The last movie I bought a ticket for before the pandemic shut down all the movie theaters was Donnie Yen’s ENTER THE FAT DRAGON. That film got a limited North American theatrical release in February 2020, and I went out of my way to get to the cinema where it was playing to treat myself to Donnie on the silver screen. Coincidentally, the movie I bought a ticket for just prior to that was also a Donnie film: IP MAN 4: THE FINALE. That was January 2020. Donnie was getting a fair amount of theatrical distribution before Covid took down the theaters.

Note that I don’t buy movie tickets very often anymore. Professional film reviewers have access to screeners. It’s a significant perk of the job if you’re a film buff like me. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, right? But when it comes to Donnie Yen flicks, if I’m not invited to a press screening, I’ll gladly fork over the cash to see him on the big screen.  

Now Donnie’s latest film, RAGING FIRE, is getting limited North American theatrical release through Well Go USA. Limited theatrical releases seldom offer screeners but given how hard the theater industry is struggling from the pandemic, marketing has been more aggressive, so lately I’ve been offered more screeners than I can eat. I’m still in for Donnie. However, before we get into the review, let’s peek at Donnie’s two other films since he bowed out of the Ip Man franchise with that finale.

Donnie’s 2020 Twin Redux Movies

Between IP MAN 4 and RAGING FIRE, Donnie delivered two redux films: the aforementioned ENTER THE FAT DRAGON and MULAN. The original ENTER THE FAT DRAGON came out in 1978, directed by and starring the genuinely corpulent Sammo Hung. It’s a savage parody of the Brucesploitation genre with Sammo portraying the pig farming country bumpkin Ah Lung who tries to make it in the big city. Ah Lung is a massive fanboy of Bruce Lee, and Sammo’s impersonation of Bruce is spot on. He manages to squeeze some of that Little Dragon swagger into every gesture. As any fan remembers, Sammo faced Bruce in the opening scene of ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) so he knew him personally. Sammo’s Kung Fu virtuosity, as well as his talent as a Bruce Lee clone, made ENTER THE FAT DRAGON into a cult classic. I love this movie. It’s a sleeper, a low-budget Hong Kong production, but it’s a postcard of Sammo’s incredible skills, set in poverty stricken urban life of that time.

Just like CW’s latest reboot of the classic TV show KUNG FU, Donnie’s ENTER THE FAT DRAGON only shares the title with the original. It’s a completely different story. Donning Lee’s iconic yellow jumpsuit, Donnie plays an overweight Hong Kong policeman who gets in trouble with the Yakuza. It’s an action comedy, and Donnie claimed that he was going to gain weight for the role, but then reneged saying his obligations to IP MAN 4 and MULAN didn’t give him the time. Sammo was genuinely fat, so his self-deprecating role was empowering. It’s inspiring to see a man of Sammo’s girth move with such power and grace. Despite delivering some decent fight scenes, Donnie’s fat suit mockery came off like fat shaming for the few Western moviegoers that saw it.

Disney’s long awaited live-action MULAN was literally plagued with obstacles. Covid was just one factor in a series of events that caused the legendary crossdressing warrior to flop. Of all the 2020 major releases, MULAN suffered the worst timing. It premiered at Hollywood’s glamorous Dolby Theater in March 2020, but the pandemic shut down distribution immediately afterwards. MULAN staggered through several attempted rescheduled theatrical premieres, and inevitably ended up as one of the first aspiring blockbusters to go direct to streaming via Disney+.

MULAN was also afflicted with several scandals. There were issues about filming in Xinjiang, lack of diversity in the production team, and Liu Yifei’s politics, all hobbling the box office results, so the film only made $70 million against a production budget of $200 million. Note that this figure does not include revenue from Disney+ Premier Access. That has become highly disputed in Hollywood with stars such as ScarJo suing Disney for clipping her payout on BLACK WIDOW.

I almost put MULAN on our The Ballad of Mulan (in the Age of Coronavirus). That ‘review’ only works if you know the original poem (there’s a link in that article). In my defense, I was still aching over the loss of our print mag (I doubt I’ll ever fully recover) and in all honestly, sometimes I like to write with obscure references like this, just to see how many of my readers can keep up.

