Probably one of my favourite HK films of the 90s. I introduced a chewer to it last night and I'd almost forgotten how much fun the damn thing is.
It's essentially a HK parody of Die Hard with Jet Li playing an ex-bomb disposal expert who now works as a bodyguard/stunt double for Frankie Long (who is essentially a pisstake of Jackie Chan). Frankie gets invited to the unveiling of some new priceless antiques in a skyscraper and gets himself caught in the middle of an armed heist led by a villainous robber/terrorist named the Doctor and his cadre of goons.
What makes the film so great is just how insanely goofy and transgressively violent the entire thing is.
This is a film where Jet Li crashes a helicopter into a building and bisects about a dozen people (mostly hostages) with the rotors.
It's a film where Jet Li reverses a car into an elevator and then drives it up an interior stairwell.
It's a film where half a building gets blown up and the Doctor's goons calmly play the piano amidst the wreckage.
It's a film where the chinese version of Hans Gruber is continually revealed by his insistence on using his catchphrase 'No Risk, No Reward'.
It's a film where the main hero gets menanced by a komodo dragon. It's a film with the immortal line "she's not a lady, she's a bitch".
It's a film where Jet Li beats, strangles, electrocutes, and finally impales one mook.
And all of the elements surprisingly work. Apart from a slow opening it's consistently entertaining. I'm not sure if it's got much of a rep, but if you ever find a version (particularly the dubbed) cheap I'd really recommend picking it up.
It's also got a surprisingly great fight betweeen Jacky Cheun (Frankie Long) and Billy Chau (who is probably best know for playing General Fujita in Fist of Legend).
