Starring: Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Qin Lan, Henry Mai, Yu Kang, Cheung Man-kit, Tony Tsz-tung Wu Director: Benny Chan

Lin Lin

linlin_szdaily@126.com

“RAGING Fire” is a must-watch for any fans of classic Hong Kong crime thrillers.

Directed by late Hong Kong director Benny Chan, the movie revolves around dynamic storytelling built upon a well-orchestrated structure, a strong antagonist and blistering action sequences.

In the movie, Donnie Yen plays Cheung Sung-pong, a respected, hardline police officer who struggles to hunt down Ngo (Nicholas Tse), a former protégé coming back for revenge.

Though an action thriller, the movie has a balanced arrangement of action and non-action scenes. The action scenes motivate the story development, while the non-action scenes allow the audience to take a break from strained nerves, and edge into the inner worlds of the characters.

For most of the time, the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist. We see a righteous policeman trying to capture a brutal murderer, a typical good-wins-over-evil story. But the flashbacks of Ngo in the first act allow us to see a slightly different version: a wronged man seeking what he believes to be true justice. Such varied perspectives bring a more dramatic complexity to the story and help to build up the antagonist.

Ngo, once a dutiful police officer like Cheung, was wronged by a corrupted police system and put into prison four years ago. His heart burns with wrath. He vows to get back at everyone who betrayed him and wants to forge “justice” in his own way. Though a villain, the character still charms. Embracing both a strong faith in justice and a ruthless heart, he has the complexity shared by the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” He suffered because of the hypocrisy of those in power, which easily evokes the audience’s sympathy for him. But his downfall is a result of his own flaw: a twisted sense of value incited by hatred, which defines him asa tragic character.

Some may criticize that Ngo’s changes are not convincing enough in terms of plot development. He is wronged, but he is not totally innocent. He did make a terrible mistake, half out of compulsion and half out of trust in a superior officer. But Tse’s precise, detail-oriented acting has made up for the narrative weakness.

A strong antagonist may overshadow the protagonist, but the character setting of Ngo has imbued great energy to the battles between the two leading characters, both physically and intellectually.

Along with adrenaline-pumping car chase scenes and deafening gunfights and explosions, blistering fisticuffs and knife fights have given constant tension to the movie. You’ll see a police clean-up operation mingled with gang-to-gang violence. You’ll find Yen crashing alone into a criminals-packed drug-dealing den and fighting his way out with his bare hands. The final battle scene between the protagonist and the antagonist also continues to fascinate the audience. Set in deserted church, it showcases distinct combating styles that speak for the two characters and drives the dramatic tension of the movie to a climax.

“Raging Fire” is the final project of renowned action director Chan, who fell ill while shooting the film in 2019 and died of cancer in August last year. His other major works include “Fist of Fury” starring Donnie Yen, “A Moment of Romance” starring Andy Lau and Wu Chien-lien, “New Police Story” starring Jackie Chan, Tse and Daniel Wu, “The White Storm” starring Louis Koo, Nick Cheung and Sean Lau, and many others.

The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen.