The Big Heat

THE BIG HEAT is an impressive crime thriller, shot in the streets and urban spaces of Hong Kong and filled with chases, shootouts and fistfights right up until the final action climax. While it doesn't have the sheer spectacle of John Woo's HK crime films (THE KILLER, HARD-BOILED), it is consistently gripping and suspenseful and generally more believable than Woo's films (at least until the final over-the-top battle). Simple one-line-plot: four cops go after a businessman in league with smugglers after the lead cop's former partner is brutally murdered.

The romantic interests are expertly interspersed into the story so that they never detract from the action, but become a part of it. This is a no-nonsense film from beginning to end, with no fat and no waste. There are numerous set-pieces, such as a face-off in a hospital elevator shaft, that are so tightly shot and edited as to rank with similar scenes in the best Hollywood urban crime thrillers.

The stars include Waise Lee (A BULLET IN THE HEAD), as the lead cop on the case, and Joey Wang (A CHINESE GHOST STORY), as a nurse who is romanced by one of the cops. The actor playing Lee's partner is none other than Philip Kwok, a one-time kung fu star (one of the Five Venoms), who, in line with the film's more authentic action, doesn't get to do any kung fu, but instead gets to shoot, run, chase, brawl, and drive at high speeds.

I should point out that the film includes much brutal violence, including beatings, mutilation and gruesome deaths. It's not for the squeamish, but if you're a fan of gritty, down-and-dirty crime thrillers, this DVD is for you.