Le point de non retour

I enjoy Ringo Lam's movies, so I took a Chance and borrowed this movie from the library, and wasn't disappointed. Sammo hung's Character was far more developed than in most of his movies, and his acting surprisingly good. also great is Kwong Leung Wong (who played Eddie Wong in John Woo's THE KILLER) as the head muscle Villian. he plays the character more believably than most, as a violent thug with alot of bravado, which is a refreshing change from the Usual Psychos. also in the movie is Lam Chung (BETTER TOMORROW 2, The victim of the first hit in THE KILLER, and Mr. Leung {The Kneecaping Victim} in BULLET IN THE HEAD) as the main Villian. The action is exellent as usual from the director, especially since it rarely resorts to tricks such as slow motion editing. in fact this happens to make it seem more violent. Sammo fights well especially at the end where they give him a cool visual reference to the one armed swordsman. There is a car chase and many explosions shootings and brutal beatings. my only complaint is that there are some awful attempts at humor involving sammo's mother. perhaps i didn't get it because of cultural differences. this movie spoke to me in the universal language, VIOLENCE! 8/10

Touch and Go (1991) is a change of pace for Sammo Hung. He's the star in this brutal action film from docu-drama film maker Ringo Lam. Sammo play a goofy easy going guy who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. A nosy reporter (Teresa Mo)interviews him because of his involvement in a crime in progress. His interview brings him nothing but trouble with a local gang of psychos. They decide to give him hell and daily beatings until he's forced to get the protection of a cop (who happens to be the reporter's older brother). When he gets involve he opens a big can of worms that he never thought existed. Can Sammo and his new friends escape the wrath of these street level triads or will they wind up in the obituaries?

Touch and Go was a sight to see Sammo Hung in a Ringo Lam picture. The action is hard hitting and brutal. I would highly recommend this film for fans of Sammo Hung and Ringo Lam.

When mentioned the name of Ringo Lam, many viewers and fans remembered him for delivering such genre classics such as CITY ON FIRE and PRISON ON FIRE (both released in 1987). But his 1991 feature called TOUCH AND GO (aka POINT OF NO RETURN) is almost non-existent in (everybody's) mind. No doubt this movie arrived with such little fanfare but it's also interesting to check out for -- notably because of an odd team-up between Ringo Lam and Sammo Hung.

Sammo Hung plays Fat Goose, a naive but lovable loser who is unfortunate enough to witness a cop being killed one night by a bunch of killers in the back alley while working late at his restaurant. The killers notice him and try to stop him, but Fat Goose apparently knows martial arts to overcome and finally made his escape. Instead of calling the police, he vows to keep quiet until the arrival of the dead cop's partner Pitt (Vincent Wan) forces him to become an eyewitness.

When one of the killers nicknamed "God of Hell' (Tommy Wong) tries to kill Fat Goose, Pitt manages to arrest him in an eventual car chase and takes him back to the police station. Even though Fat Goose finally testify against the "God of Hell", the police is unable to hold him any charges and forced to let him go with the help of a highly-influential lawyer named Kam Tse Ping (Lam Chung). Fat Goose is frightened and knows that "God of Hell" will find him and kill him at all cost. However, even without the official police protection, Pitt remains responsible of Fat Goose's safety. As the investigation goes further, the cop who is being killed earlier has something to do with a sex trafficking involving a number of high-ranking VIPs.

The good news is, there are a few numbers of Lam's gritty trademarks here. The action are brutal, intense and violent. Earlier in the movie, there is a well-staged car chase scene worth mentioning for. And there is Noel Quinlan's mesmerizing jazz soundtrack that echoes the one heard in CITY OF FIRE.

But the bad news is, TOUCH AND GO feels strangely uneven. This is heavily due to the involvement of Sammo Hung playing the lead here. Apparently mixing a gritty crime drama with an overdose of slapstick comedy doesn't really gel well one after another. While there are still a few amusing moments worthy of chuckles, the comedy elements feel largely awkward.

Still, the overall movie remains fairly entertaining enough as a decent time-killer. As a lovable loser, Sammo Hung is certainly feels at ease playing the kind of role he always known for. He is likable enough, even though die-hard fans of his movie will be disappointed by the lack of his trademark martial-art performance here. As a relentless cop Pitt, Vincent Wan plays his role reasonably well. As both villains, Tommy Wong and Lam Chung are typically good playing despicable roles.