A student, Jake Lo, is roped into attending a protesters’ event. There he witnesses a killing that forces him to go to Chicago and be a star witness. Once in the Windy City, things take a turn and finding allies is harder than it seems.
Written by Cindy Cirile and Alan B. McElroy and directed by Dwight H Little, Rapid Fire is an effective action film and one this reviewer knows by heart (note: fangirling might happen). The story here is one meant to be an action film. The son of a Tiananmen Square protestor gets caught in the same cause his father was in purposefully. His way to get out of situations is one that he doesn’t love but one he is skilled at, fighting. The film here is decently written and directed with some stunning fight scenes. The story here does feel like a story written for Brandon Lee, one made for him to showcase his fighting and his acting. He’s the center of the story, the center of the film. The story works to show why he gets involved, what his stakes are, how these stakes evolve through the story, and how he becomes involved with the police against his will. It’s a 1992 film that fits quite well in its era of action cinema, but with that extra special something that only Lee films seemed to have.
And when it comes to Lee, he is the star here and he is magnetic. His work as an actor is more than decent, working well with the story, script, and character. Most importantly, the man had the skills to fight, being his father’s son not being the center of his work (we have to mention as that is who a lot of people think of when he’s on screen). His work here is great and fun to watch, giving him a good launching pad into more action films which sadly only led to 2 more films. To be noted the fight choreography here is credit to Jeff Imada, but multiple sources have said that Lee participated in this leading to fight choreography that fits his skills perfectly well. Joining him is a slew of people most viewers know from somewhere else by now, but not all of them were very well-known at the time. Still, the cast here is oddly just right for the film and their respective parts. One who doesn’t show up until much later in the film is Al Leong and he gives a perfect Al Leong performance being the henchman of all cinematic henchmen. He works great here and his fight with Lee is fantastic to watch, a fight to the martial arts ages. When Al shows up, you know the fight is about to be great. (See Al’s words on Brandon Lee, found on the internet, at the bottom of this review.) In the leads around Lee are Powers Booth as a detective obsessed with a specific case he wants to close and who finds his perfect partner in Lo. This character gives us a very Powers Booth performance from him here. Joining Booth and serving as the only woman character of substance here is Kate Hodge in the role of cop Karla Withers who also happens to be the love interest. (Could we not get 2 women? Or were the stakes just needing him to fall for her? You be the judge of that.) Playing the main bad guy, the drug dealer of all drug dealers, the killer, the sort of godfather of Chicago, is Nick Mancuso who gives off the exact right 80s/early 90s mafia bad guy. He’s great to see chew some scenery here and there as well. The film’s cast could have used a few more ladies, but overall, all the cast works in their parts and make the story advance swiftly.
And yes, this movie moves fast and there is plenty to watch and be entertained by. It has some great fights, the kitchen one is something special, the one at the Italian restaurant is explosive, and the final showdown in the laundry facility is a film fight for the ages. The fight choreography by Jeff Imada, and Lee as mentioned above, is great and shows that Imada pays attention to the skills of those involved in the fights he creates, tailoring them just right for each of his fighters.
Working with the story, cast, fights, and more is the cinematography by Ric Waite and the editing by Gib Jaffe which come together to give the film energy and a good dynamic pace. They work those fights like people who understand that the public wants to see what is happening. Framing that gives the setting as well as the punches landing and editing that gives the hits time to be seem. It shows that most of the fights are executed by experienced martial artists/fighters and that the folks behind the scenes understood how to film these.
Rapid Fire is a film that was made to show the star power of Brandon Lee, one that should have made him a household name and did start the process of this. Lee is fantastic here; his fighting skills are on point and Al Leong is the perfect henchman to face him off against. The film is decently written, well shot (check out that opening sequence). The film is an action cinema classic that feels like too few have seen it. It’s easily available on streaming if willing to pay for a rental (the Blu-ray of it is currently not all that expensive at different retailers around the internet as well). This is one of those films that should be getting a fully loaded re-release but hasn’t yet it looks like. It’s a classic, a film that showed the skills of those involved while being greatly entertaining. There is a lot here, but the film moves at a nice pace with fights peppered throughout.
