| One of my dearest favorites out of 80s Hong Kong action cinema is a wildly flawed and politically incorrect piece as it constantly shifts tone in characters to an outrageous degree but most importantly, the abuse Nina Li Chi's character goes through (in particular from Chow Yun-Fat) leaves a bitter, bad taste in ones mouth (so will the reason why the audience liked that abuse, as you'll learn from Bey Logan's commentary on the Hong Kong Legends dvd). It's very atypical 80s Hong Kong cinema though and that often proves to be amusing in a twisted way.
Lau Kar Leung's modern day take on action (mainly short gunplay and shorter traditional martial art duels are what's on display) is very entertaining thanks to that aspect though, the standout being a terrific and by now classic action finale that sees Conan Lee with a chainsaw vs. Gordon Lau, also with a chainsaw. Hong Kong chainsaw massacre indeed...
Chow Yun-Fat is one main reason the film works so well also as he showcases winning comic charisma and his martial arts bout with a Westerner towards the end is an exhilarating merging of his coolness and Lau Kar Leung taking trademark moments from martial arts cinema and bringing them into this setting. Many of the 70s legends of kung fu cinema turn up here as well, including the mentioned Gordon Lau, David Chiang, Ti Lung, Norman Tsui and Wilson Tong. |
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