Bullet Points: Hong Kong 97

Sometimes movie titles just make sense. There is no need to get cute with an ambiguous generic word or words that might have well been picked from an action movie title generator. Tell me where and when the movie is taking place and you have piqued my interest.  Hong Kong 97 does a bang up job of letting the movie audience know that they are about to see a film taking place in Hong Kong in 1997.  Why such a specific year for a movie that came out in 1994? Hong Kong 97 takes place on June 30, 1997, the last night before sovereignty was transferred from the United Kingdom to China on July 1, 1997. This means we are not only treated to an action film, but there are also hints of politics, economics and sociology. Basically, if you want a little more meat on the bone of your action film, Hong Kong 97 has it, but you can also just sit back and enjoy the 91 minute action ride.

• “¡Robert Patrick Por Favor!”: Reginald Cameron, Robert Patrick from The Vivero Letter fame, is a corporate assassin for Sherwood Industries, in their Hong Kong office. Now you might be asking what a corporate assassin does. It is simple, they kill people to benefit the corporation they are working for. At Sherwood, Cameron’s mentor is Simon Alexander, Brion James of Showdown fame. James really shines as the white collar executive who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and it was great to see him play a role with some substance instead of a mindless goon. I would mention how much I hated his terrible British accent but I don’t want to speak ill of the dead so I won’t bring it up. Jack McGraw, Tim Thomerson of Iron Eagle fame, is the straight laced good natured friend of Alexander and Cameron who has no idea that Sherwood and Cameroon are involved in murder. Malcolm Goodchild, Andrew Divoff of Interceptor fame is a fellow employee that is not quite as good as friends as the other trio. How do we know this? Only Cameron, Alexander, and McGraw get the massages from the nude Hong Kong beauties. That’s right. If you want to see Brion James, Robert Patrick and Tim Thomerson getting rubbed down by naked women, Hong Kong 97 is for you.

• “More Ming-Na Wen”: Cameron’s next mission is to off a Chinese general because there are fears about how the Chinese will change control of Hong Kong compared to the British. After Cameron kills the general, he does what all corporate assassins do, have intimate relations with his Hong Kong lover. All you asking for more Patrick get to see plenty of Patrick. Too much in my opinion, but I don’t have the same complaint about his au natural partner. The nudely pair are rudely interrupted and don’t have time to dress before a gunfight ensues with Cameron just being able to escape. Alexander helps Cameron get to the only person he can hide out with in Hong Kong, Katie Chun (Ming-Na Wen.) Cameron and Katie Chun used to be a couple and you definitely can tell there is still a connection. Katie and her family are getting ready to leave Hong Kong because her grandfather Chun, Ming-yang Li from Kickboxer fame, is a Chinese dissident and must flee before the change over. Katie is not only a beauty, but also an expert in martial arts and the audience is treated to the lovely Ming-Na Wen and all her fighting prowess.

• “Time for Tim Thomerson”: When word gets out that Cameron was the assassin behind the Chinese general’s murder, every no good hood in Hong Kong is after him. Who let the word out that Cameron was the assassin is the big mystery? Spoiler alert, when one of the characters is played by Andrew Divoff with a German accent and the ironic name of Malcolm Goodchild, there is a good chance you have found your bad guy. Cameron, with a little help from his friends, must spend a night filled with martial arts and gunplay, trying to stay alive and stop the hit out for his life. A less harrowing journey I have never seen on film and not all the beloved characters will make it through the night.

• “Dyin’ for Brion James”: Hong Kong 97 is easily the type of movie that you might overlook, but I want to make sure you don’t ignore it anymore. It is a very entertaining action film with an engaging story and interesting characters. Did I mention it stars such action luminaries as Robert Patrick, Ming-Na Wen, Tim Thomerson, Brion James, and Andrew Divoff? I did? I know I didn’t mention that it was directed by the one and only Albert Pyun. If all that action goodness is not enough to convince you, just take a look at the title and you know exactly what you will be getting. Take a look at most of the reviews on this site and you know exactly what you will be getting next…

Bonus Bullet Points

• Hong Kong 97 was filmed back-to-back with Spitfire, which allowed James and Patrick to have small roles as a couple of goons and Tim Thomerson to have a starring role in both films. Pyun was also prepping for Heatseeker during filming and of course you know that Thomerson was in all three films.

• Bulletproofaction.com’s very own Chris the Brain recently told me that the star of Hong Kong 97, Robert Patrick, is in the television show Scorpion. If you are like me you probably have never seen it, and despite the presence of Patrick I will continue not to see it because it is completely unrelated to feature film Scorpion.

• The official name of Hong Kong is actually Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

• Hong Kong 97 is also the title of an unrelated video game for the Japanese Super Famicom (Super Nintendo in the rest of the world) that many consider one of the worst video games of all time. It features the likenesses of Jackie Chan (Wheels on Meals), Bruce Lee (No Retreat, No Surrender Enter the Dragon) and Deng Xiaoping. While the gameplay may be terrible, it has one the greatest soundtracks of all time that only consists of the song “I Love Beijing Tiananmen” on an infinite loop.