Naked Weapon (2002)
A hugely enjoyable Hong Kong action movie in which young girls are kidnapped and taken to a hidden island run by the mysterious Madam M where they are brutally trained for six years. At the end of their training they fight off against each other with the best three - Charlene, Katt and Jing) selected for assassination missions on male targets. However the assassins soon get noticed by the CIA, including Daniel Wu's rookie, who falls for Charlene which only complicates matters.
Reminiscent of other movies like Besson's Nikita (1990) and schlockier affair such as Bava's Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1965) and 1968's The Blood of Fu Manchu where females are trained as killers for selected male victims. Naked Weapon feels familiar yet it's never tired,and probably comes somewhere in between the serious Nikita and more exploitative other two. In fact it's incredibly good fun with the story easy enough to follow and the leads engaging and interestingly written. The three girls, headed by Maggie Q, are gorgeous and seductive but merciless with it and the many action scenes are intense and beautifully choreographed.
I have the Korean dvd and the image quality looks great with the 5:1 track equally as impressive.
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