City on Fire

Chow yun fat made this movie for me. It's one of those movies that makes me see why Hollywood was kissing his butt for a while. He was very charming, funny, and dramatic. I saw some of this in the movies he had done for America, but never in this extended range.

This movie is centered around Chow yun fat who plays a cop whose in deep deep cover attempting to balance his real life relationship with his girlfriend with being toss in to deeper cover by his superiors to catch a criminal.

If this sounds like every Kung Fu film made in the 80's with an English dub, that's because it is, but unlike the police Drama Police Story in which Jacky Chan plays a man dedicated to his heroics to a fault, Chow yun Fat plays a man who wants out but his boss needs to keep him in as he's the only one who can capture the main villain. adding to this is the fact that it's not clear to some in the police department whose side he's on, which adds to the drama.

The movie also expresses some of the gun fu violence that chow yun fat became famous for, but not on the level as some of his others like Hard boiled or A Better Tomorrow, but it's there.

I would recommend everyone see this police drama and let chow yun fat prove to you what a great leading man he was at his peak.

I viewed this on late night TV and it immediately grabbed me. It was due to its interesting music, shoot outs, superior cinematography and a brilliant performance by Chow-Yun Fat as the undercover agent sent to join a gang headed by the excellent Danny Lee. Only the ending bears comparison to Reservoir Dogs with the rest of the film building up to this moment. In it's own right this is as good as Tarantino's effort and should be seen by as many people.

This movie is the predecessor of many American movie storylines in which an undercover cop, in his effort to assimilate to the world of crime, loses himself. "Donnie Brasco" and "Rush" are such movies with a similar theme.

Tarantino very obviously lifted the plot for his "Reservoir Dogs," even though Tarantino's movie is more notable for its snappy dialogues and unbearable torture sequences. "City on Fire" develops the characters more, and gives them a background.

But other than that, the major difference between the 2 movies is that, ultimately, there's a very different take on the notions of honor, loyalty, and brotherhood - I was surprised by both endings, in very different ways.

This movie is also a good companion piece to "The Killer" by John Woo. Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee star in both movies, but in reversed roles of cop and thief.

It took me a long time to finally get a hold of this film. it was worth the wait. Ringo lam is one of the most original directors out of hong kong. this is the finest work of his that i've seen. chow yun-fat worked very hard for the best actor award he got for this film. and danny lee ain't bad either. Ringo Lam's handling of the action is where this movie really shines. it is brutal in the fashion of an old Walter Hill or Peckenpah film, realistic and frightening. hong kong is displayed more accurately than i have ever seen in a movie, with its streets crowded till they appear ready to burst. in the final robbery sequence, the streets appear to be impenetrably thick. it is just a reminder that hong kong has more than four times the population density of new york city. many people have accused tarantino of ripping off this movie, and claim that reservior dogs is an exact copy. first of all tarantino gives credit to chow yun-fat as an influence at the start of the screenplay for reservior dogs. second of all the entire movie of reservior dogs is a expansion of a ten minute sequence near the end of the movie. and over here it is done totally different. so lay off of him mkay.

City On Fire is a fine HongKong-actionmovie about a cop, who goes undercover to arrest a bunch of criminals. Chow Yun-Fat plays the cop with his usual style and class. Director Ringo Lam has created an explosive actionmovie that inspired Tarantino to make "Reservoir Dogs". Good story, good action and good actors! 8,5/10