The Hong Kong box office exploded with the arrival on the scene of ‘A Better Tomorrow’ as a trio of exceptional talent served up a ballistic concoction of stylised heroism delivering a cacophony of balletic grace as Producer Tsui Hark and Director John Woo unleashed charismatic actor Chow Yun Fat in his iconic role that redefined the very meaning of the word cool as a new generation of cinematic thrill seekers the world over soon revelled in discovering for themselves. The success of the 1986 release followed with two further sequels every bit as entertaining as their progenitor and combining to reinvent both chivalry and honour on screen for all to see. With a renewed dynamism slickly dished up as a filmatic platter refreshingly adorned with a new kind of character to empathise with , Chow Yun Fat single handedly made being an anti hero the suavest form of hero worship since Sean Connery first uttered the immortal phrase ‘The name’s Bond , James Bond’.

Video tapes of these reasons to get excited about Asian action movies exchanged hands around the world and word of mouth propelled the showcase talents of all involved to new heights of cult status. The majestic poetry of slow motion techniques were gloriously portrayed in scenes of two gun totting running and shooting played out with perfected plagiarism. In a super charged homage to all that had gone before every lavish last detail for this anachronistic western series was designer dressed to suit its intended audience long since evolved from an off the peg society. Such hyper frenetic ballistic carnage throughout the awesome trilogy was perhaps but an audience appreciation Wooing precursor of what may well be the greatest combined showcasing for John Woo and Chow Yun Fat in the personification of the ultimate roller coaster adrenaline film rush , ‘The Killer’.

Armed to the back teeth like a collective brace followed ‘Hard Boiled’ which took the heroic elements of 'A Better Tomorrow' and threw in it's own inspiring display of ethics , stunningly displayed in the truly engaging moment within the besieged hospital. Chow Yun Fat squares off against a hit man in a variation on the classic spaghetti western theme stand off but with the added distraction of a hall full of the sick and elderly. This leads to the spiritually uplifting moment which separates good and evil into degrees of right and wrong as together the two opposing men cease trying to shoot each other. With an understanding look of mutual recognition they lower their guns to the floor in mirrored symmetry allowing the patients caught in the crossfire to seek safety before the bullets renew their intended dance of death serenade.

With his combined convoy of movie Cadillacs behind him John Woo was driven on by the American dream only to be frustrated by numerous production compromises with the releases of ‘Hard Target’ and ‘Broken Arrow’ but it was with a renewed invigoration, ably assisted by his leading stars in John Travolta and Nicolas Cage as each delivered a mesmeric interchange in character performance , that the action director served up his Michelangelo film renaissance with ‘Face Off’.

Chow Yun Fat was serving notice to his army of loyal Asian film fans with his last great action movie , the brutally explosive tour de force ‘Full Contact’ directed by Ringo Lam. Hollywood had now managed to court two of Eastern cinemas greatest exports yet have still to reunite perhaps the most explosive talents of high octane action film to ignite the modern action genre. In lieu of the day that action film fans are waiting for in eagerly expected anticipation , the cultural integration of Eastern and Western influences are emerging as an invigorated hybrid. The culmination of twentieth century experimentation weened from the silver age of screen through to what promises to be the golden action era of the new millennium as ‘Asian Cinema’ become the buzz words for audience adrenalin junkies in multiplexes around the world. With bigger budgets and the introduction of multi lingual audio sound tracks the frenetic art of Asian action cinema has well and truly arrived and the disdain once associated with the phrase made in Hong Kong is now but a bygone Chinese whisper.

The New Gener ‘Asian’

Just before the dawn of the 21st Century came the inaugural signs of the new style of action movie emerging from the newly emancipated Asian colonies with the explosive arrival of ‘Generation X Cops’. Setting new standards for modern action movies along with immediate results at the Hong Kong box office the films producers had successfully managed to combine all the necessary ingredients of action humour and special effects into one very entertaining concoction with executive producer backing of Asian superstar Jackie Chan even delivering a surprise cameo at the filmsexplosive conclusion.

