7/10
Underrated. Simplistic yet engaging revenge tale.
23 January 2013
I'm not understanding the fellow reviews of other posters here, seems like the general negative consensus is that Brandon Lee didn't do enough martial arts or with the finesse of his father. Well this isn't a martial arts film, so if you were expecting the successor to Bruce Lee you'll be disappointed. Immediately push Bruce Lee out of your head. This is an overly melodramatic action film from Hong Kong, falls into the genre also known as "Heroic Bloodshed", and in that respect the movie's hokey but simultaneously keeps strong pacing and high entertainment value. This film is from 1986 coinciding with the release of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, in which is set at the root of the new wave HK gangster genre. For being one of the first of its kind, it doesn't receive sufficient credit. This type of all-out gunplay in HK films doesn't appear until at least a year later. Brandon Lee plays a young waiter about to marry when a jealous/criminal friend purposely shatters his future. Brandon gets framed and sent to jail where he'll waste away for eight years. Luckily with some assistance from those on the outside who know the truth, he manages to escape where he wishes to find his fiancée and take vengeance on the friend who put him away. There are some twists in the story and the bullet-frenzied climax is very well done. The negative aspects about this movie are the shoddy soundtrack and dubbing, although once the plot takes off you forget about both. Lee is very charismatic in his character, and if you become attached to his story this should be a very fun ride. -7/10
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