Synopsis: Bomb suspect and criminal Tong of the Hunan Gang, is sent back to Hong Kong from Macau for his crimes. But his car is attacked along the way and Tong escapes. It's now up to OCTB inspectors Lee and Lo to track him down and stop him.

​

Views: Hong Kong cops Lung and Ma are given the task of bringing a bomb suspect back from Macau, after he bombed a police station in the city. The suspect is Tong, a member of the Hunan Gang, and is rescued by his men along the way that leads to a shoot-out and car chase that crosses the border into China. With Tong now gone, the cops land themselves in big trouble and are joined by Lam from the Complaints Department to find a way to get Tong back and clear their names. Lam soon meets Chung – an informer for Lung and Ma who has her own troubles with local loan-shark and gang boss Wai, who is also from the Hunan Gang. Offering to scare Wai off for her, Lung takes Chung home but gets attacked by the gangster and his men before being taken away and killed, while his wife gives birth to their 4th child and first son. As Ma and Lam set out to find their friends killers, they track down informer Chung who keeps them on their toes and moves in with Lam to stay safe - with the pair soon falling for each other as time passes!

​

I must admit, there's quite a strong team behind the scenes as much as there is in front. The wonderful Ng See Yuen produces through his company Seasonal Films, working off a script written by prolific director Wong Kar Wai. Interestingly enough, Wong also penned films like The Intellectual Trio (1984), Rosa (1986), Final Victory (1987), Flaming Brothers (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop (1987), and Return Engagement (1990) (as well as all of his own self-directed hits), and provides a pretty solid piece with Walk On Fire. And although Ng See Yuen hadn't directed anything himself since 1985's The Unwritten Law (1985) (also starring Andy Lau), he stayed busy behind the scenes producing – with this falling in between the No Retreat, No Surrender Trilogy (1985), as well as the Hsu Hsia directed Mister Mistress (1988) starring Cherie Cheung and Eric Tsang. Instead, Ng handed the directing duties over to Norman Law Man who had worked as an assistant director to See Yuen on projects such as The Secret Rivals 2 (1977), Drunken Master (1978), Dance Of The Drunk Mantis (1979), Tower Of Death (1981), and more. In doing so, Law proved himself to the big boss man who then went on to make his own directorial debut under the Seasonal Films name with the super-fun Lackey And The Lady Tiger (1980), starring Mars, Hwang Jang Lee, and Linda Lin Ying in her final film role. Walk On Fire came about half way through his directing career, in between A Hearty Response (1986) and (Ninja) Vampire Buster (1989), and proves (again) how competent a director Law really was. I'm actually surprised he wasn't behind so much more, to be honest...

