Director: Lau Kwok-ho Year: 1990 Rating: 5.5This Hong Kong
thriller is so packed with action that they needed four choreographers to
manage the action. Once the film is set up and the plot begins to unspool,
it becomes near non-stop fights and explosions. Sure, it is definitely a
B film but one of those ones that you thank God that there are B films. A
fine cast - Yukari Oshima, Dick Wei, Kara Hui, Eddy Ko, Max Mok, Shum Wai
and none other than Shing Fui-on. For a Hong Kong movie fan, that is gold.
It has been ages since I saw a Yukari film that I had never come across and
this was a good one. Not one of those Filipino cheapies or one where she
shows up for five minutes and is gone. She is the main character but everyone
gets some good killing time.
Yukari is Japanese - in the film - and has
to go to the Mainland for some reason, but a louse stuffs her bags with marijuana
cigarettes and then phones customs. She gets arrested and thrown into jail
with Shing as the warden. She has been set-up by a Triad boss (Peter Yang
Kwan) who wants to bribe her father who is a top customs agent to let drugs
get through. The father promises to if Yang can get her out. Meanwhile in
jail Yukari is making friends and pissing off enemies. Twice she fakes being
sick, knocks out the guard and runs for the wall. Not exactly a brilliant
escape plan but it gives her the chance for some kung-fu. Inside she makes
friends with a political prisoner, Kara, and promises her to escape together.
Yang puts together a small group to rescue
her - led by Wei, Eddie, Max and two others. Looks easy enough - slip into
the Mainland, infiltrate the jail, get Yukari out and make for a boat. What
could go wrong. Pretty much everything. It turns into a shooting gallery
as they have to take on much of the Chinese army. Some good old-fashioned
action - killing them in a myriad of ways. Then of course, they are betrayed
by Yang. All implausible of course but who cares. Damn, I miss Yukari.
Dubbed on YouTube under the title Fuga Do Inferno with Portuguese subs.
