They say, "Fate is in the hands of man himself," but take my word for it, that is not always the case. . . Cynthia Rothrock and Lauren Avedon have collaborated several times. But it cannot be said that the joint work of these two martial arts masters turned out to be successful. At least that's what I can say, the man who has reviewed all their duets. Basically, these works are weak both in the artistic component and in everything else. The Manhattan Chase project was no exception and even surpassed previous efforts. The same thing happened in Tiger Claw 3 and Don’t Retreat or Give Up 2: Storm Warning.
The biggest problem with the film is the tiny budget, which literally affects all the episodes and makes the film a little ridiculous. Godfrey Ho's direction has always been mediocre. But his work, shot eight years earlier, Honor and Glory, was much better. But it was at all the merit of the director, but rather the specific “smell” of the militants of the 90s, good camera work, choreography of fights, etc. And the Manhattan Chase project boasts fights. In the sense that in most conflicts between villains and protagonists, there have been frequent overreactions.
Plot: After leaving prison, the former killer decides to break all ties with his crime boss and devote himself to raising his son (who lives with his aunt). But as they say in the movies, ‘Friend, the world is so small.’ So our main character was no exception to this "machination". He draws trouble to himself like a big magnet. Just got out of prison and in the middle of an adventure. For some time I wanted to do kindness to a young girl and got involved. . .
Again, everything is spoiled by mediocre acting. Well, to hell with them, with athletes, they often don't sparkle with artistry. What about the actors in the other roles? When you look at the characters, you get the feeling that they all suffer from brief, temporary amnesia. All losses, problems and mistakes are remembered for a moment and forgotten in a fraction of a second. Most conversations leave much to be desired.
In the end: another modest action movie from Godfrey Ho. I recommend it exclusively to fans of Lauren Avedon and Cynthia Rothrock. The film is not particularly remarkable, except for well-made fights. Not all fans of classic action movies will like it. Because there's no atmosphere. A medium fighter, with a very poor material and moral investment. But if you are not interested in the above mentioned and you just want to see a couple of worthy fights, then the action movie “Chase in Manhattan” will quite please you.
5 out of 10