I haven't watched a Donnie Yen or a film starring Nicholas Tse in years. I'm just the type of person that gets bored after seeing the same tired selling point in action packed films: bad story telling. Raging Fire looked like the same old mechanics but at least the trailer managed to hold my attention. This film is also Benny Chan's last film before he lost his battle with cancer last year... I was so out of the loop of Hong Kong/Chinese cinema that I had no idea until the film gave dedication to the director in the film's ending credits. Raging Fire was a huge hit at the box office, staying number one in China for almost five weeks.
A veteran cop must jump into action after most of his squad is killed by their ex partner turned villain....
What Raging fire has going for its success the most is the action sequences. Not once throughout the film do the action scenes slow down or bring the film to a place of boredom. It's quite the opposite actually since the action compliments the plot's progression and character building. Still, story telling continues to be the weakest element to films like this. We can sit around all day praising Donnie Yen for the wonderful job he does for stun choreography in his films however, that still can't cover up the fact that cop revenge stories have been played out for years in Hong Kong/Taiwan cinema. I know these themes tend to sell well but you pretty much go into these films only to see new ideas in the action and that's it. In no way was Raging Fire's story bad- In fact, I believe that the script was the more solid story building ideas I've seen in years. It's just that the story doesn't break the mold of what we as the audience already know this part of the world's cinema to be known for.
I found myself more wooed by the action than taking the time to care about the characters. Nicholas steals the spotlight as the film's protagonist. The look in his eye was the true "raging fire" here. Donnie shows that he still has that star factor as an action star, even has he gets older. He's just not as buff as he was in his younger years. I don't believe in the slightest that he will go down the same road as Jackie Chan..... The other cast felt like the typical chess pieces needed for a film like this.
Some artistic choices i\are made in the way some scenes are shot that I noticed. There was a death choke scene that shows the close up of the victims point of view and the one doing the choking. I never seen a scene feel so personal. Also, all the high flying car chases and gun fights.
Raging Fire is a film for action fanatics. Everything is here for you to love. I enjoyed watching the action scenes on the edge of my seat too.
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