City on Fire
3.4
Action
Crime
Thriller
1987
105 min
-
Ko Chow is an undercover cop who is under pressure from all sides. His boss, Inspector Lau, wants him to infiltrate a gang of ruthless jewel thieves; his girlfriend wants him to commit to marriage or she will leave Hong Kong with another lover; and he is being pursued by other cops who are unaware that he is a colleague. Chow would rather quit the force, feeling guilty about betraying gang members who have become his friends.
Starring:
Crime
Thriller
Action
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"I watched this mostly as a curiosity. There have been claims that Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs was a complete rip-off of this Hong Kong heroic bloodshed film City of Fire. After watching it, I don’t think there’s much validity to this claim. Both films are about heist crews that have been infiltrated by an undercover cop and end with similar Mexican standoffs. However, the similarities end there.
City of Fire is very focused on the machinations and internal conflicts of the police department. Chow Yun-Fat’s handler (and uncle) tries to protect him from the task force trying to take the heist crew down and Yun-Fat tries to string along his long time girlfriend until he can leave his undercover role. The film is more similar to Point Break or The House of Bamboo than it is to Reservoir Dogs.
Judging the film on its own merits, I found it a little melodramatic and the police politics stuff dragged at times but it’s a well done undercover cop story. Chow Yun-Fat definitely comes off as a star.
3.5 out 5 Stars"
R
Ryan
