A lot of criticism has been raised at SPECIAL ID for its production problems, resulting in a slightly choppy, hastily put-together movie and a story that isn't entirely satisfying. To be honest, none of this stuff bothers me when I watch an action or martial arts film; all I care about is the calibre of the action. After all, who watches something like WARRIOR KING for the story?

The good news is that SPECIAL ID is a film packed with the best kind of action pulled off by Hong Kong producers: wonderful car chases, hard-hitting martial arts fights, and all manner of bruising brawls and showdowns. I could care less about the story, as long as I see Donnie kicking ass in a well-choreographed way, and SPECIAL ID gives us ample opportunity to see the star at his best.

Okay, this film isn't of the calibre of KILL ZONE, or FLASHPOINT. But then, I didn't expect it to be; few films are. Instead, it's a decent thriller with some cracking and spectacular action scenes destined to be enjoyed over and over again. I really enjoyed watching it, and if that makes me an undemanding viewer, then so be it.

Chan (Donnie Yen) is in a gang. He is a fighter. He also works for the police in a role that appears to be half informant and half policeman. Both the police and his gang wants him to go to Nanhai on the mainland to meet with Sunny, a bad guy who may have stolen from another gang. Chan works with police woman Fang Jing (Tian Jing) the Lara Croft of China. He gets a "special ID" on the mainland, one that didn't matter because he is an old friend of Sunny anyway.

The movie has a lot of kick boxing, including women and an elderly woman getting beat up. The film is in subtitles and a lot is lost in the translation. There is some comedy and romantic banter that goes on between the two main characters, at least the soundtrack seems to imply this, yet the dialouge is neither romantic nor funny. At one point a woman yells at Chan "Speak Mandarin!" Apparently he was speaking in a different dialect so she couldn't understand the conversation, yet it all sounded the same to me and you couldn't tell it was different by the subtitles.

Most of the fighting was normal. Tian Jing however exhibits some extraordinary jumping skills. The film is deeper than an action film as it gives a message about character growth, which seemed out of place.

This is not a film for me.

Parental Guidance: F-bomb in what appears to be two Chinese dialects. No sex or nudity.

You have to have a special place for Donnie Yen and not be too cynical about this movie to enjoy it. I'll give you that, but the action, when it is on screen is impeccable. He still knows how to do things properly. And I think he also has the charisma to elevate mediocre movies like this above their level.

The fighting almost seems realistic (apart from the one at a time attacking of the bad guys, which every action movie has) and the scenes are well choreographed. It's not only action though, as this tries to tell a story. A very predictable one, but that shouldn't put you off the movie. A nice action movie that might please Donnie Yens fan base until his next movie comes out