Sadly very few quality action films are coming out of Hong Kong these days, so when you see a film that stars Donnie Yen and is directed by Benny Chan you know that you are normally in for a treat and Raging Fire certainly delivers in a lot of departments.
While conducting a raid to arrest a drug lord, the police encounter a group of masked, armed men. In a violent act of sabotage, the gang steals the drugs and murders the police officers on the scene. Arriving late, Inspector Cheung Shung-bong (Donnie Yen) is devastated to see the brutal aftermath, discovering the cop killers are led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former protégé. Once a rising star in the police who was driven to a life of crime, he now bears a grudge. As their fates become entangled again, a score will be settled once and for all…
Sadly, this was director Benny Chan’s last film before passing away last year, and it is a fitting way to end his great career. The story is solid and moves at a cracking pace, Nicholas Tse steals the show as the seething former cop who just can’t forgive his colleagues for not standing up for him and his cop buddies during a trial where they were accused of murder and were sent to prison.
The action is fast and brutal with gun play, weapons, and bone-crunching fight scenes, especially in the finale which takes place in an abandoned building site. While Donnie Yen is getting on in age, he still shows that he has plenty of skill when it comes to action scenes. The rest of the cast are all good, and look out for Simon Yam in a cameo as a Police inspector. While there is nothing new in the story of a good cop / bad cop, it is certainly presented in a stylish and exciting manner.
The Blu-ray released by Cine Asia has an excellent transfer and a real bombastic surround sound mix. Extras are a bit disappointing, there is a making-of and a selection of trailers. It would have been nice to see a tribute to the director who had made some great movies in his time. This release by Cine Asia is also the first from the company to be released in UHD 4K.
A solid and exciting action film.
FILM – 8 PICTURE 8.5 AUDIO – 9 EXTRAS – 5