​

The wonderful Andy Lau plays Lam Kwok Wah, the handsome detective and close friend of Lung's who sets out on a revenge mission no matter what it takes. Lau had been climbing the movie star ranks quickly since the early 80s with movies like Boat People (1982), On The Wrong Track (1983), Shanghai 13 (1984), The Unwritten Law (1985), Magic Crystal (1986), Rich & Famous (1987) and Tragic Hero (1987) behind him. 1988 would continue to be one of his busiest years with 10 features on the go including The Crazy Companies 1 & 2 (1988), The Dragon Family (1988), Runaway Blues (1989), Three Against The World (1988), and the fantastic As Tears Go By (1988) for writer Wong Kar Wai in his directorial debut. In Walk On Fire, Lau plays a role similar to that of many he portrayed in the years leading up to the production and gets the chance to show some heavy dramatic moments, comedy, and action – all while looking as handsome as ever. The equally handsome Ray Lui plays Lung, the unfortunate father and husband who is eventually killed after trying to help his informer. I've always enjoyed seeing Lui on screen in many great roles over the years including Project A 2 (1987), Devil Hunters (1989), Guns Of Dragon (1993), To Be Number One (1991), 7 Assassins (2013), and many more. The brilliant Kent Cheng stars as Inspector Ma, partner to Lung and comedy relief of the show. It's hard not to enjoy the big man in any movie and with over 140 film credits to his name since his appearance in the Shaw Brothers film Heroes Two (1974), Cheng has become one of Hong Kong's biggest stars appearing with A-list names like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh. He obviously had a close relationship with director Norman Law, having starred in a number of films for him such as The Sweet And Sour Cops 1 & 2 (1981), A Hearty Response (1986), the super fun Vampire Buster (1989) with Jacky Cheung – one of my favourites as a young teen that I bought as an ex-rental called Ninja Vampire Busters – The Kung Fu Scholar (1994), Bloody Brothers (1994), Mermaid Got Married (1994), and this. The beautiful Cherie Chung stars as Miss Chung, the drug addicted informer who brings about Lung's death (as well as a host of other problems) and falls for Andy Lau's character. I felt that Cherie did a great job here and put up with a lot of abusive stunt-work, as she has done with many of her roles over the years, and has always been a joy to watch. The first time I would have seen her on screen was in Sammo Hung's classic Winners & Sinners, and from there caught her in some great titles such as The Postman Fights Back (1982), The Dead And The Deadly (1982), Peking Opera Blues (1986), Spiritual Love (1987), Wild Search (1989), Once A Thief (1991), Zodiac Killers (1991), and Frankie Chan's The Good, The Bad, And The Beauty (1987). Ultimate Hong Kong movie bad-guy, Dick Wei, stars as Wai – the Hunan Gang thug that kills Lung and takes on Andy Lau in a final showdown. I just loving seeing Dick Wei in any movie! He has such a bad-ass on screen presence and rarely disappoints when in action. Starting life in the industry in the early 70s with Shaw Brothers, Wei went on to star in over 130 movies and quickly became even more popular when he joined Sammo Hung for The Prodigal Son (1981) and Carry On Pickpocket (1982) – going on to star in films like Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983), The Champions (1983), Project A (1983), The Lucky Stars Trilogy (1983-85), Heart Of The Dragon (1985), Yes Madam (1985), Millionaires Express (1986), Dragons Forever (1988), and so much more. As well as crossing paths with many of his Walk On Fire co-stars over the years, Wei managed to direct a handful of titles including the very fun Visa To Hell (1991), A Killing Order (1994), and Ghost Fights Ghosts (2016) – almost 2 decades after his last directorial effort, which is also known as New Encounters Of A Spooky Kind oddly. The rest of the cast is filled out with familiar faces such as Lau Siu Ming as the Chief of Police, Shum Wai, Kam Hing Yin, Teddy Yip, Barry Wong, Lam Kai Wing, Maria Cordero, and action directors Bruce Law and Tony Leung Siu Hung – both of whom deliver some incredible action pieces here. While Law would have most likely been behind the car chases, crashes and vehicle stunt work involved, Tony Leung (brother to kung fu super star Bruce Leung) brings alive some exciting shoot-outs, fights, and impressive stunts that help keep Walk On Fire exciting.

​

With some great cinematography from Horace Wong, the eye behind films such as the A Better Tomorrow Trilogy (1986-89), Hard Boiled (1992), The Barefooted Kid (1993), The Killer (1989), The Big Heat (1988), The Accidental Spy (2001), and The Myth (2005), Walk On Fire often looks a little more polished than many other late 80s Hong Kong productions – sometimes reminding me of Police Story (1985) with particular shots. And while it may seem uneven to newer viewers as it jumps between serious action thriller to romantic comedy, this was quite a common flow of any Hong Kong movie at this time and a huge reason of why I fell in love with them. Although the hugely popular Wong Kar Wai may have penned the script, Walk On Fire is a car cry from any of his own self-directed works which may annoy any of his new-age fans. Personally, and with all flaws acknowledged, I quite enjoyed it though and would happily watch it again without a second thought!

​

Overall: An exciting and action-filled flick, backed by a great cast and production team that makes Walk On Fire a movie worth watching!