Burning Ambition (1989)

Burning Ambition (1989)
Aka: Megaforce
Chinese Title: 龍之爭霸
Translation: Dragon’s Hegemony

Starring: Frankie Chan, Simon Yam, Yukari Oshima, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Eddie Ko Hung, Michael Miu, O Chung-Hung, Roy Chiao
Director: Frankie Chan
Action Directors: Fung Hak-On, Austin Wai, Guy Lai

 

I’m pretty sure this is the sort of Hong Kong film that could have only been made in the 1980s. It’s the sort of genre-blender film that characterized HK output during the 80s and the first half of the 90s, mixing elements of Triad melodrama, frenetic 80s stunt-driven action, and even traditional kung fu. The disparate elements don’t always mesh, and there is a lot of overacting from the film’s younger stars, but it’s still essential HK viewing in the end, especially for action fans.

Following the death of a Triad boss (Roy Chiao), the “family” splits into two factions vying for power. The first group is led by Hwa (Simon Yam), who’s backed by his Uncle Chen (Eddie Ko) and his mother. They actually have a legitimate claim to the throne in that the godfather had made it known that he wanted Hwa to inherit everything. The second group is led by Uncle Hsiong (O Chung-Hung), who’s backing Hwa’s wastrel older brother, Wai (Michael Miu). Obviously, Hwa and Chen know that Hsiong’s more in it for himself, and decide to have him wasted. But when an assassination attempt at a Japanese restaurant fails, Hsiong brings in his estranged son (Frankie Chan) and his gang of Chinese kung fu bikers (including Robin Shou) to help settle the score.

Despite the Triad moving trappings, the film doesn’t really let us in on anything regarding what their criminal activities really are, beyond the occasional murder of a rival. We know that the Triad heads double as legitimate businessmen, but beyond that, most of their activities seem to involve 1) family dinners, 2) business meetings, 3) trying not to get killed, and 4) making sure the other side gets killed. But then again, I don’t think authenticity was all that important in these movies back in the 1980s; filmmakers really just needed a vehicle for the action. That said, I do find it weird that we have a movie in which the “heroes” are ultimately working for the main villain. They know it. We know it. But we still root for them because a) the other side is just as ruthless and they’re doing it for love of family and not out of a sheer play for power.

There are three major set-pieces in the movie, although there’s no big action climax (the final showdown is dramatic and overplayed rather than action-packed). Most of the action is hand-to-hand combat/weapons fighting, with some car chases and gunplay thrown in for good measure. The gunplay is more of the point-and-shoot Western variety, rather than the stylized bullet ballet that defined a lot of Triad action films at the time. The truly iconic set piece is the first major action sequence, in which Yukari Oshima and Kara Hui fight off a legion of assassins armed with choppers in the parking garage of a Japanese restaurant. Both women show off some nice acrobatics and bootwork, and Yukari eventually goes buck wild with a baseball bat. Things get particularly stick when the ground gets covered with broken glass, since the intended victims are all barefoot.

The last set piece is also memorable, because the plot stops completely so the film can become an old school kung fu movie, complete with shapes-driven combat and traditional weapons. Frankie Chan and his gang chase a team of Caucasian killers (including Jeff Falcon) to an amusement park, where they start busting out the 3-section staff, spear, shuangdao (double saber) and more. Jeff Falcon has a staff duel with Robin Shou before switching to the drunken style to counter Frankie Chan’s dragon fist. Yes, it’s wildly out of place, especially considering the dark dramatic territory the film enters almost immediately afterward, but by George, it’s fun. Like his work in Outlaw Brothers, Frankie Chan has this odd anachronistic approach to the action that’s simultaneously weird and fulfilling. It’s like the guy made modern action movies because it was the thing to do, but his heart was still in the old school. And bless his heart for that.

Fight fans really owe it to themselves to check this movie out.