Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: After the massive success of the Once Upon a Time in China series, Jet Li moved away from period settings and started to focus on action films set in the modern-era, a decision that would make him an international icon and of the biggest stars in the history of Hong Kong cinema. In The Enforcer (aka My Father is a Hero) Li is an undercover police officer tracking down a notorious Hong Kong crime lord. Teaming up with his martial-arts prodigy son and a female officer (Anita Mui), together they lay down the law! In Dr Wai in “The Scripture with No Words” a down on his luck pulp fiction author (Li) lives vicariously through one of his characters, an Indiana Jones-esque adventurer searching for a mythical scripture. Then, in Hitman (aka Contract Killer), Li plays Tai Feng, a young assassin with a “sense of justice” who crosses paths with the “King of Killers” — a legendary vigilante with a huge bounty on his head. Eureka Classics is proud to present three of Jet Li’s most beloved action films on Blu-ray for the first time ever in the UK.

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Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray Synopsis: Gong Wei is an undercover cop living in mainland China. He is so deep undercover that his own wife and don don't even know he's a cop. After a mid-level gangster nicknamed Blackie is arrested, Wei is ordered by his superiors to help Blackie escape back to Hong Kong in an attempt to gain his trust and infiltrate his gang. When an arms deal goes wrong, Wei attracts the attention of a female Hong Kong detective named Anne Fong who begins investigating him. Things become more complicated for Wei when his own son soon ends up in danger and Wei has no choice but to team up with Anne in order to save his son and stop the gangsters from pulling off a deadly heist. Released in America under the alternate title The Enforcer, MY FATHER IS A HERO teams up international superstar Jet Li (Once Upon A Time In China, Lethal Weapon 4) with renowned action director Corey Yuen (Righting Wrongs, The Transporter). Showcasing the lightning fast fight scenes and gravity-defying stunt work that Jet Li has become known for, MY FATHER IS A HERO also has an emotional storyline thanks in part to performances by Anita Mui (Rumble In The Bronx) and child actor Tse Miu (Ip Man: The Awakening), who also has some impressive fight scenes of his own. Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present this thrill-a-minute martial arts actioner on Blu-ray for the first time in America, newly restored from a studio-supplied 4K master, and featuring an insane fight where Jet Li's character uses his own son as a human weapon!

 

Mei Ah HK DVD Synopsis: Gong Wei is a special police officer of the Chinese Public Security Bureau. His identity is kept secret and he pretends to be poor on weekdays. Even his wife Zhuo Ling, who is seriously ill, and his smart sensible son Jiu Jian Cheng, do not know. He has always been burdened with the misunderstanding and contempt of others, and only his wife and child silently support and love him. Gong Wei is sent to Hong Kong as an undercover agent and infiltrated into a provincial Hong Kong and Taiwan criminal group headed by Guang Fu, to investigate serious crimes involving domestic corruption. (103 Mins)

 

German DVD Synopsis: Jet Li plays a police officer who goes undercover to investigate a smuggling ring. To make matters worse, he is accused by Anita Mui, who works as an inspector for the Hong Kong police. When Jet Li's seriously ill wife dies, he decides to take his young son with him. When Anita Mui finds out about his fate, she decides to work together with Jet Li and his son. Jet Li even manages to get him infiltrated into the organisation. But problems arise when members of the smuggling ring catch a little spy, who is actually Jet Li's son. Jet Li is supposed to kill the little boy in front of the leader. (98 Mins)

 

Dimension UK DVD Synopsis (The Enforcer): This non-stop action thriller is the ultimate showcase for martial-arts superstar Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4, The One), who performs all of his own amazing hand-to-hand combat. Li plays an undercover Chinese cop sent to track down a notorious criminal in Hong Kong. There, he teams with his young son, an incredible kung fu master-in-the-making. Together, they lay down the law. Spectacular, thrill-a-minute entertainment that moves with knockout intensity – Jet Li's The Enforcer is a can't-miss event for Jet Li fans and a must-see for anyone who's looking for some real action. (101 Mins)

 

Views: Often hailed as one of Jet Li's best modern action movies, My Father Is A Hero is a solid action-drama, packed with inventive martial arts battles, an amazing cast, and typical Hong Kong humour. More famously known in the west as The Enforcer, and translating as A Letter To Papa, this Hong Kong action classic stars the amazing Jet Li as undercover Chinese cop Kung Wei, who has been assigned to spy on a group of crazed terrorists that are planning a huge bombing campaign in the city. To make this mission more authentic, the local police arrest Kung at his home and put him jail with orders to make a jailbreak with one of the gang members while, at the same time, his sick wife and young son try to deal with the abuse from local villagers shocked that he is a criminal. While the undercover mission goes ahead and Kung infiltrates the gang in Hong Kong, his wife soon dies and young son becomes entangled with the very men he is trying to take down. Kung soon finds his cover blown and in a fight for his life in a bid to stop the hardened criminals, back by a female Hong Kong cop who has learned of his mission and become like a second mother to his hard-as-nails wushu wonder-boy!

