Donnie Yen deserves credit for becoming the next mega-star in the world of martial arts movies. His style on screen shows he can not only deliver when it comes to fight sequences but he is a talented actor as well. From historical dramas to comedies to police thrillers he always gives it his all and it shows on screen. His film RAGING FIRE shows this.
The film opens as police detective Cheung Sung-bong (Yen) is about to arrest his longtime foe. As he moves in to make the arrest a heavily armed gang breaks in shooting everyone in sight, from the criminal he was going to arrest to members of his team. Surviving the attack Bong begins to look into who this gang is and who their leader might be. He’s stunned to learn that the leader is Yau Kong-ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former partner just released from prison.
The past story of what took place between these two police officers and how Ngo was disgraced is broken down as the movie unfolds. Having taken things to the extreme as an office Ngo was disgraced and sent to prison on the testimony of Bong. Now Ngo alongside the officers who were disgraced as well are seeking revenge, turning their skills and knowledge into becoming criminals. Their revenge seeks what they feel is justice against everyone from the top police staff to the banker who set them up to Bong himself.
There is no way mere words can describe how well made this movie is. The story is solid and the acting is superb. While Yen shows that he can continue to make fantastic movies giving his all for both the fight sequences and acting, it is actually Tse who steals the show here. Where most bad guys are fairly cardboard cutouts of characters seen in the past, he brings a life to Ngo that makes him dangerous and sympathetic at the same time. He exudes charisma in the role while Yen’s character is more bland. But that’s what you would expect from these characters.
The film is the last to be directed by Benny Chan who died during post production of the film. This was the 25th film by the Hong Kong director whose first feature film was made in 1990. He was noted for his high octane fighting sequences and fast paced films that were faithful to the tradition of Hong Kong action films. It’s sad to think after watching this that he’s gone.
While watching this film I never found myself wanting to reach for the remote, to hit the fast forward button to get through some boring sequence or car chase that we’ve seen over and over again. Everything here felt fresh and new, even if it wasn’t. I felt myself pulled into the story as it was revealed and that’s something amazing for a film to do.
So many people still can’t bring
themselves to watch movies made in other countries and that’s sad because they
limit themselves and miss out on some fantastic films. This is one of those.
Well Go has done an amazing job of bringing Asian cinema to the home market and
that should be taken advantage of. If you don’t believe me pick up this movie
and see what I am talking about. For action fans this is a must have for your
collection.
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