Fatal Chase
Director: Phillip Ko-fei
Year: 1992
Rating: 5.0
Dubbed in English
If you have watched enough Hong Kong action
films from the 1990s you sort of know what to expect from a film directed
by Phillip Ko-fei. A low budget with a pieced together script, often shot
in the Philippines with some hard hitting action that can almost make watching
the film worthwhile. Now that isn't exactly fair - he made some films I like
- Killer's Romance, Deadly Target - but most of them are mediocre at best.
But to his credit, he often put females into action roles - in particular
his wife at the time, Yukari Oshima often credited as Cynthia Luster for
some reason. He passed away in 2017 but he left a legacy behind not so much
as a director but as an action choreographer and an actor. He is credited
with being in 250 films - most of them action films in which his martial
arts are on good display generally as a bad guy. He goes way back to the
Shaw films beginning as a stuntman, then as a minion and getting bigger roles
later on. When the Shaw's stopped production he moved right into more contemporary
action films. His is a face you will come across often in the 80's and 90's
- never the star but in the middle of a good fight.
This film reflects all that - kind of slipshod
with characters disappearing much too quickly - to the point where I would
guess he had been able to use them for only a day or two. But some known
names like Waise Lee and Shing Fui-on pop in for an action scene and fade
out. The same sadly is the case with Yukari who leaves the film after one
mini-fight to where I don't know. The main star is Robin Shou - born in Hong
Kong but moved to the States when young and later returned to be in film.
He was in a number of HK action films but is probably most famous for being
in Mortal Kombat from Hollywood.
He and Yukari are HK cops who deliver a
crook to the Philippine cops - but oops - they were not cops - and so the
two of them feel responsible in getting him back. They find themselves in
the middle of a power struggle between two gangs. They are assisted by Phillip
Ko, apparently the only honest cop in the country. So Ko gets to be the good
guy here! After Yukari disappears, the two men get into a couple good fights.
In particular, when they take on a male and female killer team. The woman
is Filipina Rachel Lobangco, who appeared in one other Ko production but
was a well-known sexy actress at home. Showing Ko's skills as a choreographer
he makes her look great in the action scene. Most of the action is kept for
the final 25 minutes but why Ko's wife isn't in more of it is a mystery and
a crime.