 

Having just come off the set of Gordon Chan's incredible Fist Of Legend, 1995 proved to be a busy enough year for Jet Li with big productions such as High Risk, Dr. Wai & The Scripture With No Words, and My Father Is A Hero – the Corey Yuen Kwai directed flick which would be the first shoot of the year for him. In some respects, the film is pretty much Jet and Yuen Kwai's answer to Jackie Chan's Police Story 3: Super Cop, bearing some similarities in his story as an undercover cop being put in jail to break-out and join the gang. But that also isn't surprising considering that the illustrious Wong Jing wrote and produced the film! Of course, Wong had directed Jackie in the hilarious City Hunter only 2 years before with the star making it known that he didn't enjoy his time with the director. Naturally, Wong would respond with the fun High Risk that quite openly took the piss out of Jackie Chan by casting look-a-like (and superstar in his own right) Jacky Cheung as Hong Kong's greatest action hero, only to strip him of his status by using Jet Li as his stunt-double. This is ironic in itself considering how much Jet uses a stunt-double in all of his movies, but it still proved to be an entertaining romp all the same. So perhaps this was the year that Wong just decided to get his own back on Chan the man. Prior to My Father Is A Hero, Wong first directed Jet on the fantastic Last Hero In China, with the star spoofing the very role that helped make him a household name with Wong Fei Hung. The amazing Kung Fu Cult Master would quickly follow, a personal favourite of mine, before Wong would direct both Jet and child actor Tse Miu in New Legend Of Shaolin – a wild Hong Kong take on the popular Lone Wolf & Cub stories.

 

While this classic is quite clearly a Jet Li movie, there's no denying just how much of a scene-stealer the impressive wushu protégé is. Having made his feature film debut in Frankie Chan's underrated epic, A Warriors Tragedy, Miu quickly got the chance to show his skills as both an actor and martial artist in the aforementioned New Legend Of Shaolin and God Of Gamblers Returns, under the watchful eye of Wong Jing before going on to star in Teenage Master after this; a fun martial arts adventure that is known as My Father Is A Hero 2 in some territories, although is totally unconnected. The 11 year old Tse Miu would vanish from the scene for sometime, returning as an adult star in 2003 with a role in Chinese productions Iron Lion and Shaolin Gang, followed by a bigger role in Tsui Siu Ming's Champions – yet another underrated martial arts title. Proving to have even more talent than before, Miu quickly became a sought after star with leading roles in many web-movies allowing him to portray the characters of the Monkey King in Dream Journey, a legendary kung-fu master in Ip Man The Awakening, a Shaolin monk in Shaolin Kill Evil, a demon-hunting warrior in Mutant Tiger, a blind swordsman in Eye For An Eye, and a Chinese soldier in Tsui Hark's action-packed Taking Of Tiger Mountain – among many other great titles. Much like their previous roles, Jet Li and Miu return as father and son – portraying a very unique and special kind of relationship akin to that you would expect in a traditional kung fu movie. As Chinese undercover agent Gung Wai, Jet Li does a fantastic job, delivering a no-nonsense performance with moments of emotion and anger that help make this one of his best roles in any of his modern action films. Up to this point of his career, Li had mostly starred in period dramas and traditional kung fu pieces gaining much recognition for his roles as Wong Fei Hung in the Once Upon A Time In China series, Chen Zhen in Fist Of Legend, and as the titular character of Fong Sai Yuk, but he still had very few modern action films behind him. These included the little seen but impressive Dragon Fight, the Tsui Hark directed film The Master, and Corey Yuen Kwai's Bodyguard From Beijing. Of course, from here on in, Jet would go on to become one of the biggest names in modern action cinema – both in Hong Kong and Hollywood – although has always found time to return to the genre that first made him famous.

 

