With the onset of movie streaming platforms you can get a bit nostalgic for the days of roaming around the video store searching for something to watch and a little element of added mystery as to what you were watching, as the internet had yet to take hold. For many of those of us who lived that era, our introduction to the world of Hong Kong Action cinema was the documentary “Cinema of Vengeance”. Among the many clips it showed (and made you want to find the film in question) was “Tiger Cage 2”. When I did indeed track down a copy of “Tiger Cage 2” in my local HMV, it had bestowed on it's cover an image of Donnie Yen wielding a sword and a swift purchase soon made. At this time, any new movie was an adventure and little was I to know that I was about to discover one that would become a huge influence on me.
Donnie Yen portrays a tough over aggressive cop (is there any other kind in action cinema) Dragon who we are first introduced in the throes of getting a divorce and being taken to task by lawyer Mandy (Rosamund Kwan). He's a chain- smoking renegade cop, a walking cliche that practically has the trailer voiceover man stating it in your head. A chance encounter as a hit on two triad members sees him involved and a prime suspect in murder and a missing suitcase of money. Soon he is on the run with a reluctant Mandy in tow. They are pursued by both police in Inspector Yeung (Cynthia Khan) and those the money was stolen from in the form of the survivor of the hit David (David Wu). All orchestrated by our central villain Waise Chow (Robin Shou).
If am being completely honest the plot is a complete no brainer and could have been put together in about two minutes with it's recycling of action movie cliches seen in so many other features. Given the industry at the time it was entirely possible that it was! You also don't need to have seen the first “Tiger Cage” too as it's a completely stand alone story. What made this such an influence on me was the action.
Yuen Woo Ping had been pigeon holed as an action director\choreographer of period martial arts and so was in a bit of a lull prior to his work with D&B films. The aforementioned “Tiger Cage” and “In the Line of Duty 4:Witness” alongside our feature here were to successfully reinvent him in the eyes of audiences and producers alike. There is a chemistry and rhythm in the action choreography that Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo Ping share that is like capturing lightning in a bottle. We get some terrific early action in the car park that captures the newer looser style of martial arts action that was less reliant on “shapes” than a blend of Wu Shu and Kickboxing. There is even a nod to the past with a comical chase down a street that leaves Mandy pushing an unconscious Dragon on a cart. Then we get to the finale.
There is an oft proved criticism of action cinema of the time that a mediocre piece could be lifted by a blistering final reel. When you have a solid one then that final reel elevates it into the realm of something special. We start as an appetizer with David Wu and a pre Hollywood Robin Shou in a brief and brutal exchange before moving to the first main course and where that image on the cover came from. Donnie vs John Salvitti. Influenced by a scene in “Black Rain” this is a sword fight for the ages, Making the most of the distinctive industrial backdrop it is a masterclass of razor sharp (pun intended) editing and movement. In any other film it would close out quite satisfactory. But wait, we still have our second main course to come. Donnie vs Michael Woods. Watch a Donnie Yen movie of this time and chances are you will see these two square off. This is another superb example of how to put together and edit a fight scene. Woods looks an absolute monster in some of the framing and the mixture of wrestling styled moves against Donnie Yen's kicking created a sequence that was a frequent rewind. If the dessert of Donnie vs Robin Shou (Or Cynthia Khan vs Shou if you catch the alternative version) feels a bit underpowered then that's because of what has come before.
A good action movie can create an adrenaline rush when at it's best. The final reel here is one such example. It's one I hold up for others to match which I still do nearly 30 years later from my first viewing. Ignore the plot, stay for the action!
