow a lot more homo with their eroticism.

Huh. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are both in The Mummy 3

Crap! They've actually found a way to make me go see that turkey in the theaters, despite having only recently washed away the last of the chunks that The Mummy Returns blew.