Ever rented a Jackie Chan film like Crime Story or The Protector and been hella mad that he hardly does any kung-fu in it? I mean, if you're going to have the guy in a film, you'd be insane not to utilize his martial arts talents. That's what the man can do best, I tells ya! Usually, a film starring a famous martial artist that hardly has him doing martial arts is a good sign that the movie will blow big time. One huge exception to this rule is Jet Li's 1995 Die Hard clone, High Risk. And not only is this a ripoff of that great Bruce Willis flick, it's also an amusing parody of Jackie Chan & Bruce Lee at the same time. Read on...
The opening scene has Li as a bomb squad commander trying to save his family from conservative Republicans.....Ha! But I kid. The guy is actually trying to defuse a bomb. But something goes wrong, his family is killed, and the bomber gets away. Flash forward some time later: Li, having left the force, is now a bodyguard for Frankie Lane (Jacky Cheung), a Jackie Chan-esque martial arts movie star who claims to do all his own stunts. We find out that he's actually a wimp who can't fight and uses a stunt double. Poor guy.
So the movie star and his bodyguard Li attend a jewelry exhibition taking place inside an office high-rise when who else should show up but that nasty bomber who killed Jet Li's family! The bomber and his terrorist buddies quickly take over the building and everyone inside becomes a hostage. Does Li take this lying down? Hell no! He's got a score to settle. He escapes with Lane and starts taking the bad guys down hardcore style! Yippee-ki-yay!
Now the funny things about this movie: First, Jet Li himself hardly does any martial arts. This is a shoot-em up action film for the most part and so guns are the order of the day. Second, the Frankie Lane character runs through most of the movie wearing that yellow, striped jumpsuit that Bruce Lee made famous in Game Of Death. His character is used primarily for comic relief and the situations he is put into are quite funny indeed. The actor playing him even bears a resemblance to Jackie Chan, who is the one primarily being made fun of.
It's rather amazing how good this movie is, considering its derivative nature and underuse of Li's natural talents. The writer/director, Wong Jing, has worked with a number of other famous Hong Kong stars including Chan, Stephen Chow, Michelle Yeoh, and Chow Yun Fat and it's not hard to see why. Jing has a talent for making good, campy films and High Risk is no exception. The final fate of the main villain displays a satirical bent which proves that Jing is even smarter than he lets on most of the time. Certainly sharper than most action flick directors in Hollywood.
High Risk is yet another good reason why Chinese action has made an impact in the American market. It's exciting, witty, and humorous. I just wonder when Wong Jing will make the jump to the United States...
It s a martial arts battle of the masters when red hot action superstar Jet Li returns to take revenge! After failing to save his wife from the evil D...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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