by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
C+ Rated R 103 min
Want action? This movie has it in spades. Yes, this picture is packed with numerous kung-fu scenes, gun gags, chase scenes, and car stunts, as well as enough dead bodies piling up to be real life Iraq. Then there are tattooed Triads and other heavily armed Asian thugs, with special FBI agents on their tail. Let the games begin.
Jet Li portrays a shadowy Japanese hitman, the elusive Rogue (Jet-Li), who has his own agenda pitting the Triads against the other greedy Asian gang controlled by Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi) in a bloody bid for power. His nemesis is Special FBI Agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) and his task force. This is not your grandfather’s FBI. These guys carry automatic assault rifles and are schooled in martial arts. Rogue is only pretending to work for the Triad kingpin, Chang (John Lone). However, Rogue is on a special mission that is only revealed at the end of the film.
Crawford’s primary mission as an FBI Agent is to bring down both gangs, but his secondary motivation is to track down the gang members who killed his partner and his partner’s wife and kid. Although Rogue seems to be doing Crawford’s job by fomenting war between the two gangs, Crawford wants revenge any way he can get it, even if it means that all the members of both gangs end up dead.
Meanwhile, gang warfare rages in the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown, as bands of assassins roam the neighborhoods looking for targets. Crawford’s team arrives after the mayhem, so he institutes a proactive plan to attack before the gangs get into firefights. The action is hot and heavy with very little dialogue. In a special way, the film shines as a pure action vehicle with Crawford breaking all the FBI rules of probable cause and treatment of detainees. Bang, bang, shoot, shoot with fists of steel flying in choreographed kung-fu scenes.
Filmmaker Philip G. Atwell deftly directs the action like a ballet. Li’s suave looks and charismatic presence in front of the camera create a dangerous character even when he’s standing still. In a flash, he can kill an adversary, but in this film, he chooses to use a hand gun that kills much faster than kung-fu. Why do these action characters use swords in some scenes when a gun would be much easier? They want to show-off their swordsmanship, of course. Clang, thrust, and a sword fight opponent gets sliced and diced. If all else fails, Rogue just takes out his Glock and shoots his opponent dead, right through the heart.
As the momentum builds for the grand finale, an interesting twist develops that is only clear at the end. But Statham’s macho rasp and butt-kicking demeanor create great tension. His only problem is finding out who killed his partner before it’s too late and everyone is dead. It would be frustrating for him to not get the kill shot to his credit. Clearly, Statham is a grizzled veteran of action movies and in terms of pure physicality, he is one of the best actors of this ilk out there.
When Chang (Long) finally ventures into the United States, Crawford’s task force has him in their crosshairs. Chang is clever, but not as smart as Rogue, who has double-crossed him, hanging him out in the cold. Yes, in this world of Asian gangs, trust no one and carry heavy ordnance.
With all the killing going on, it’s hard for viewers to keep the gangs straight. But, Rogue sets up a brilliant scheme to bring down both gangs. After viewing this film, you will have worked off enough vicarious violence to go home and go to bed knowing that these action actors have acted out your worst violent tendencies so you don’t have to. That’s the beauty of action movies.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
