Shockwave (4½ Stars)

This is the third film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Over the last 20 years China has been making some excellent police thrillers. Not many of them are shown outside of China. "Shockwave" is a fortunate exception.

Andy Lau plays J. S. Cheung, an expert in bomb disposal. On a previous mission he had gone undercover, making bombs for a criminal gang. Now, seven years later, the gang boss wants revenge. He plants explosives in one of the tunnels connecting Hong Kong to the mainland and takes over 500 people hostage.

The action is breathtaking. The similarity to "Die Hard" is obvious, but the action is much tougher, as only the Chinese can film it.