The lens work by "Crouching Tiger" cinematographer Peter Pau looks super slick; and the film's conformity to trends in regional commercial cinema yields respectable results. But Special ID truly comes alive when it busts out the good ol' fashioned Hong Kong daredevil stunt work.

And yet it's impossible to deny that what Special ID does well it does extremely well.

All the performers are supremely entertaining while dealing or defying horrible deaths... but Yen unfortunately lacks the kind of charisma that can elevate a genre film to a higher level of satisfaction.

The story is a hopeless mess that from the outset seems to be missing key exposition that might help fill in some of its many gaps.

The audience becomes conditioned to expect the action a few moves before the film makes them, which quickly renders the story tedious.