According to imdb.com Angel's Mission is directed by Godfrey Ho while hkmdb.com states Phillip Ko did. Does it really matter that much? Both Ko and Ho can be geniuses when it comes to action but both also are capable of making real crappy movies. They also don't have a specific style or philosophy you can recognize their work by. Still the credits themselves state that Godfrey Ho was at the helm of this flick as a director and that Phillip Ko directed the action. If that isn't confusing enough, this film also has been released under a bunch of different titles. This usually doesn't bode well.
Now I know that you probably already have an idea that this is a bad film. The question is, how bad? To be honest, this is probably one of the most coherent low budget flicks I have seen. Trust me if you ever have seen titles from Godfrey Ho or Phillip Ko then coherency is the last thing to expect. But perhaps one could say that Phillip Ko is the better filmmaker overall. Although that is not fair on Ho since I have yet to see see all of his flicks. An unfortunate task I most likely will never finish since I am not willing to subject myself to that kind of cruelty or torture. That being said, coherency doesn't automatically mean it's super good. But it's pretty decent. Then again if this truly is directed by Godfrey Ho then apparently he is very much capable of making good films and I ought to give him a fair chance.
I am sure that most of you don't really care that much as long as the action is good. And it certainly is. Most of the fights are choreographed well. These fights themselves are short. But they are part of larger action scenes with lots of shooting. The fun (bloodshed) kind. Naturally I would have liked these action scenes to be a lot longer and more intense. Still with films like these you can't be too picky and critical. If you were hoping for to see a lot of Yukari Oshima you probably are going to be disappointed. She is present and gets to show off some of her ass kicking skills. But not enough. Who else gets center stage then? Dick Wei. While he also doesn't get nearly as much screen time a lead should have it is clear we are supposed to root for him which is not that hard. Since he is that criminal with a heart of gold.
Overall Angel's Mission is a real pleasant watch that does just enough to make it entertaining.
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