Raging Fire - Fuoco incrociato

This contemporary Chinese martial arts crime flick is a perfect vehicle for its two male leads - Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Yen plays the good cop. Tse is his former good-cop buddy, who has become really good at being really bad for reasons we learn along the way. Many of these films are thrown together with a muddled plot that exists only to set up their action sequences. Here we have a shining exception, as main characters and their backstories are fleshed out to fine advantage, making for a production that satisfies the brain as well as fulfilling the desired adrenalin quota.

Yen has nearly 80 acting credits and handful of directing stints, including fight-scene choreography. He comes by his art honestly, as the son of a martial arts master (Fun fact - that's his mom, not his dad.), trained from childhood in multiple disciplines. Although I've only seen about a fourth of his films, I'm inclined to think that at this stage of his career, Yen may be incapable of cranking out a bad movie. (I specify the present because after writing the previous sentence, I caught one of his flicks from 1991, showing he didn't always have good scripts to choose from.) He's perhaps best known for starring in the history-based Ip Man series. There, as here, Yen embodies the stoic integrity of a Gary Cooper, with the bonus gift of kicking butt like a Jet Li.

The Raging Fire plot involves a cop-killing band of robbers, motivated by both grudges and gains. Yen is in charge of catching them; we learn early that Tse is the ringleader, with his motives unfolding throughout. The tale plays out more coherently than is often the case in Asian cops vs. Gangs flicks (actually, the same is true for many Hollywood entries, as well), magnifying the emotional impact of its splendidly-staged action sequences, stuffed with all the fights, shootouts, chases and explosions genre fans crave. A couple of Yen's one-on-ones are particularly exciting and creatively staged.

Late director Benny Chan deserves credit for not only pacing the action flawlessly, but editing and lighting those scenes for clarity of who's doing what to whom that's way above the norm from both sides of the Pacific, in what is, lamentably, his final project. Tse is also superb as a more complex villain than usual, with an understandable, almost sympathetic, transition from valued colleague to nemesis. That all adds up to a gem within its genre.

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.

Raging Fire is a gripping cops-and-robbers action movie that is elevated by late director Benny Chan's attentive direction of its drama and explores its theme earnestly. Donnie Yen's riveting action sequences set a new standard for Hollywood-level production values in a Hong Kong action film.

Bong, an officer of the Regional Crime Unit, is an outcast in the police force due to his overly righteous attitude and a refusal to conform to the legal grey zone, much to the frustration of his superiors. Bong is left out of a police drug bust, where the entire police team is massacred by a masked gang of thieves.

The crew is led by Ngo, an ex-cop-turned-criminal and former protege of Bong. Ngo once beat an informant to death and Bong's unwillingness to lie in court cost him a five-year prison sentence. Ngo sets on exacting vengeance on Bong and the police department.

Benny Chan directs the drama with delicate hands, surrounding star Donnie Yen with character actors Ray Lui and the always underrated Patrick Tam. Chan effectively brings the audience deep into Yen's character moral dilemma, "Is it justifiable to do a bad thing to do some good?" Yen's cop says no while Tse's thief says yes.

Benny Chan ensures that every fight is dramatically motivated. The action sequences, including gun fights, car chases and martial arts, leap off the screen in a glorious adrenaline-pumping fashion and consistently feel dangerous. Through a combination of shooting on-location and CGI, the film makes great use of the Hong Kong locales that brings a consistent tactility and realism. It is also doubly fun if you know Hong Kong.

Nicholas Tse, despite putting in a huge effort in giving a complex performance, never finds proper footing for his villain. He acts as the calm and cool collected mastermind but goes completely unhinged in other moments. The film does a solid job earning the audience's sympathy by showing Ngo's backstory as a cop. However, that crumbles in the present story as we witness who the villain has become and the incongruities in his grand plan. Is the character desperate for revenge, wanting to score cash, or just completely nuts? It all falls somewhere between. As the third act rolls in, there's no more time for the script to clarify Tse's intentions.

That being said, Raging Fire has a lot to offer. Nostalgic Hong Kong action movie fans will walk away satisfied. The film ultimately won me over with its overwhelming ambition to break new ground. I wonder now what Benny Chan would have done with his next action picture.

Rest in peace, Benny Chan.

The movie has ample amount of action and some good hand to hand combat but somehow i cudnt care about any of the characters and the movie aint engrossing enuff.

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!