Donnie Yen has been a star for more than 20 years, but he was never a superstar — until "Ip Man" in 2008 made him the top action star in Asia — and, at 51, he still is.

‘KUNG FU KILLER’ Not rated Opens Friday at Dole Cannery Stadium 18 and Pearlridge West 16

Part of the reason is that he is the last survivor of the great martial artist film stars of the 1990s: Jackie Chan and Jet Li have retired from martial arts films.

"Kung Fu Killer" is like a roundhouse kick from the past, a satisfying, old-school martial arts film that has a ’90s feel to it.

Mo (Yen), a kung fu master, is in prison for accidentally killing a man. But when a serial killer (Wang Baoqian) is targeting other martial arts masters in Hong Kong, he persuades Detective Luk (Charlie Yeung) to temporarily release him and assist her team in capturing the killer.

Teddy Chen’s brisk direction keeps things moving all over Hong Kong, and Yen’s action choreography is top-notch — a climactic fight on a freeway is a highlight.

This isn’t a new golden age of martial arts films, but with Yen holding down the fort in China and Southeast Asian fighters Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa, it’s a pretty good one.

Review by G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle