“Hard Boiled” (1992) directed by John Woo; starring Chow Yun-Fat / Z-View

Hard Boiled (1992)

Director:  John Woo

Screenplay: Gordon Chan, Barry Wong; story John Woo

Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

Tagline: As a cop, he has brains, brawn, and an instinct to kill.

The Plot…

Hong Kong Police Inspectors “Tequila” Yuen and his partner Inspector Benny Mak are watching gun smugglers during an exchange.  When a rival gang shows up a shootout takes place.  Several gangsters, civilians and Benny Mak are killed in the battle.

Tequila vows revenge.  Tequila learns that Alan, one of the gang leader’s most trusted killers,  is an undercover agent.  Tequila reaches out to Alan and proposes that they work together to bring the gangsters down.

They’re going to need a lot of bullets.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The famous scene where Chow Yun-Fat does the “staircase slide” while firing was improvised on the set.

The hospital gun battle runs a good thirty minutes including one three minute single take scene.

When first released and for many years after, Hard Boiled was considered the apex action film.

Hard Boiled (1992) rates 4 of 5 stars