Burning Paradise

Burning Paradise (Foh Siu Hung Lin Ji 火燒紅蓮寺) is a 1994 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam.

The film is set in the Qing dynasty and stars Willie Chi Tian-sheng as Fong Sai Yuk and Yang Sheng as Hung Hei-kwun.

During the Qing dynasty, young Shaolin disciple Fong Sai-yuk and his master, Chi Nun, are fleeing Manchu government agents hunting them.

However, Luk betrays Hung, revealing him to be a double agent using his freedom as foreman to create a map of the temple for the inmates.

Hung, grateful that Brooke spared him earlier, returns the favor and carries her out of the room before the poison can kill either of them.

[5] Time Out London stated that "Some of the acrobatic fights do seem grimly anarchic, but the endless booby traps grow tiresome and the film's 'dark side' is undercut by feeble elements of humour and romance.

"[3] Film 4 opined that "Lam gives the story a new twist by envisaging the temple as a kind of Quake-type fortress complete with bottomless pits, traps, poison gases and other nasties that await the two fighters who are assigned to free the monks.

"[6] The Austin Chronicle praised the film, stating that it is "Lam's bizarre direction that makes this one of the better chopsocky efforts in recent memory.

He manages to make the genre's clichés seem brand new again, creating a considerably darker and more sinister piece than your typical martial arts picture" and that "Although the finale is a slight letdown, for the most part, Burning Paradise is a terrific movie that tells an old story with a new attitude.

"[7] Variety referred to the film as "the highly entertaining but uncharacteristic swordplay item" in a review of Lam's later feature The Adventurers.