Cold Steel

This is an action, war, bullet ballet genre featuring two well-known actors - Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Yu Rong-Guang. It is set during one of the many periods last century when Japanese forces occupied Chinese cities. It opens with the lead actor, Peter Ho Yun-Tung, rescuing a countryman pilot from a plane crash. The two form a student-teacher relationship over guns. The next day the Chinese troops start trouble at the teahouse, Peter fights back, then is arrested. They are ambushed on the way back to headquarters. Peter shows his ability by out-shooting the snipers. As a reward, he is drafted. Tony Leung is his sergeant. Mission - kills the Japs. The lead actor, Peter Ho Yun-Tung, bears a striking resemblance to a Shaw Brothers star from the 1970s - Wong Yu (see The Spiritual Boxer and Rendezvous with Death.) The chase scene is above average and the rest of the action standard. If this is your genre then here you go.

I was lucky enough to see this film at its Chicago premiere courtesy of the Chicago Cinema Society. Don't know too much about director David Wu, except that he's edited some of the best action movies I've ever seen. The action touch was quite apparent here in Cold Steel. A young man somehow able to avoid the war raging in his country is recruited by the Chinese when they discover his skills as a sniper and need his help in the face of an ongoing Japanese invasion. The action is fast-paced, intense, and extremely well cut together. When at one point the lead character jumps off a roof into a neighboring building's window, a stunt cameraman follows RIGHT behind him in a nice first person view. I have never seen that before. Things slow down a bit halfway through for a romantic subplot, but it doesn't get too corny. And that's saying a lot considering this came from Hong Kong. You can do better for story or drama, but the flaws are minimal and the action is great as a sniper-thriller.