Hong Kong DVD Synopsis: Min is an assassin agent. His adopted son Eagle and his son KK kill another assassin Michael for he breaks the rule of the assassin group. This breeds contempt in Panther, Michael's brother. He tries every means to identify Eagle and wants to kill him. When all come to failure, he frames Eagle to have broken the group's rule. The leader seizes Eagle, KK and Joy, forces Min to kill Eagle. Min is then put into a dilemma... (94 Mins)

Views: The only film produced under the Y. C. Lai Film Production Company banner, Point Of No Return (not to be confused with the Ringo Lam directed Sammo Hung film also known as Touch & Go) has never had a lot of support over the years, whether it was from critics or fans, old and new. The story is a simple one of betrayal and revenge among assassins. It follows two brothers, KK and Ah Dee, who become embroiled in a cycle of revenge after they take down another assassin. Before they know it, their father, girlfriend and others, are pulled into it all which forces them into a rescue mission that could cost them their lives! If we were to look at the Point Of No Return as if it were a revered Hong Kong classic directed by John Woo, Johnnie To or Ringo Lam, it would only sound right to say that the narrative of the film focuses on the moral complexities of an assassin's life, while exploring themes of loyalty and betrayal while navigating a double-life. I mean, it kind of sounds familiar, right?

Unfortunately though, Point Of No Return will never gain the same respect or audience as any similarly themed classics from those celebrated directors, because – aside from being long forgotten about and lost in the massive ocean of Hong Kong movies – it was helmed by the little known about, Guy Lai, a Hong Kong actor/producer/director who trained in Wing Chun under Ip Man's student Jiu Wan, alongside stars such as Ti Lung and Lee Hoi San. Getting into movies in the mid-1970s, Guy worked as a bit player for many years while working as the production manager on classics like The Yellow Panther (1977), Dirty Tiger Crazy Frog (1978), Dirty Kung Fu (1978), Fists & Guts (1979), and By Hook or By Crook (1980) as well as others. He worked as a fight director and Wing Chun consultant on films such as The Prodigal Son (1981), Burning Ambition (1989), A Warrior's Tragedy (1993), Oh! Yes Sir (1994), and Kung Fu Wing Chun (2010) to name but a few, and appeared in classics like His Name is Nobody (1979), Twin Dragons (1992), Pom Pom & Hot Hot (1992), and Sixty Million Dollar man (1995) over the years. As well as producing some of the aforementioned titles, Lai also gave us films such as The Legend of the Owl (1981), Carry on Pickpocket (1982), Law with Two Phases (1984), The Innocent Interloper (1986), Close Escape (1989) and this, for example, and made his directorial debut in 1985 with The Intellectual Trio – a fun action-comedy starring the handsome Leslie Cheung. After that, comedy-dramas like Who's the Crook (1986) with Felix Wong, Sister Cupid (1987) with Maggie Cheung, and Stumbling Cops (1988) would follow – the latter offering a fun cast with Stanley Fung, Chin Siu Ho, Nat Chan, Cecilia Yip, and Ricky Hui who would return to star for him again in Ghost for Sale (1991), Guy Lai's final movie as director...

But just prior to that, he gave us Point Of No Return – an underrated action-thriller with a great cast and some fantastic action scenes! The wonderful Jacky Cheung and Patrick Tam lead the way as Ah Dee and Eagle – both of whom look very handsome and do a fantastic job in their roles, both physically and dramatically. Having starred for him in Sister Cupid only two years before, popular performer Jacky Cheung returns to star for Lai, as romantic assassin Ah Dee/Eagle. Although his role in Sister Cupid was only his fourth at that time, Cheung was certainly kept busy of the next few years starring in almost 25 titles up to this role, impressing in films such as The Haunted Cop Shop (1988) and it's sequel, As Tears Go By (1988), Tiger Cage (1988), Vampire Buster (1989), Swordsman (1990), Curry & Pepper (1990), A Chinese Ghost Story 2 (1990), and Bullet in the Head (1990) among others. While his role he may never be seen as one of his best, Jacky still gives it his all, delivering a decent performance and proving his worth in the fight scenes and ballistic shoot-outs. For me, Point Of No Return sits alongside other ignored Jacky Cheung titles such as Off Track (1991), Will of Iron (1991), Bullet for Hire (1991), No More Love No More Death (1993), and To Live & Die in Tsim Sha Tsui (1994) as underrated titles that deserve a bit more love! He is joined by a very handsome young Patrick Tam, making his feature film debut here as his partner/brother KK. Of course, like Cheung, Tam has went onto make a great name for himself in the world of Hong Kong cinema – starring in greats like Beast Cops (1998), Century of the Dragon (1999), Purple Storm (1999), The Legend of Zu (2001), The Myth (2005), The Storm Warriors (2009), The Detective 2 (2011), Ip Man 3 (2015), L Storm (2018) and it's sequels, Raging Fire (2021) and much more. But I have to give him credit for making a great start, impressing as KK in every way, holding his own against his co-star and coming across like he'd been doing action movies for years.

