Raging Fire, the police action movie directed by Chan Mok Sing and starring Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Qin Lan, Tam Yiu Man, Yam Tat Wah, Lam Kwok Bin and Lo Wai Kwong, has been officially released in China on July 30.
This movie release is very hasty, because the movie issued the first trailer, early scheduled for the summer season on July 30, but because the 2021 summer season is too cold, many blockbusters want to be scheduled are not scheduled, and there are even withdrawn to run away.
Raging Fire only began to announce that it would not be withdrawn on its first anniversary, and then began to officially engage in publicity. the Beijing premiere was held on July 28, the mass screening was held on July 29, and the film was officially released on July 30 (usually the screenings are held a few days in advance, and the interval is used to ferment word of mouth).
Anyway, Raging Fire is officially in theaters, and so far the audience has given positive reviews. Raging Fire” has been officially released, and so far the audience has given positive feedback. The most common evaluation of this movie is that it is fierce, powerful, burning and explosive, and has the taste of Hong Kong movies at their peak.
In addition, with the death of director Chen Musheng before the release of the film, and then associated with the age of almost 60-year-old actor Donnie Yen (Nicholas Tse is unlikely to carry the banner of the successor of Hong Kong action films), the more exciting this “Raging Fire”, it seems that Hong Kong action films are overshadowed by a layer of sadness.
I don’t know where the future of Hong Kong action films and Chinese action films will go.
The history of the decline of Hong Kong action films is the history of the decline of Hong Kong action films
The history of the development of Hong Kong action films will not be repeated here, I personally have always divided the Hong Kong action films into three major action design styles. Liu Jialiang’s hard bridge and hard horse action design style, then to the martial arts films of the floating class style, and finally the style of kung fu films and fashion action films.
In the mid to late 90s, the Hong Kong film market reached its upper limit and began to decline, while the mainland film market had not yet developed.
- How did Donnie Yen rise to prominence? And how did he become a top action star?
The floating class martial arts design style, Cheng Xiaodong and others entered the mainland market and Zhang Yimou shot a martial arts film not to mention.
Jackie Chan took the Jackie Chan class, Jet Li took Yuan Kui, Yuan Ping went to Hollywood to develop, bringing Hong Kong action design to Hollywood.
At the beginning of the new century in 2000, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Yuen Wo Ping and other bigwigs were in Hollywood like fish in water. The already declining Hong Kong film market was left with only Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen, who was not a top action star at the time.
Perhaps because of the market vacancy, but also because Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Yuen Wo Ping and other big brothers are getting older, action design gradually can not keep up. Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Wilson Yip formed an iron triangle to shoot “Kill the Wolf” “Fuse” revolutionized the style of Hong Kong action design since the 90s.
I personally feel that the action style of Donnie Yen’s “The Wolf” and “Fuse” is a direct inheritance of Bruce Lee’s competitive fighting style, simpler, more direct and more severe, while more in line with the new era of mixed martial arts action style that has been developing for decades.
Donnie Yen also became a top Chinese action star because of these two films, along with the kung fu film series “Ip Man”.
After 2010, the decline of Hong Kong movies became more serious.
2, the decline of Hong Kong action films, is the decline of Hong Kong action design
The last glory of the floating class of martial arts motion pictures was either “Sword Rain” or Tsui Hark’s “Dee 1”.
Later, all the big directors in Hong Kong piled up to make magic blockbusters, today, looking back only left not in not foreign art, Hong Kong superstars and mainland flow of fresh meat piled up, you can not even think of a wonderful action design, even Xu Ke’s “Dragon Gate Feijia” “Dee” after two are also so.
At the same time, when the Hong Kong magic blockbuster will die, the Hong Kong director blockbuster and collectively enter the era of police and bandit special effects blockbuster.
The history of Hong Kong cinema is defined as: all over the top, all crazy.
After 2010, Hong Kong police blockbusters are also very crazy, but to my personal feeling, there is no previous neurotic, jianghu righteousness, courageous and cynical madness. Instead, it has become a nostalgic peak era, and then to the kind of madness for the digital special effects scene obsession.
For example, the first part of “The Apostle” in Brazil car chase shootout, in the second part of the car chase shootout scene in Spain.
The storm” in the bombing of Hong Kong Central, “bomb disposal experts” the first part of the bomb collapsed the Hung Hom Tunnel, the second part of the bomb collapsed the Hong Kong airport and bridge. If with sentimental tribute is “Double” Chow Yun Fat gun in Southeast Asia drug lords kill, “drug” while singing about brotherhood while killing –
After 2010, Hong Kong action films, strictly in 2005, after the “kill the wolf”. You may not have noticed that the best Hong Kong action films of the past 15 years are all related to Donnie Yen.
Donnie Yen’s “Ip Man” series is the anthem of Hong Kong kung fu films, and Donnie Yen’s “Kill the Wolf” “Fuse” style led the style of Hong Kong action films in the subsequent 10 years, until “Kill the Wolf 2” “Greedy Wolf” “Wild Beast” and other films. The middle also delivered a “The Last Martial Arts”, is also a very good action film.
Of course, in terms of action design style, “Raging Fire 2” is a bit of a combination of Korean action films and Hollywood technology, which is also good but always inferior to “Raging Fire” and so on.
