Touch and Go
Director: Ringo Lam
Year:
1991
Rating: 7.0
This collaboration
between director Ringo Lam and Sammo Hung is an intriguing mix of everything
- action, violence, stunts, comedy and romance. The two of them are very
different in their cinematic visions - Lam, intense and socially aware; Sammo
always aiming to be pure entertainment. Lam was in the middle of a wonderful
run of films - the two Prison on Fire films, City on Fire, School on Fire,
Wild Search and then afterwards Full Contact. Chow Yun-fat was his usual
go to actor, so not sure how these two ended up together - but it makes for
a solid action film that feels much more slanted towards Sammo's vision than
Lam's. Lam's influence is mainly felt in the visceral violence and intense
moments where it looks like it will explode into death. The silly comedy
and whimsical romance are all Sammo. And though Yuen Tak is credited with
the action choreography, Sammo clearly had a lot to say about it. There are
a couple of stunts - one by Sammo - that made what little hair I have left
stand up straight.
It begins with an eyesore - Sammo or as
he is named here - Fat Goose (Sammo was never shy about his name being some
version of fat) - running down the street only in his underpants - his rotund
stomach in fine fettle and then taking a hand shower on the sidewalk in front
of his small restaurant. He uses kung fu to kill a cockroach. Thank you for
that sight Sammo. Reminder to myself to not let myself get that fat. Or at
least not take my shirt off in public. Though fat that he may be, few could
move like Sammo could. He was a modern miracle. He hears a ruckus in the
alley and takes a peek - and sees three men kill a cop. Fuck. What to do.
Run of course but they hear him and come after him. He quickly shows that
cockroaches are not the only thing he can use kung fu on. He is terrified.
You don't mess with triad business and live. He visits his mother (Helena
Law Lan) who wants him to get a wife - goes back to his apartment where the
woman (Ann Mui - sister of Anita) across the hall is a prostitute and likes
to use his apartment for business at times. Just stay low and quiet Fat Goose.
But the cop, Pitt (Vincent Wan) figures
out he is a witness and comes looking for him - and they have a big fight
- then the killers try to kill both of them in a crazy car chase. One of
the bad guys is called The God of Hell to give some small indication of what
sort of person he is. Played by Tommy Wong who as an actor could go between
slapstick comedies and truly evil maniacal bastards. Here he is the latter.
They arrest him, Sammo identifies him and then their legal system is as bad
as ours as he gets out on bail. And Sammo knows he is a walking dead man.
Showing up in the film is also Pitt's sister (Teresa Mo) who is a reporter
and who Sammo begins to get romantic inclinations towards. And later on the
sweet-faced Irene Wan as Wong's forced moll with a conscience shows up to
add a speck of softness. A lot of action lies ahead as Pitt and a reluctant
Fat Goose have to bring down the gang of traffickers and sadists. This film
bombed for some reason at the box office and nether Lam nor Sammo really
took credit for it, but it is a hard-hitting solid piece of Hong Kong action.
