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July 15, 2020
It's not the first time I complain about a Cheh Chang film in a contemporary setting, I'm sure it won't be the last either. Though I will say, Four Riders feels a lot like heroic bloodshed avant-la-lettre, so Chang probably does deserve some credits there. Sadly the execution is pretty flat and not at all heroic.
It's almost too clean and neat, which isn't ideal for an action film. It's nice that Chang tries to incorporate some social critique for example, but it feels out of place and ends up slowing things down unnecessarily. The action scenes are decent, but nothing too spectacular and too far apart to keep the film interesting.
The bottom line is that Chang doesn't do serious very well. He's at his best when martial arts heroes are flying around while taking revenge on some illustrious bad guy. Four Riders is a film that tries to tackle a little extra, but ends up poorer for it. I wouldn't be surprised though if John Woo considers this one of his favorites.