Beyond Hypothermia

A couple of spinoffs later, La Femme Nikita is where it belongs, a junky USA network action show for guys who like to watch girls with guns. But Hong Kong directors are still bewitched by the conceit of the emotionless female assassin in a mini-skirt. Here, Wu Chien-lien (Eat Drink Man Woman) plays an orphaned Cambodian whose aging aunt fills in details about her lost past and tells her who's the next to be knocked off. The nameless assassin's body temperature is five degrees below normal -- which gives the film its peculiar title. Only a steaming bowl of soup and the growing attention of a friendly noodle-stall owner (Lau Ching-wan) can melt her iciness. Director Patrick Leung, a John Woo protégé, knows his way around a shootout, and the demolition derby finale is scary (I pity those stuntmen) and terrific.

Yet though the mix of bloodshed, budding romance, and doomy angst is very Hong Kong, it's also awkward. And Wu Chien-lien makes for a tiresome zombie heroine -- but Lau Ching-wan is charming as always. Reputed to be the next big thing now that Chow Yun-fat has gone Hollywood, he's unafraid to be goofy on screen. Look out for him playing much tougher in The Longest Nite or A Hero Never Dies if the Hong Kong-friendly venues around town show either of those again. Until then, Beyond Hypothermia beats a cold night in front of the TV.

-- Scott Heller