I'd been thinking about the heyday of the HK action movies, the mid-'70s to mid-'80s. It went almost dead for a few years, then of course Jet Li's Once Upon a Time I kick-started it again for a while.

Does anyone else feel that the majority of more recent (mid-'90s to late '90s) HK martial arts and/or action films seem more "small-scale"? By which I mean the feeling is different, there is less a feeling of big-scale and excitement, even in some films that seem well-made.

Exceptions to this are the first three Once Upon a Time films, also Drunken Master II. Perhaps many of the old-school cinematographers/performers/extras are almost all gone. There was a rich feeling in movies like Sammo Hung's The Victim, Knockabout, Prodigal Son, Wheels on Meals, etc., and the Liu Chia-Liang Shaw films, and others.

When I saw Jackie Chan's movie Gorgeous, Jet Li's The Defender (Bodyguard from Beijing), Black Mask, etc., although in many ways entertaining, they seemed "cramped" and a bit empty somehow.

Oh, well, enough analyzing! :)
Jim