Modern Warriors

Starring Jet Li, Cynthia Rothrock, Sammo Hung, Richard Norton, Don Wilson, David Carridine, Benny Urquidez, Peter Cunningham, Bill Wallace, Philip Rhee

With a cast list such as above, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in for the (viewing) ride of your life! An action movie with this much star quality would have any martial arts action fan drooling at the mouth and rushing home to watch it. Although, I have to admit, it took me a few years to watch this one after I'd bought it... Picked up at a car-boot sale, I knew from the artwork and obvious insight into HK cinema that this wasn't anything to get excited about. Only because I was cataloguing my DVD's, I put this on in the background in the hope that something incredible would surprise me.

I was wrong.

Highlighted proudly on the cover that it is directed by Academy and Emmy Award nominated Peter Spirer, Modern Warriors actually comes across as amateurish and cheaply made, focusing mainly on martial arts powerhouse Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez (Wheels On Meals; Dragons Forever), as well as a couple of other fighters such as Peter Cunningham (Righting Wrongs) and Philip Rhee (Best Of The Best). This slow burning documentary will really only appeal to fans (or students) of martial arts as it really questions if styles today are mostly used as a sport or an art form...

Cue plenty of clips featuring brief fights in the ring, brutal cage fights and dojo demonstrations - but not enough interesting conversation from the Hong Kong/US action stars who could have made it a little more interesting. Even though Jet Li and Richard Norton get a few minutes to chat, I'm afraid almost a minute of screen time with the likes of Sammo Hung, Cynthia Rothrock and others, isn't really enough to justify selling this yawn-fest to fans.

So don't be stressing too much if you never get the chance to see it...

You are either going to love it or hate this film. If you consider Martial Arts evolving and changing with the times, then your going to find this film fascinating, however if you are a die hard tradionalist who feels your martial art is the greatest, and that it should not be corrupted by new techniques, then I strongly suggest not watching this tape.

This film shows the evolution of martial arts and how it has evolved. If you are a martial artist who is interested in finding out what really works and where it is going, you better watch this.

Amazing interviews and some of the greatest action footage ever. Listening to today great masters on what really works and what doesn't, and mini bio's on

such legends as Bill Superfoot Wallace Peter Sugarfoot Cunningham, and Benny The Jet. Shows that America has a powerful legacy in the Martial Arts. The Chinese training is incredible! No wonder guys like Jett Lee can do what they do. This film is great!