Gun n' Rose
Director: Clarence Ford
Year: 1992
Rating: 6.0
Not to
be confused with Guns & Roses (1993) or Guns and Roses (2012).
Director Clarence Ford (aka Clarence Fok)
is best known for his outrageously stylish films that are often narratively
a mess - but they look so good that they have their legions of fans anyways.
Examples of this are Dragon from Russia, Naked Killer and Warriors: The Black
Panther. I love all three though I would have a hard time explaining what
the plots were. Filled with slick action that moves at the speed of light
and beautiful women who move like seductive snakes. The actresses always
look their best in his films, dressed to the nines with red lipstick like
a welcome home sign in the darkness. Starting in 2002, he made ten New Option
films starring Michael Wong and Suki Kwan but he hasn't had a new film since
2013, so I don't know what's going on. In this film though, he leaves a lot
of his trademark glam style behind and produces a traditional triad film
of killings and betrayals. There is a ton of gunplay that is pure 1990s with
huge kill counts and carnage that flash by so quickly that you can't really
tell what is going on. Narratively though, it often makes no sense at all
as it jumps around as if it has attention deficit syndrome. Ford just seems
to think the audience should be able to keep up. He also brings together
a top of the line cast for this one.
It begins in Taiwan with a man on his knees
begging triad boss Alan for money for his father's operation. He says he
will do anything for it. Even kill. Alan gives him a little bit but it is
his brother Simon driving by in a car who gives him the money he needs. I
was like - was that Leon Lai begging? Yes, but he disappears for a while
only to return later as a conflicted professional killer. Alan is played
by Alan Tang and Simon by Simon Yam. The killer is named Leon. You see a
pattern here. Alan and Simon are two of three brothers to their father Tien
Feng. The third brother is Bowie - played by guess who? Yup Bowie Lam. Alan
is the tough one and the favorite though adopted, Simon the ambitious one
and Bowie the weak one.
This begins to play out when the father
is shot and paralyzed. The three sons begin to turn on one another. First
though Alan falls for the nurse who saved his father - the lovely Monica
Chan. Secondly, he just starts killing people that are responsible for the
attempt on his father's life. Starts slow by getting out of his car and shooting
three in a doorway. Then goes to their headquarters and kills a small army
of men. Masses of men keep coming and getting riddled with bullets. And none
of them can shoot.
After Alan and Monica are nearly killed
while eating at an outside café, he decides to get out of the business
but not fast enough for Simon and Bowie who try and kill him or put him in
jail. At his wedding. Hong Kong films like the image of white wedding dresses
soaked with blood. Monica is shot and for some odd reason we next see him
taking her on a boat. A hospital might have been a better option. Leon has
shown up as Simon's main killer. But one with a lot of respect for Alan.
Then a new movie practically begins in Hong Kong with Andy Lau as the boss
of a small street gang who has a territory he is responsible for. His righthand
man is a woman - his girlfriend Loletta Lee - who sticks with him through
fights and lovemaking. His sister is a horny and frustrated Carrie Ng (a
favorite of Ford's), who gets excited listening to her brother's lovemaking.
A little perverse. She owns a bar.
Another street gang run by Bee (John Ching)
keeps trying to sell drugs in Andy's territory - leading to street fights.
We meet both of them as they sit on a bus with explosions all around them
- and then the bus heads for a cliff. Why? No idea. A delivery guy starts
making stops at Carrie's restaurant and she flaunts her sexuality - but he
is uninterested. Damn, there must be a good reason. Yes, he has a paralyzed
wife at home. It's Alan of course. Did he take that boat all the way to Hong
Kong? He refuses to get involved in the gang warfare even when Bee's group
smacks him around. Till Michael Chan as their boss makes an appearance. Then
the triad in him bursts forth. And then Leon shows up. As cool as a cucumber
with orders to kill. There is a lot going on in the film - some of
it makes sense, some doesn't but a great cast is a real plus. Andy was in
12 films in 1992, so you can understand that he is only in half of the film.
Simon was in 11 films - so you can understand why he disappears for most
of the second half.
