Aside from starring the same trio of action stars as Heroic Trio -- Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui -- Executioners has little in common with its predecessor. Although the principal characters are mostly the same, their situation is vastly different. Mired in a post-apocalyptic future, they're caught in the middle of a political power struggle centered around the control of a post-nuclear city's water supply. Generally speaking, everything about Executioners is better than its predecessor. The plot makes more sense, the script is vastly improved, and the acting is generally of higher quality. The fantastical elements of the first film have largely been abandoned in favor of a futuristic science fiction setting, but the campy sense of fun of Heroic Trio is preserved here, as is a penchant for high melodrama that's only accentuated by some odd musical selections (including Christmas carols) that accompany some of the more violent scenes. Plus, the villain is just insanely weird, which is always good. The best reasons to see this, of course, are the three principals, and fortunately all three get plenty of screen time, although certain plot developments make it unlikely that there will be another Heroic Trio movie.