Raging Fire

Yen Smolders in 'Raging Fire'. Donnie Yen has clearly established himself as an international, bankable action star. He is not only a dynamic martial arts action star, but a highly watchable screen presence.

In Raging Fire, Benny Chan's final Directorial work, Yen combines the elements of his persona as an action star and dramatic actor for a successful result. His dramatic engagement equals his action prowess, and these elements combine to make this film superior.

Shan (Donnie Yen) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. However, his past unexpectedly comes back to haunt him when a sting operation is attacked by a mysterious group of criminals led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former protégé, a talented former officer who had once respected and admired Shan. However, a terrible mistake three years prior landed him in prison, quickly turning the once rising star into a furious man with a grudge, and the will to destroy everyone who had wronged him-including his former mentor.

Many East Asian action films have a common theme showcasing the blurred line between police officer and villain. This film is no exception. While Yen is clearly the protagonist, Nicholas Tse is a sympathetic, albeit ruthless, adversary.

The film's story is not necessarily original, but it is engaging. Both Yen and Nicholas Tse bring a deep gravitas to their performances that makes them sympathetic, despite the circumstances. Nicholas Tse' performance is a strong counter-balance to Yen's. Yen's does not have as much depth and meaning without Tse.

This film is unusually deep for an action film, and perhaps, that is defining signature of a Benny Chan film. Here it is executed on a high level.

While the film has dramatic elements, there is no shortage of action. The knife fight choreography is about as exciting as you will see in any film. While I could write on about the dramatic undertones for paragraphs it is the final Yen-Tse showdown that puts this film among the top of the year's martial arts action jewels. The fight choreography is sensational.

I am sentimental; so I couldn't help but feel sad that Chan will not have the chance to see the international acclaim this film will likely garner. The closing credits feature behind the scenes clips of BennyChan in action, directing this one. He is clearly all-in.

The film is subtitled.

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,

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.

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 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.