Raging Fire

Good editing can improve on a so-so script but not even the best editor can improve on a convoluted, disjointed mess like this one. Good production values are no substitute for a solid story that hooks the viewer. An hour into this, you may still be wondering who you are supposed to root for. Yen playing a stoic cop looks lost.

I found it to be an excellent action movie.

I went to go see Donnie Yen bring it and he delivered, despite this feeling that Yen is hit by old age. You can tell he was avoiding the quick punches from Ip man that he most likely cannot pull off any more, but he makes up for it with this new raw, tough and tumble style, made to look special with some great camera work.

Than again, another reason for Yen's change of styles could be that I was expecting a kung fu flick but what I got was just this complete action film. It has everything you would expect from an action flick: Gun fights, car chases and fight scenes and what makes it nice is that you get more than one of all these things.

I can't honestly give a good examination on how the story goes as my mandarin is non existent and I read subtitles at a 6th grade level, but I'll give some credit to the acting that got me engulf in a story I was barely picking up. Some good character development was going here on the big screen.

I would love to say that this movie is as good as Heat, or somewhere around there because the movie feels like they 're trying to get there, but that's a little too ambitious. It's a decent police drama with a whole lot of amazing action and I'll leave it at that,

Hong Kong police are well known to be -and always have been- as corrupt as the politicians and criminals they mix with. At least that was the case way back when in the time of this 19080's style Cops & Robbers outing (and I very much doubt it has changed any in this day and age). Anyway what we get is an action filled manic paced bullets and blood thriller. What little script there is for the actors is all really by the by and of no importance whatsoever. I say that because this is meant to be nothing else but a pure 100 mile per hour action gobsmacker. Its not a brilliant film actioneer (if you have seen any John Woo films you'll know what I mean) but it is certainly not rubbish either. Its just what it is and its very engrossing and entertaining.

Donnie Yen's fight choreography, for all the cast, is superb (and I'm sure he'll pick up an award or 2 for it) and the camera work is flawless in its accentuation of the vicious array of martial arts mayhem.

Its a great finale to a very good man of Asian Cinema and guarentee's that Benny Chan went out with a monumental big bang! R. I. P Benny and thankyou for all your input to the cinema of Asia!

RAGING FIRE is a fitting swansong for Hong Kong director Benny Chan, who died during post-production. It's a cop thriller throwback to the likes of NEW POLICE STORY and INVINCIBLE TARGET, with Donnie Yen typically playing a dedicated cop on the trail of a gang of robbers headed by Nicholas Tse. The film suffers from being overlong - half an hour out would have improved that - and from over-complexifying a rather straightforward scenario. But the action zings, particularly in Donnie's two fight scenes, and the climax is a real delight. It tends to avoid cheese and overwhelming sentiment which is good too.

There is nothing to be picky about at the production and action levels. The overall completion is very smooth. It is also a good work in Hong Kong action films in recent years. It is gratifying that in recent years, Hong Kong directors have become more and more brave in shaping the characters in the gray area. After Infernal Affairs, many directors have been assimilated or hidden by capital and began to make some relatively safe works. In recent years, because of the change of the general environment, the "anger" in the creators' hearts has been aroused again, so there are very representative figures such as pan Chengfeng and AO. They can't be defined by a simple dualism of good and evil. This is the most real place of human nature. From the perspective of Chen Musheng's own works, it can be regarded as an upgrade of the new police story. In essence, there is no great new idea. There is little ink on the inner struggle of the characters, which can only be defined by cool films. However, as a creator, it is a happy thing that the posthumous work will be so widely recognized. I would like to pay tribute to the director and thank him for creating so many romantic and warm dreams.