The mid-nineties were a period of transition for Jet Li. Having made his name in period martial arts pieces during the aftermath of the new wave, the saturation point had been reached and stepping into the modern action movie was inevitable. Initial forays had been limited in their success (Dragon Fight & The Master) and it wasn't until the shameless “The Bodyguard” rip-off “Bodyguard from Beijing” in 1994 that he began to get accepted in this genre. “The Enforcer” to give “My Father is a Hero” its generic western release title was a reunion of star and director, only this time with added familial drama with a script co-written by Wong Jing. As Eureka Entertainment releases its “Heroes and Villain's” box set, it's time to revisit this transitional period of the star and see how it holds up today.
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Undercover cop Kun Wei is sent to Hong Kong to investigate a criminal Po Kwong (Yu Rong Guang) and his dealings. Leaving behind his ailing wife and martial arts prodigy son (Xie Miao), he feigns a prison escape with Darkie (Blackie Ko) one of his associates. Inspector Fong (Anita Mui) comes to the mainland to investigate only to find a dying wife who implores her to look after Kun Wei's son. They return to Hong Kong where he searches for his father, whist Fong encounters him in a hostage situation gone wrong. As she gradually learns the truth, both father and son find themselves caught in a situation that could prove fatal to them all as an explosive climax sees them team up against the bad guys on a boat filled with explosives.
Watching films prior to the 1997 handover can be like viewing an alternate universe. With the current trend of almost partisan positivity about China it can feel rather strange to see a world where not everything is so clear cut, with crime and corruption as rife as in Hong Kong. “The Enforcer” does not exactly make Hong Kong the land of opportunity, but neither is China the way it is portrayed in cinema today. It provides an unintended realism and grit to the backdrop that may not have been as evident at the time of release.
Jet Li at this point was still finding his feet in modern action. He gets some good dramatic scenes and displays chemistry with Xie Maio. There is less so with Anita Mui, but this can be put down to writing as much as interaction between the two stars. It's evident that he is doubled a fair bit but whist there is often criticism of this, it is an unfair one given it is oft due to comparison with Stuntmen\Stars and as much as it creates a thrill seeing someone perform their own stunts, wellbeing does need to be considered.
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Yu Rong Guang is perhaps one of the more underrated talents in the industry. A man that never quite reached the level of stardom expected, but still capable of excellent performances. Normally a very straight, stern screen persona, here we get the comic book villain style, played very much to the hilt. A character that has no qualms about killing off his own men for a greater share of wealth, permanently wearing gloves to literally avoid getting his hands dirty and a manic energy that is rarely seem from him elsewhere. This exaggerated performance is aided by Corey Yuen's frequent close ups to emphasise certain actions. Backing him up are regular henchmen for the period Ngai Sing (AKA Colin Chou) and Ken Lo.
Along for the ride but never outshone is Anita Mui as Inspector Anne Fong. Having started in the traditional love interest roles in her acting career, she had by this point developed into a fine performer and is very capable in the action side of things. Interestingly, she also continues a tradition of tough policewomen involved with ineffective men that seems to be a recurring theme throughout the girls-with-guns phase that was popular around this time. Damien Lau is the policeman that is reluctant to leave his current beau for her and tries to take credit for some of her actions to seek promotion. It's a curious aspect that from an outside perspective never seems to make sense. It's almost like there needs to be this balance of talented policewoman/rubbish home life in order to make them palatable. There are hints of romance with Jet Li's Kung Wei, but it is never more than implied. Anita Mui brings her personality to the role, giving it humour, warmth and a toughness to what is essentially an underwritten part. In most films, she would walk away with it, but “The Enforcer” has a secret weapon that proceeds to do just that.
They say as an actor you shouldn't work with children or animals. In this case it's best not to work with Xie Miao. Xie Miao is a walking tornado of martial arts talent, he proceeds to steal every scene he is in as the son. He goes through the emotional treadmill, losing his mother, possibly his father, gets beaten up throughout (including made unconscious by his own father!) and yet still is a force of nature come the conclusion where is effectively a human dart being swung by his father to attack the bad guys. His character will probably need to spend a life in therapy for his services to out entertainment.
A final work also needs to go to Blackie Ko. One of the few car stunt coordinators in Hong Kong, he would also appear occasionally onscreen, most memorably as the nemesis in “Curry & Pepper”. Here he is the doomed lackey with a conscience and genders most of the audience empathy alongside his scenes with Xie Miao.
Corey Yuen's action choreography shows off the best and worst of Hong Kong Cinema during this period. Unusually for a modern piece, there is a fair bit of enhanced wirework. Whilst undeniably entertaining (the human dart is a standout), it can look a bit out of place when compared to the more grounded dramatic sequences. There is his usual mix of slow motion thrown in and has quite the talented line of performers to make any action scene excel. Jet Li's use of weaponry is excellent and his stick fighting skills gets a definite showcase. Xie Miao is given a platform throughout with his Wu Shu skills; from the opening tournament to taking on the villains, he is a match for anyone else. If there is a criticism, then it is the undercranking which seems a bit overblown and again takes you out of the “reality” of the scene.
With Wong Jing as part of the script writing team, it is unusual to see a scaling back of pop culture references and have a mostly consistent approach to the story. It's as ever an uneven one though, with the switching around from comedy, pathos, drama, action and back again. The drama is quite sentimental and uses Xie Miao as the conduit for a lot of this, which at times can be a bit much. What it does do however is make you care about the protagonists and creates a genuine tension in the finale as you will question how many of the family will actually make it to the closing credits.
“The Enforcer” is a curious entity, displaying the mawkish sentiment and extravagant action familiar to Hong Kong audiences without fully tying it together in a cohesive whole. What we see is very enjoyable and for many will certainly not disappoint. It's one of those that just needed a little bit more polish and care to create a classic. We're left with a perfectly enjoyable action vehicle, just don't think about childhood trauma too much!
