Just Heroes

"Yee dam kwan ying" (aka "Just Heroes") is a fairly generic late 1980s Hong Kong over-the-top action movie, for better or worse, from legendary action director John Woo.

Now, I wasn't familiar with "Just Heroes" before now in 2021, when I was presented with the opportunity to sit down and watch it. And of course I did so, given the fact that this was a Hong Kong movie that I hadn't already seen.

And I will say that "Just Heroes" proved to be adequately entertaining. It wasn't a particularly outstanding or overly memorable action movie though, as the storyline was a little bit cluttered and all over the place, which lead to the characters sort of drifting into one another and making it a bit hard to tell them apart.

The action sequences in the movie were nicely executed and there was a great abundance of action throughout the course of the movie - as it usually was with John Woo movies.

However, I must admit that the somewhat flawed and generic storyline made the movie suffer. My interest in the movie was slowly abating as the movie progressed and there seemed to be a stalemate in the movie's actual progression in story.

"Just Heroes", a title that absolutely makes no sense for this particular type of movie, nor serves any purpose in relation to the contents of the storyline, actually had a fair enough cast ensemble, with the likes of Stephen Chow, Kuan Tai Chen and Fui-On Shing.

Ultimately then "Just Heroes" was a watchable late 1980s Hong Kong action movie, but it was at the same time also a very forgettable movie as well. It just proved to be too generic and bland. As such, I am rating "Just Heroes" a very mediocre five out of ten stars.

The crime business gets an even more banalizing makeover in this John Woo blowout than it does in the beige-suit-and-silver-tie-clip yakuza world of Takeshi Kitano's gangland melodramas. Reportedly thrown together in haste, this web of intrigues in a most routinely businesslike mob world has it all: tippling molls, Kun Opera, quadruple-crosses, buckets of Wooian sentimentality, and world-class, state-of-the-art action choreography. Woo learned from the masters Walter Hill and Sam Peckinpah and did them one better: nobody on this earth, except Steven Spielberg on a good day, understands the ballet of gunmen and camera like Woo. It's become a cliche, but it's true, and this underrated movie proves it: Woo raised the bar and then hurtled over it. He's the tops.

Just Heroes is far from John Woo's finest hour, but even then there's a lot to love about this minor classic, with Woo's trademarked heroic bloodshed coming out in full force during the finale. Commissioned by Tsui Hark to raise retirement money for a broke Chang Cheh, John Woo's main influence and tutor, Cheh then spent said money on making another film instead. Woo only directed about 60% of this and his style is plainly obvious when compared to the 40% helmed by Wu Ma. It's the kind of film that desperately needs another 20-30 minutes to let all its ideas flow, it feels rushed which doesn't surprise me given how quickly it was thrown together, the pedestrian script could have done with some tightening up. Despite this, Just Heroes boasts a funky musical score, some great performances from David Chiang, Danny Lee and a young Stephen Chow and is packed full of intrigue even in a routine-like mob world with elements that feel like they belong to a Takeshi Kitano yakuza thriller.

What better summary line than the English title for the movie? I don't know if it is an accurate translation from the HK title, but more importantly: Why is there no release of this movie on a DVD yet? At least not in the western world and not an official one, as can be seen here at IMDb ...

Just Heroes is another Woo flick with his well known ingredients: Bloodshed, Heroism, loyalty and respect. The slow motion is thrown in there for good measure too! ;o) Of course it's something that a John Woo Film, can not be without! And although it might sound emotionless or apathetic, how I just list those things, the movie is a really good action film! It's not his best, but if you like his other better known HK offerings, you're gonna love this one too! :o)

From what I have observed a lot of people is really disappointed in this movie but I fell in love with it!

It is such a shame that this movie is only available as French and Japanese DVDs and both are without subtitles. I guess this explains why many people does not know this John Woo movie.

The story is not that bad but they really could've added a lot to "who will be the heir to murdered triad boss ?" storyline.

But they opted for a lazier method and rushed everything in the movie. I guess this is mostly because of the fact that it is shot for Wu Ma which was in desperate need of money.

If they didn't rush everything because of the reason given above, it really could have been a true John Woo classic like A Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard Boiled. This is what I call a missed opportunity.

Whatever your reason for not liking this movie might be but there is no denial that the finale shootout is awesome. This is John Woo and Heroic Bloodshed at its best. I'll surely watch it once again.

Please release this movie on DVD with remastered picture and subs so that other Hong Kong action movie fans get to watch this.