Raging Fire is like jumping back to the previous decade, perhaps the return of Hong Kong action films
One of the most rare things about Raging Fire is that I feel like it skips over the 10 years of Hong Kong police and action films from 2010 to 2020, and jumps back to the period of Donnie Yen action films, and Moses Chan’s Hong Kong police films around 2005.
It blends the two together perfectly and presents them really well.
One is “Raging Fire” in the gun battle scenes, car chase scenes and explosion scenes and other big scenes above, although very explosive but very restrained in comparison, for the action atmosphere and the creation of a sense of excitement, far from the kind of special effects in recent years the pursuit of Hong Kong police blockbusters big scenes of the camera.
We think about it, the film’s biggest explosion scenes on only two, the first mall raid and the final bombing of a few cars.
The former only blew up a few police officers, the latter blows up the police and ordinary people may be more. But you and the “storm” “bomb disposal experts” and other recent Hong Kong police special effects blockbuster compared to the power of this really a lot smaller, and not so devastating.
Car chase scenes and shootout scenes are even more so, more focus on the scheduling of shots and action design to match.
The car chase scene in the middle was very well shot, if compared with the two “Apostle” “Drug Enforcement 2” and so on. It is not a big gun battle power to very exaggerated (“Apostle 2” howitzer shot missile effect), all rely on the arrangement of the car chase and the actors positioning and cooperation, but shot a rare sense of tension and excitement.
The second is the action design style above, restrained calm and fist to flesh
There are many action scenes in the whole film, but excluding the gun battle scenes and explosion scenes, crowd fighting scenes are actually not left a few scenes. Donnie Yen’s fight scenes in the slums, the vertical shot of falling from a building, and the shot of Donnie Yen’s arm wrapped in bulletproof vest beating up his little brother, is a few notches stronger than “Chasing the Dragon”.
The storm in the sewer interrupts the water flow is the big brother is fist to flesh and to each other’s lives to beat each other violently, the shooting is also very realistic violence. The only pity is that the fight between the two is not quite enough, and Lu Huiguang appeared without much action on the same line, a bit of a pity.
In the middle of the car chase scene before Donnie Yen jumped from a building to a car, once let people see the “New Police Story” Jackie Chan type of fight.
The last is the action scenes of Donnie Yen vs Nicholas Tse, although Nicholas Tse is certainly not comparable to Sammo Hung, Wu Jing and Chang Wei as far as action actors are concerned, but the battle between the two swords and the bat, still let people see the rhythm of “Kill the Wolf” and “Fuse” together.
It is more restrained, more severe, more exciting, but also more pathos.
If you want to say that the disadvantage is that I do not know whether it is because the actors are older or the action style is so, the movie uses a lot of Hollywood movies now commonly used fast editing, the shots cut more fragmented without “kill the wolf” “fuse” of the visual display of the medium and long shots.
All in all: both police and action scenes “Raging Fire” has achieved a rare balance.
Epilogue
The director of Raging Fire, Moses Chan, passed away last year. Anyone familiar with Moses Chan knows that he made “The Streets of Rage”, “New Police Story”, and “Men’s Man” in this style, and later also made “City Alert” and “Drug Enforcement”, which were very flashy.
Donnie Yen’s fashion action films after “Kill the Wolf” and “Fuse” also failed to continue this glory. Special Identity” is not to mention, “October Siege”, “The Last Martial Arts” is not unexciting, but the action design style is obviously not a hang.
Raging Fire” is really quite special and rare, it really seems to skip directly over this decade of Hong Kong cinema and jump to one of the most special periods of Hong Kong cinema.
That is, in the Hong Kong action film has declined but Donnie Yen “kill the wolf” continued the glory of the period, skip the 2010 after all the madness of the Hong Kong police special effects blockbuster period.
It jumped to the period of “The New Police Story”, “The Nature of Men” and “Fuse”, and successfully combined the two styles. It allows the audience to see that police movies do not have to blow up the Hong Kong landmarks, they can make the gun battle scenes and car chase scenes more exciting to look at; and it allows the audience to appreciate again how stern the action style of Donnie Yen’s “Kill the Wolf” “Fuse” period.
Finally, now with the death of director Chen Musheng, not far from the age of 60, the case of Donnie Yen.
Hong Kong movies face this kind of behind-the-scenes elite continues to pass away, with the stage action actors gradually aging the reality of the dilemma. In the actor some people still dislike Nicholas is not an action actor from the fight is not possible, now is even if Nicholas Tse is willing to take over the action actor this class, it is also difficult to continue the glory of Hong Kong action films.
If some viewers still do not understand, the simplest truth is to look at “Raging Fire”.
Young action actor Nicholas Tse can barely be counted, going back up is still close to Zhang Jin, and then there is no more; the key is the elite behind the scenes of Hong Kong films, there are now any young directors can take over the class of Chen Musheng style? And which behind-the-scenes action director inherited Donnie Yen’s action style?
The more exciting and rare “Raging Fire” is, the more it seems like the return of Hong Kong fashion action films!
Finally, a tribute to director Chen Musheng and Hong Kong action films!