My Father Is A Hero also benefits from having two late, great Hong Kong stars appear with stuntman/director/actor Blacky Ko Shou Liang playing a villain with heart in his one-and-only role with Jet Li – although one of many for Wong Jing, including a role in God Of Gamblers Returns from the previous year alongside Tse Miu – and the wonderful Anita Mui who stars as the Hong Kong cop that sides with Jet and protects his son. One again, Mui impresses in her action role as she had done many times before in films such as A Better Tomorrow 3, The Fortune Code, Saviour Of The Soul, Moon Warriors, Heroic Trio, and Drunken Master 2, and just adds a whole new level of charm and drama to things. Another highlight is the trio of supervillains on offer, with the amazing Yu Rong Guang leading the way – delivering a comic-book bad guy performance in what would be, much like Ko Shou Liang, his only starring role in a Jet Li movie. Although the same can't be said for his right-hand man, Ngai Sing – more commonly known as Colin Chou. The fan favourite first starred with Jet in the amazing Kung Fu Cult Master and Bodyguard From Beijing, following this production with a bad guy role in the fun Dr Wai & The Scripture With No Words. The pair would later join forces again in the epic Ronny Yu film Fearless, with Chou later facing off against him and Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom and later again with Jet in Badges Of Fury. Interestingly, and regarding his big Hollywood role in the hugely successful Matrix movies, it is said that Colin only took on the role of Seraph after Jet Li had turned it down – which wasn't an awful move in my honest opinion. And last but not least, popular bad guy and bodyguard of Jackie Chan, Ken Lo Wai Kwong, stars as the third major problem for Jet's character. While he had starred alongside Anita Mui in many productions before this, this would also be his only role in a Jet Li movie – although both him and Colin Chou would star alongside the cute and talented Tse Miu in the aforementioned Teenage Master straight after this. It's worth noting the appearances from director Corey Yuen Kwai himself, making an appearance here as a bar waiter in one of the films' big action sequences, with kung-fu legend Damian Lau showing up as Anita's policeman boyfriend. Popular actor and producer Henry Fong pops-up as a bidder at an antiques auction, and Nancy She Nan-Nan gives a dramatic performance as Jet's poorly wife.

 

But credit must go to director Corey Yuen Kwai for delivering a highly entertaining film, and perhaps one of his better directorial efforts alongside titles such as Yes Madam, Righting Wrongs, She Shoots Straight, and Women On The Run. From emotional drama to tense thrills and softer comedic elements, Kwai makes sure that the action scenes are highly memorable – sometimes going a little over the top with his exaggerated wire-work that often encourages an unintentional laugh. Working alongside his Peking opera school brother Yuen Tak, the pair deliver a breath-taking amount of hardcore martial arts action from Jet's introductory fight scene that leads into his sons wushu demonstration – with the star taking on a gang of armed thugs in the hanging walkways above in order not to miss his son's competition – to a full-blown shoot-out inside a busy glass restaurant that begins with a car smashing through the windows before a brutal shoot-out kicks off. Then there's the stunningly lit alley fight in heavy rain that soon moves on top of a moving truck, beautifully captured with a flavour of neo-noir as Li faces-off against the trio of villains which proves to be a highlight of the show. Equally, the closing battle still remains as one of Jet's finest grand finales that sees him take down a small army of men using a pair of industrial-sized tonfa and his wushu son as a Yo-Yo, which never fails to entertain, confirming that action fans will not be disappointed with the fights on offer. Interestingly, the aforementioned glass restaurant was built facing Jackie Chan's old office which would see Jackie visit the set during production. It would be here that he would then meet Thorston Nickel (playing a Russian criminal) who would then go onto star alongside him in Thunderbolt later that year. The same would happen for Paul Rapovski, who would also go onto star with Jet Li in Tung Wai's Hitman a few years later, allowing them both have a rematch that would prove to be even more impressive than their time on-screen here.

 

Thanks to this new 4K restoration from Eureka Video, Tom Lau's stunning cinematography looks more stunning than ever before, with the same cinematographer having shot many other Jet Li titles including Last Hero In China, Dr. Wai & The Scripture With No Words, Tai Chi Master, and Swordsman 2, as well as many other Hong Kong classics including Righting Wrongs, A Chinese Ghost Story, Pedicab Driver, She Shoots Straight, and New Dragon Gate Inn. Accompanied with a great score by the prolific James Wong and Mark Lui, My Father The Hero may ask its audience to suspend their disbelief during its running time, but there's no denying its entertainment value and its winning place as one of Hong Kong cinemas finest action films of the 1990s, complete with a solid script by Sandy Shaw that provides plenty of emotional and dramatic moments that rival any Hollywood genre movie of that time!

 

Overall: While it can sometimes play like a live-action comic-book, My Father Is A Hero is an action-classic of Hong Kong cinema, and one of Jet Li's finest moments as a martial-arts star!

 

Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Deleted Scene, Archival Interviews with Wong Jing, Ken Lo & Tse Miu, Hong Kong Trailer

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Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Deleted Scene, New Interview with Wong Jing, Archival Interviews with Wong Jing, Ken Lo & Tse Miu, Hong Kong Trailer, Stills Gallery

 

Mei Ah DVD Extras: Trailer

 

German DVD Extras: Deleted Scenes, Trailer Show, Gallery, Jet Li Bio/Filmography

 

Dimension DVD Extras (The Enforcer): None​

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Watch my unboxing video of the Vinegar Syndrome release HERE

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Watch my unboxing video of this Eureka Video release HERE

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Watch my video retrospective for this film HERE