I truly enjoyed reading this book. The authors are obviously very literate people. The book is written as an in-depth introduction to some very good HK films. Each film reviewed is broken down; its characters are studied, as is the overall theme of each film. I recommend this book over ones like Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head, because City on Fire treats the films with understanding and respect. HK films aren't all just kung-fu and category 3 (similar to NC-17 in the U.S.) There are some fine dramas and action films that need to be treated with respect, because some of the finest films ever made come from Hong Kong and this book gives those films the respect they deserve.

this is a fun yet challening read (he uses a lot of "plush" phrases that some of us (me) will have to look up. But it's a new way to write about a populist medium lik HK cinema.

HK people should be delighted that someone gave their work a high brow treatment.

A terrifically useful guide for the HK film fan, and the endnotes are a wealth of information for researchers and writers. It's a most affectionate account of the films of the 1980s and 1990s, and provides a quite Confucian reading of the cultural and political background against which the films were made. Gossipy too -- a bonus!