MY REVIEW OF IT!
Source: http://freewebs.com/mhhr95
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE SITE!
HIGH RISK(1995)
(Directed by Jing Wong Lun Ah)
Plot: A bodyguard(Jet Li) of a movie star must stop vicious terrors who are have taken over a Hong Kong hotel that is displaying famous jewels.
Review:
I remember watching watching "High Risk" years ago on VHS under the title of "Meltdown"(which is the western title of the movie). As a kid, I enjoyed it, then completely forgot about it. The only thing I remembered of it is its massive death count. Anyway, I decided to revisit it since I learned that the director had previously directed the *beep* known as "City Hunter", with Jackie Chan. I wanted to see how it compared to that wart on the ass of Kung Fu cinema. Well, it's definitely an improvement, but let me warn you not to rent this on netflix. The transfer is terrible, with subtitles that are hard to read, the spelling is often off and a few scenes I think were edited out. So I'll try to be as fair as possible.
Our hero is Kit, who is an army officer(I think he's a captain) who must defuse a bomb strapped to a bus full of children(including his wife and son). The mastermind behind it is known as the Doctor. Unfortunately, Kit fails to save them and the bus blows up. Great start! Two years later, Kit is not working as a bodyguard/stunt double for Frankie Lone, an acror who is like a combination between Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Frankie, who used to be a great martial artist, has now become a womanizing party freak. Apparently the director used this character to slam Jackie, who had previously slammed the director for "City". This caused a slight feud between Jet Li and Jackie, which ended and led to their collaboration in "The Forbidden Kingdom".
Anyway, Frankie gets invited to this high class party revolving around the Russian jewels. He decides to take his manager and father along with him, leaving Kit outside. Then the terrorists invade, killing off security and taking everyone hostage. They then spend most of the movie trying to hack into the containers of the Russian jewels. They are conveniently(for Kit) led by the Doctor, who is posing as a guest. Now Kit must save the day, redeeming himself for his prior loss. There are also subplots about some supercop(who looks kind of nerdy, maybe also being a spoof of Chan?) and his estranged girlfriend, a nosy reporter love interest for Kit, and a martial artist who wants to fight Frankie.
Like "City Hunter", "High Risk" is also a rip-off of an American movie. Whereas "City" ripped off "Under Siege". This one rips off "Die Hard"(the Chinese title for this is actually a spoof off the Chinese title of "Die Hard"). They are both littered with way too many characters and subplots. I mean, what was the purpose of the cop who ends up doing very little? It also thinks it's hilarious, when it's not. Maybe that's Chinese humor, but I personally found it contrived and annoying. On a more subdued note, both movies have similar lighting. Wong sure loves blue lighting!
Unlike "City Hunter", this one is full on action. The action mostly consists of gun battles, massive action stunts(that car bit), and lots of death. They do all this very well. However, there aren't many fight scenes. However, when they happen they are quite good. Even though the movie isn't very good, the fast pace keep things from becoming downright tedious this time around.
One thing that kept nagging at me throughout the movie, and may even be what brought it to a lower rating, is Jet Li's character. This movie feels like it's Frankie's movie, with Jet's character being thrown in for good measure. His development is mundane and he just comes across as kind of boring. It almost feels like in the original script, Frankie was the main character and that Kit was added during later drafts of the script. Jackie Chan was originally supposed to play the role, but obviously turned it down because he didn't like Wong. Maybe once he turned it down and Wong turned the role into an attack on Chan and THEN had Jet's character inserted. This would explain why Jet Li's only notable fight scene is against a normal(but skilled) henchman.
Jet Li(Kit) is actually quite boring this time around. To be fair, he had little to work with. Jacky Cheung(Frankie Lone) somehow manages to capture mannerisms of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and is pretty funny. He's also the only character to have any real development. Chingmy Yau(Helen) is cute, but her character annoyed me. Watching grown women act like children just isn't very appealing. Kelvin Wong(Doctor) is actually very menacing. Valerie Chow(Fai-Fai) has lots of sex appeal, but is also kind of menacing. Billy Chow(Kong) plays a more comical role than he usually does and he's pretty cool. Corey Yuen has a cameo.
"High Risk" has lots of action and a massive death count. When the fight scenes happen, they're pretty good. Unfortunately, it shows that Wong can't really do a movie without making it contrived, convoluted and annoying. It's entertainment at its most basic.
Violence: R worthy. It has a massive death count, and some of the killings are pretty brutal.
Nudity: Frankie is quite the horn dog and makes plenty of sexual innuendo. Wait, was that a childs penis? what the hell....
Overall: "High Risk" isn't a movie I'd really recommend, as Jet Li is underutilized and there aren't enough fight scenes. Still, if you must watch it, it's not un-watchable. It's entertaining enough for me to forgive.
2/4 Stars
my reviews of martial arts and horror films
http://freewebs.com/martialhorror