Despite all that, Donnie was great in MULAN. He wasn’t in it as much as I would’ve liked, but he stole every scene. The role of Commander Tung, a martial arts master in period armor, was child’s play for Donnie. He’s done several period films previously. Most recently, he’s portrayed Chinese knights in armor in his disappointed two-part redux ICEMAN (2014, 2018) and his underrated THE LOST BLADESMAN (2011). His mythic effect-laden THE MONKEY KING (2014) could fit in here too. Rumor is that Donnie might reprise his Monkey King portrayal in a redux of this film for 2022. However, in his nearly 80 acting roles, Donnie hasn’t armored up that many times. While he’s very adept at period films, he really shines in modern action heroes.

Fueling that RAGING FIRE

RAGING FIRE is the final film for noted Hong Kong action director Benny Chan, who tragically succumbed to nasopharyngeal cancer while making this film. Chan directed his first film in 1990 and by 1996, he emerged as an Asian film festival award winner with BIG BULLET. That film established Chan as a leader in Hong Kong’s unique gangster genre. Hong Kong gangster films are a breed of their own. They’re akin to New York gangster films but instead of cannoli, it’s char sui pork. Gritty and visceral, there’s often themes of how extreme is too extreme to bring down the bad guys, loose cannon (literally) vigilantes, dirty cops, a code of thieves, as well as homoerotic bromances between the heroes and villains. Chan went on to make his groundbreaking GEN-X COPS (1999), as well as several Jackie Chan films including WHO AM I? (1998), NEW POLICE STORY (2004), ROB-B-HOOD (2006), and SHAOLIN (2011).

The onset of Chan’s cancer was sudden. He got the film in the can but was unable to complete the post-production work on it. He died on August 23^rd 2020 at the early age of 58. Consequently, RAGING FIRE is dedicated to its beloved director and the end credits feature behind-the-scenes images of Chan working on the film. For fans of Hong Kong cinema, Chan’s passing makes RAGING FIRE especially poignant.

The loss of Chan inspired the crew to finish RAGING FIRE with sanguineous panache. They made sure he went out with the explosive bang he deserves. This is a violent film with gritty fights in sewers and brutal high-falling chases across corrugated steel roofs. Police brutality is glorified in the sweltering neon-drenched tropical heat as cops ponder whether the end justifies the means with simmering intensity. Packed with full-auto firefights and fireball explosions, the collateral civilian damage is absurd, but such is the style of Hong Kong gangster films.

Donnie plays Cheung Sung-pong, a righteous cop who betrays the 'code of blue' which makes him an outcast in his department. Opposing him is Nicholas Tse playing Yau Kong-ngo, a former friend turned super villain. Their interwoven backstory is a karmic tale of choices and repercussions. Driven by a major meth deal gone wrong, Cheung and Yau go gun-to-gun, mano-a-mano and double knives versus keibo in some seriously high-octane action scenes. Yau is perfectly psychotic, even donning a ridiculous comic book mask when he burns everyone and everything around him. As for Cheung, whenever a cop has a pregnant wife, you know that won't bode well.

The action is here top notch, especially the car chases through the congested Hong Kong streets and the fisticuffs. We expect no less from Donnie. Unlike F9, these car stunts are real, not CGI generated. However, Donnie does pull a physics-defying rescue of an innocent kid that’s Bollywood magnitude ridiculous. The fight choreography is packed with bone crunching, tooth spitting, joint snapping, gratuitous ultravi pleasure. This is not a film for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn’t like loud explosions. Maybe go watch BOSS BABY instead.

While the passing of Chan overshadows everything in RAGING FIRE, this is also a throwback homage to John Woo’s balletic gunplay films. It has that same intense rivalry between hero and villain, the sort where they pause to remember the good times they shared when catching their breath from beating each other to a bloody pulp. The final fight even ends in a church, reminiscent of Woo’s Christian undertones in his Hong Kong gangster films.

In the end, it’s another testament of Donnie’s genius at action cinema. It’s hardcore, and heartfelt. It’s only fitting that Benny Chan’s illustrious film career ends with a boom, several big booms even. And as for Donnie, he keeps delivering action like no one else.

RAGING FIRE opens in select theaters on Friday the 13^th, 2021.