Both are joined by a strong supporting cast starting with the late-great Kenneth Tsang, starring as their father, Min, and leader of the assassin's agency. Of course, this legend had been in the game from the mid-1950s and roles like this were a dime-a-dozen, but he still makes it work. Equally as legendary in the Hong Kong film world and starring alongside him as the big bad, is the wonderful Peter Yang Kwan – who unfortunately passed only months after Tsang back in 2022. While he just has to play it cool and mean, Yang does deliver one of my favourite lines of in the film when discussing what he plans to do with a minion - 'I'll force durian into his asshole, and he mustn't laugh or cry – is that a good punishment?' Love it! The gorgeous Joey Wong co-stars as Julie Kao, a part-time DJ that catches Jacky's eye and gets pulled into the madness of their dark-side, eventually leading to the death of her father and her own capture. The awesome Ken Lo pulls off another wonderfully exciting and generic bad-guy/assassin role as he has done many times before (and since) in films like City Warriors (1988) and Mission of Condor (1990) for example – but I really enjoyed him here. Of course, he gets to let loose when it comes to the action scenes, trading blows and bullets with anyone that gets in his way. He is partnered up with the very impressive and little seen Lin Gwai Yuet, a muscle-bound martial arts actress that has only appeared in 3 other movies; Killer Must Die (1988) with Robert Mak, Gambler's War (1989) with Ku Feng, and Kung Fu Kids (1992) with Dick Wei. The popular Ricky Yi Fan Wai guest stars as the introductory target, going on the run in Thailand from Cheung and Tam involving high speed boat chases, shoot-outs and explosions, with familiar faces such as Fung Hak On, Billy Ching, Shing Fu On, Mai Kei, and Ho Pak Kwong appear briefly. It was nice to see fan-fave gwailos Mark Houghton and Vincent Lyn appear for the grand finale, getting some screen-time when the biggest action scene came about.

Aside from the great cast and decent direction, two other things really stood out to me in Point Of No Return – the neat lighting and cinematography courtesy of Hung Hin Shing and Lam Bing Hon, and the fantastic action sequences which kept getting better as the movie went on. From the aforementioned opening action sequences in Thailand through to the countless fight scenes, exciting gunplay, and explosive action in Hong Kong, Douglas Kung (who also appears throughout) and his team deliver some genuinely impressive stuff that helps elevate this so-called 'generic' action-thriller. Having came onto the scene in the late 80s, appearing as a bit player in many Hong Kong classics, Kung Cheung Tak began working as an action-choreographer around the same time on films such as City Cops (1989), Princess Madam (1989), Mission of Condor (1990), Bloody Mary Killer/Undefeatable (1993) and more, with Point Of No Return being one of his earliest. But in 2001, Kung made his directorial debut with the fun Chinese Heroes with the support of Yuen Woo Ping and Sharon Yeung Pan Pan. He followed this up with Undiscovered Tomb (2002) starring Cheng Pei Pei's daughter Marsha Yuen, and went onto deliver films like her Snake Charmer (2002) and the entertaining Gordon Liu/Fan Siu Wong double-bill of Shaolin Vs Evil Dead (2004) and Shaolin Vs Evil Dead 2: Ultimate Power (2006) before stepping back to focus on action. Regardless of your thoughts on his films, there's no denying the effort and work put in by him here and I really hope that Point Of No Return sees a welcome Blu-ray release someday soon, in turn, gaining a new audience and the appreciation it deserves!

Overall: While it may seem generic to most, Point Of No Return is an energetic, action-packed, and entertaining piece that will appeal to fans who miss Hong Kong cinema's glory days!

NEXT