One of the most respected Action directors in Hong Kong, Benny Chan was unfortunately lost to cancer on August 23, 2020, at the age of 58, leaving behind a legacy of contemporary martial arts fueled Action films that saw him collaborating with the biggest names in the business. His final project, reuniting him with stars Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse and completed shortly before his passing with a dedication in his honor, is now screening at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Shan (Donnie Yen) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success in dangerous cases. However, his past unexpectedly comes back to haunt him when a sting operation is attacked by a mysterious group of criminals led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former protégé, a talented former officer who had once respected and admired Shan. However, a terrible mistake three years prior landed him in prison, quickly turning the once-rising star into a furious man with a grudge, and the will to destroy everyone who had wronged him—including his former mentor.
“Raging Fire” is easily one of the finest action films of the year. Most of the films' success lies in its strong storyline from writer/director Chan that makes the fighting between Shan and Ngo feel organic and natural. The initial background involving them being acquaintances on the police force, in a mentor/protege relationship until they split following an interrogation-gone-wrong, gives this more depth than normal. This information is not dumped at once but is gradually revealed over the course of the film as more info is known about the intruders and their connection to the police force. Knowing that they were involved in the same squad and got separated when Shan ratted everyone out and sent them to jail by doing his job, sets the two off on their own path. Knowing they could've had their roles reversed in a simple twist of fate creates a strong, intertwined storyline that adds a surprising amount of depth to a movie like this.
On top of this, “Raging Fire” is an exceptionally enjoyable action showcase vehicle. It starts off marvelously with a multi-tiered shootout in an office building between three gun-wielding groups that's one of the most energetic and engaging pieces in the genre. It moves swiftly around the room to feature the various encounters between the thugs, the intruding group of robbers led by Ngo and his men, and the police team trying to intervene. Later scenes feature the team of cops taking down the thugs carrying out their own heists and robberies that devolves into a series of high-energy chases, shootouts, and hard-hitting martial arts battles that are all effortless dynamic and engaging, which brings the action into a confined, close-quarters style that remains realistic as well as impressively choreographed that adds to the overall experience, making for a frenetic and highly enjoyable time.
There are a few flaws found in “Raging Fire.” The biggest issue is the inability to steer clear of running through the motions of its familiar setup that remains simply a cops vs. robbers scenario. The greatness of the connection between Shan and Ngo is really all the movie has going for it in the story department to stand out, as the rest of the film is a familiar route to travel along. A criminal is displaying flagrant disregard for the law and committing various offenses requiring a determined cop and his team to bring them down is where this ends up at the basest level and nothing is really done on top of that storyline. That also manages to highlight a secondary flaw in that, by being more of a police procedural during the middle segments, the pacing is dragged down to focus on the police holding several meetings to investigate the crimes. Holding back the action and shootouts to get these endless scenes of Shan and his team sitting around the office going over the case does cause this to be somewhat longer than it should.
As well, the other factor to think about with “Raging Fire” is an unnecessary side-story that also makes this longer than necessary. A strange late-film addition to the storyline suddenly involves Shan coming under conflict from the Internal Affairs division for his actions at one of the crime scenes, for an incident beyond his control. The whole point of the scene is to add more drama to the fire between Shan and Ngo which is about the same thing regarding police brutality and the chain of command. With the storyline featuring the characters coming under attack because of their disregard for the normal politics and bureaucracy within the force as a central explanation for everything, this attempts to tie together what's going on as a new way to stumble the investigation. The point is to tie in the red tape that exists within the police force that caught Ngo up and caused him to turn out the way he did, but the inclusion is unnecessary, dropped almost immediately afterward by an illegal process to disrupt the IA investigation, and serves no purpose overall. It just adds a few extra minutes for no reason.
Filled with breathtaking action, impressive storyline work, and a few minor flaws that do stick out, “Raging Fire“ has plenty of positives to make for one of the best action films in the style overall. Any fan of the genre or the creative crew looking to pay respects to Chan's work should seek this out immediately.
