Arma desnuda

A word of warning: don't see this expecting intellectually challenging cinema. Naked Weapon is any man's wet dream- gorgeous female assassins go to exotic locations and take out high profile baddies (with mandatory sexy dancing before the kill).

The action might seem a bit tame for hardcore kung-fu fans (lots of wires and floaty camera moves disguise lack of fighting talent on the actors' parts), but for those of who just want to see some mindless violence, it does the job nicely. Unfortunately the plot has no direction (one set piece after another), and the dialogue is laughably bad. Thankfully, the cheesy lines are so bad they are actually quite entertaining, and blend in nicely with the whole B-movie feel of the film.

Far better than I expected- slick and escapist scenarios, high production values, and the action is great fun. I must however warn potential viewers that Daniel Wu is unspeakably bad as the earnest CIA guy on the tail of the killers- all he has to do is fill the audience in on the plot every now and again and get his ass kicked once. How hard can that be? Anyway, he messes that up nicely.

To conclude, Naked Weapon is the perfect film if you've been out drinking, come home at about 2.00 in the morning, and want to see a film where brain power is not expected from the audience. Two thumbs up!

It's a sad day when Hong Kong action films are copying stuff made in other countries. The people who created the action film genre should know better...

This film screams of rip-off. From La Femme Nikita, Battle Royale, and Leon, scenes, elements, and even exact dialogue were stolen. From training women to be sexy assassins (Nikita) to having them fight it out to see who survives and becomes the "chosen one" (Battle Royale), to the cheesy sledge hammer to the wall only to make a hole large enough for one of us to fit scene (Leon).

And over/bad acting. I guess that's what happens when you get Asian models to play lead roles. Maggie Q is hot, no doubt, but she and everyone else in the cast could use an acting lesson or two. And the director might want to brush up on his English. Bad dialogue and delivery suck in any language... even if its your second or third. Not even the sneezes in the back of the truck were believable. I've seen better acting in a hardcore porn movie. Jenna Jameson's got more skills even when getting drilled by 2 dudes at once.

Truly disappointing.

Naked Weapon, from prolific writer/producer Wong Jing and director Siu-Tung Ching, is one of the most preposterous films that I have seen in a long time. It is also one of the most consistently entertaining.

Madame M (Almen Wong) is the head of an organisation that provides sexy assassins for hire. When an operative is killed, she abducts a large number of pretty teenage girls (all of whom are adept at fighting) and takes them to a remote island where they are trained for six years to become ruthless killers (special move: sever the spine with finger tips and remove several vertebrae!).

At the end of their gruelling training, the girls are pitted against each other in duels to the death. The last three alive are then given the opportunity to work for Madame M in exchange for their eventual freedom.

Hong Kong hotties Maggie Q, Anya, and Jewel Lee play the film's ridiculously attractive final trio of killers, and fans of slick, sexy action should not be disappointed: director Siu-Tung Ching delivers loads of high-kicking martial arts action scenes (thoughtfully shot in slow motion so as to give male viewers even longer to ogle the stars' bodies as they perform all manner of acrobatic moves); there are gratuitous bloody gun fights in which the gals sport teensy outfits; and we even get a couple of steamy sex scenes (Maggie Q kindly gets 'em out for the lads!).

It is true that this is a dumb, trashy, sexist, and brutally violent movie—an exercise in style over content which lacks convincing acting and a decent plot. But who cares, when you've got stunning visuals, a touch of gore, crazy Matrix-style fight scenes, and, towards the end, quite a bit of audacious wire-work (at one point, Charlene ends up balanced on one leg atop a bad guy's head)? Certainly not me!

The obvious selling point of this movie was the number of scantily clad ladies battling each other. In bullet time. That's it.

It would've been more enjoyable if the action wasn't over the top...I mean come on, breaking glass that is thrown at you with your bare fists, catching the broken glass fragments, then throwing it back to where it came from? In one sequence? Please.

The dialogue was so cheesy, I couldn't tell if it was Swiss or cheddar.

I always thought that Daniel Wu was a decent actor, until this "action masterpiece" came along. He should choose his future roles carefully or get a better agent.

Another thing that bothered me was that there was this tree trying hard to act well....oh wait, that was Maggie Q. My mistake.

Do yourselves a favour...since they say this kind of movie is one where you leave your brain at the door before watching, make sure you know where you left it, because mine ran away realizing it doesn't want to go back in my head anymore after I saw this so-called, "movie". Go see "So Close" instead. At least the cast on that flick are proven "actors".

Could I have the 2 hours I wasted on this movie back please?

1/10. (1 for the effort)

The plot of Naked Weapon is not too bad, but the way it is ultimately presented leaves a lot to be desired. The pacing is dreadful, scenes are arranged haphazardly, and far, far more could have been done with the interesting premise. Most of the dialogue is really terrible.

However, even with all the shortcomings of the script, the movie is saved by its stylism. The action is pretty good, and while the characters obviously don't actually hit each other, their moves and speed are absolutely incredible and breathtaking. The acting is pretty good, too.

All in all, a highly entertaining package filled with sexy girls kicking ass. It's not as good as So Close, though.

7 out of 10.