RIGHTING WRONGS (1986)
Time for a classic Yuen Biao vehicle. Like several other Hong Kong action stars I've looked at, his work has featured briefly in some older marathons. But now it's time to get down to the details. Why haven't I done this sooner? It's a question I ask myself all the time. Why isn't this part of a bigger franchise? That remains a mystery I'm afraid, since unlike some of his contemporaries there are no long running sequels following this outing. Of course the story doesn't lend itself to having a follow up, but when has that ever stopped the film-makers involved? Perhaps the darker storyline didn't go over too well back in the day. It's a movie with several endings after all. Personally I think a grittier analogue to the Police Story series would have been incredible. But as things are this stands alone, so let's get into it.
What good is the law and who does it protect? Is there any real justice in this tragic world? These kind of melodramatic questions are posed by this tale of corrupt cops and vengeful prosecutors. That is when people aren't flipping over moving cars and dangling from aircraft. Forget about philosophical quandaries, this is a story about assassins and explosions. Prosecutor Hsia Ling-Cheng (Yuen Biao) finds this out in the opening set piece, where his discussion about legal protocol is interrupted by a sniper. Perhaps it's trying to say something about the story that is about to unfold. It's a film in which court witnesses are bombed and dirty cops murder with impunity. As for the good guys? They also employ some pretty questionable methods.
After the brutal assassination of a key witness (who had been persuaded to testify by Ling) the judge on the case casually says he'd like to shoot the defendants. With the whole family buried in flaming rubble it's perhaps easy to see what he means, but then maybe he's in the wrong line of work. The cigar chomping bad guys sit enjoying their wealth as Ling realises they can't be touched by the legal system. After an initial shoot-out and car chase, it's not long before Yuen Biao gets to strut his acrobatic stuff. The subsequent high-rise burglary is a quick showcase of his skills, and there's plenty more where that came from as crooks and police officers seek him out. It quickly becomes clear that CID detective Cindy (Cynthia Rothrock) won't be on his side.
It's a movie in which you can really feel the grit as vehicles are smashed and apartments are demolished. The deaths of witnesses and villains alike are often gruesome, whether they're being bested in fights or taken out by hired killers. Some are strangled to death and others are dropped out of parking lots. There's also a tactile feeling to a lot of the action set pieces as Ling hangs from sprinkler pipes and swings from ropes. There's plenty of broken glass and smoking debris along the way, all of it amped up by an electrifying score by Romeo Diaz. Guitar riffs and piano tunes mix with synthesizer notes in a perfect blend of accompanying music. It might be a bleak affair in many sequences, it's also frequently exhilarating.
Less exciting is the sub plot in which grubby cop Bad Egg (director Corey Yuen) and his father (Wu Ma) bicker about money and bad habits. The comedy slobs versus uptight superior officers bit is a big road block for the pacing. Like Royal Warriors this all leads into a pretty dark place by the end, but that doesn't make it any less of a drag. Characters being dragged my moving cars I can deal with, slowing everything down for attempted Axel Foley type jokes I can do without. Luckily these aren't close to becoming main characters, and attempts to get cute with delinquent Chi-Wen (Siu-Wong Fan) are also finished up in a fairly painful fashion. They don't even try and give Ling and Cindy a misunderstood allies arc, which is refreshing.
Instead it's them against each other, when they're not fending off various scum-bags. Sometimes the script feels rather contrived in the second act and it meanders when the actual police work is going on. Chi-Wen just happens to break into a house where the exposition is being given? Well if you say so. But when the bats and bamboo poles come out it all falls into place. Other highlights include an assassination attempt (in Ling's rather expensive looking home) and Cindy's attack on an airfield hangar. All kinds of minor issues can be forgiven when it reaches the aerial finale, a feature which is sadly missing from modern action flicks. Bring back stunt performers hanging off real planes. The results are a big downer, but it's the only way to go after reaching such heights.
Which might be truer if there wasn't an alternative ending. If you haven't seen this film already be sure to seek it out now with my full recommendation, and read no further. In some ways the more tragic conclusion is fitting, since the anti-heroes involved took the law into their own hands. But there's also something to be said for the version in which there isn't so much abrupt death. These kind of sudden endings are a staple of the period, but it's hard to choose which route is more appropriate. One is tonally consistent, and less infeasible, the other is a bit of mild relief after so much chaos. I'm unsure, but that's a good excuse to watch it all over again, and so should you. Get in a double bill with The Iceman Cometh just for good measure.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
CIRCUS KIDS (1984)
Or is it just Circus Kid? Whatever the plural options you choose this is a Wu Ma directed story about a big top troupe in the 1940s. They're forced to find their way to new fortunes when their tent is bombed in the Japanese invasion. The ring master and knife thrower Tin-Yi (Wu Ma) takes acrobat Yi-Tung (Yuen Biao) and their friends to the city, to find Tung's uncle. However they face opposition not only from a hard edged cop Lee (Donnie Yen) but also a gang of opium dealers. There's a lot of stock footage and a lot of real explosions, and there are plenty of wire stunts and high kicks. What better place to showcase the skills of this cast? Well perhaps something less melodramatic would be a good choice. While this is certainly an spectacle when it needs to be, there's a long second act to sit through.
Tung's Uncle is missing thanks to the drug dealers, and Tin-yi's old home is a burnt out derelict. Then attempts by the circus team to make money on the streets fall apart. The youngest members of their group even resort to stealing when times are hard. Eventually several troupe members are forced to do manual labour at what is apparently the only factory in town. Clown Yi-Tien (David Lam) learns the hard way what the place is actually manufacturing, then falls into despair when his girlfriend leaves. There are some action beats along the way as Tung faces the police and the youngsters fend of crooks looking for him. But it's never very inspiring with so many stock elements.
Fortunately all the circus tricks are brought back for the final showdown. They even bring out Ken Lo to do some Drunken Master II style footwork. Acrobatics stunts and flying knifes all get a look before the whole thing turns into a blazing inferno. Some of the tricks are less than realistic but it's plenty of fun when things finally get going. Donnie Yen doesn't get a whole lot to do beyond playing a serious cop hampered by crooked superiors, but there are enough good moments in during the conclusion. It's an odd mixture of outcasts struggling with poverty, romantic melodrama, and extravagant hand to hand combat. But while it's often a little bland there's just enough here to make it watchable.
3/5
