Hard Boiled

Tequila, a “shoot first, ask questions later” style Police inspector, is forced to team up with an undercover cop to take down a group of gun smugglers. Along the way, they might even learn to trust one another. Hard Boiled was John Woo’s last epic Hong Kong action film before making the transition to Hollywood. As far as Woo’s Hong Kong masterpieces go, Hard Boiled is the only one that feels like it’s taking a little inspiration from American action films. A few of the set pieces feel inspired by Die Hard and the sax drenched score is giving serious Lethal Weapon vibes. But make no mistake, Hard Boiled is still peak John Woo heroic bloodshed, with plenty of grand action set pieces and a third act that is almost entirely shoot outs.

Rating: 83%

(Image from Wikipedia)

A Better Tomorrow

Ho and his brother-in-arms Mark are high ranking members of a Hong Kong criminal organization. But, at the urging of his father, Ho agrees to leave his crimial life behind after one last job. Ho winds up getting double crossed and spends the next three years in prison. After getting out, Ho tries to rebuild trust with this brother Kit, who has since become a cop. While Mark feels betrayed that Ho has turned his back on their criminal ways and Shing, a former protégé who's gone on to become the head of the criminal organization, refuses to let Ho go straight. A Better Tomorrow is the epic first collaboration of John Woo and Chow Yun-fat. Though overshadowed by their future collaborations, A Better Tomorrow is a two-fisted action extravaganza that helped set the template for modern action cinema. Chow Yun-fat exudes boat loads of charisma as Mark and the success of the film helped him shed his early reputation as "box office poison."

Rating: 85%

(Image from Wikipedia)

The Street Fighter

Terry Tsurugi is one mean S.O.B. And when I say that, I'm not trying to suggest that Terry is cold or gruff like so many other action movie protagonists often are. Early on in The Street Fighter, when a brother and sister can't pay Terry the money they owe him, he kills the brother and sells the sister into slavery. That's Terry for you, our "hero." As the movie goes on, there are some attempts to humanize Terry, but he remains pretty vicious and unrepentant throughout. The crux of the plot finds Terry taking on the Mob and the Yakuza after they try to kidnap a young heiress. The Street Fighter is a particularly violent movie. When it was released in the US, an early success for New Line Cinema, it received an X rating. The fight scenes are well shot, with great uses of long takes and slow motion. Sonny Chiba gets the full Bruce Lee treatment in his portrayal of Terry, with many loving shots of him training and cruelly dispatching scores of bad guys.

Rating: 73%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Bloodsport

US Army Captain Frank Dux is traveling to Hong Kong to compete in an underground fighting tournament known as the Kumite. When he gets back to the States, he'll either be in handcuffs or a coffin. Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Coming soon to a TV near you.

Bloodsport, JCVD's first starring role, is a lot of fun. If you can get past some of the weaker acting and the formulaic plot, there's lots to enjoy. The supporting cast includes Donald Gibb (aka Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds), Bolo Yeung and Forest Whitaker. That's right, Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker is in this movie. The fighting is well done across the board, but my favorite part of the movie might be the montages. There are so many montages. There's a montage at the beginning of the movie, introducing the audience to some of the various fighters we'll see later competing at the tournament. There's an extended flashback/origin story montage for Frank Dux, showing us how he came to learn martial arts and his reasons for entering the Kumite. There are also competition montages, chase montages and there's even a sad bus ride montage. And, in case you were wondering, JCVD does the splits in this movie not once, not twice, not thrice, but seven freakin' times.

Rating: 75%

(Image from Wikipedia)