Appealing to both Eastern and Western audiences with consummate ease the success of ‘Generation X Cops’ opened the golden gates for a second outing. Sticking to a titular format establishing its successful connection came ‘Generation Y Cops’ but unlike most follow up cash in sequels brilliantly managed to usurp it’s predecessor by adding nitro to the action and special to the effects as well as throwing in a very healthy dose of East meets West humour. Returning Director Benny Chan reunites star Stephen Fung with the very funny Sam Lee reprising their character roles of Match and Alien with Edison Chen replacing Jack from the original films team. Together they must try and work with the FBI to stop a state of the art robot from falling into the hands of a top criminal team as led by an ex government technological designer named Kurt who just happens to be the creator of the robot model RS1. The film starts at a blistering pace as we are introduced to the American and Chinese team putting the RS1 through its paces as overseen by the protective body of the FBI. Immediately the audience is introduced to some very impressive CGI with integrated close robotic shots akin to that of 'Robocop', before the dispensed with protagonist , Kurt , hacks into the robots systems allowing an arsenal of decimation to be set loose on all that stand in its way. This first attempt at prising the futuristic government robot away is met with successful resistance but the Gen Y Cops unit is assigned to the FBI to assist in maintaining secrecy around the state of the art design. Edison is introduced to team members Alien and Match in stylish fashion as the two original team members manage to unwittingly gate crash his undercover assignment in a highly entertaining scenario that dishes out fight action with visual humour to delight the viewing audience , igniting the on screen chemistry of all three heroes once again. The bad guys set up an elaborate second plan to obtain the RS1 which involves Edison and robotic creator Kurt with the revelation that the two are historic friends. Kurt meets with Edison in a stylishly played out paint ball shootout reminiscent of John Woo delivering visuals hand in hand with the wonderful soundtrack playing out to a double cross finale in which Edison is sucked into being the fall guy for the abduction of the RS1 as the deception leads to him being drugged. Alien and Match race to track down the assailants with the FBI hot on their tails in pursuit of Edison as their main witness. Aided by the very sexy Maggie Q playing the role of FBI agent Jane , Edison pieces together his clouded memory of how he became involved whilst both Match and Alien realise that their colleague was set up. Together the four of them work in unison getting the FBI off their backs to go after Kurt and his gang which sets things up for a dazzling finale. The final twenty minutes of this high octane action movie deliver an onslaught of well choreographed fight sequences with special effects laden explosions as well as the double crossing revelations which in turn identifies the person responsible for trying to deliver the multi billion dollar RS1 franchise to the insidious Arabs.

Sam Lee delivers great humour throughout and none more so than the hilariously funny scene in which he makes hot drinks for the arrogant FBI team as he decides to add his own special ingredient courtesy of his unique Mohawk hairstyle adorned with dandruff. This truly is a must see movie that will endorphin enrich an appreciative audience with its non stop delivery of action stylishly littered with magnificently edited MTV set pieces showcasing the talents of all concerned along with a dynamic sound track richly enhanced by full Dolby surround clarity. The dialogue is seventy five per cent English language and caters for many diverse audiences so do yourselves a favour and catch this on DVD now or better still trace it down to a large screen cinema to have the most enjoyable viewing experience in a long time.

CHINA STRIKE FORCE

Director Stanley Tong started out in the movie business as a stunt man and with ' China Strike Force ' he has given back to the industry in plenitude what he achieved in his time learning the art. Without question this is an action show piece that is clearly aimed at breaking into the world film market with its seventy five per cent English Language dialogue as well as the audaciousness to firmly grab the viewer from the opening credits with a jaw dropping sequence that most other films would be proud to highlight their entire product around. Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok stars as Darren a special Police force unit officer alongside partner Alex , as played by Lee_Hom Wang , who together crack down on the drug importation scene in Shanghai coming up against super villains Coolio and Mark Dacascos. There is a wonderfully slick performance from Dacascos playing against type as the bad guy who teams up with the surprisingly at ease Coolio who’s on screen character gets to display some pretty nifty fighting skills as the movie progresses. The pretty faced good guy image normally associated with Dacascos is shattered early in the film as he callously kills a mother and child at point blank with a gun whilst showing no remorse for his actions. The frenetic fighting techniques of Darren and Alex are tested at a charity event , where we are introduced to the stunningly attractive Norika Fujiwara , as an assassination takes place. Amongst the panic stricken crowd Darren picks out the hit man and pursues him out into the busy street where an amazing chase sequence ensues as the two men jump from vehicle to vehicle exchanging blows in perilous fashion. Norika Fujiwara's character Norika offers her services to Coolio and Dacascos but her path crosses again with Darren as her loyalties and true identity reveals itself in time for the high octane jaw dropping finale. As all the main characters close in on each other Director Stanley Tong treats the audience to a stunning stunt filled sequence of breathtaking proportions that include a fight atop a Rolls Royce that is being suspended from an airborne helicopter. The ultimate sharp intake of breath stunner that will have people talking about forever is when Darren , Norika and Coolio fight it out on top of a glass panel that is swinging perilously out many stories up off the ground. With the open air and ground below clearly showing no sign of stunt stand in this a crazy moment that will have vertigo sufferers grabbing their seats in disbelief. The plot may not be the most original but Stanley Tong has clearly honed his direction skills working with the likes of Jackie Chan on ' Rumble In The Bronx ' and ' First Strike ' as well as with Sammo Hung on his popular television series ' Martial Law '. It is the shear entertainment value of the totally amazing stunts that will be most remembered in what may not be the gem of a movie that had been hoped for on the international stage but it most definitely may be considered as a flawless Cubic Zirconium presentation piece. Fans of action movies everywhere will not be disappointed with ' China Strike Force ' as everyone associated with this movie gives their all along side a very watch able screen cast that excels at entertaining and if actress Norika Fujiwara were an ice lolly you'd get tongue splinter from licking down to the stick.

Film Reviewed: Generation Y Cops

Format : DVD

Release : Mega Star

Coding : All Region NTSC

Sound : Dolby Digital 5.1

Extras : Three Trailers / Film Synopsis & Cast Biographies ( Both English & Chinese script )

Bitch Slap Rating 4.5



Film Reviewed: China Strike Force

Format : DVD

Release : Deltamac

Coding : All Region NTSC

Sound : Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS

Extras : Awesome Trailer / Cast Biographies / Behind The Scenes -The Making of China Strike Force / Photo Gallery

Bitch Slap Rating: 4


In Dedication To : David Zuzelo

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