Watching Al Leong Die
A man could spend a lifetime learning the skills it takes to become a great villain in an action film. How to fight, how to shoot, how to look menacingly at people. It isn’t easy, folks, but the ones who did it for the length of time that Al Leong did were able to cement themselves into our collective psyches for all eternity. That dedication to being bad didn’t just end with fighting against the hero, though. Men like Al Leong needed one final piece to complete their cinematic puzzle and that was where Al was really able to shine.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Al shows up with only about 25 minutes left in the film to deliver a bit of shock therapy to Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs. He’s an expert on delivering pain, you see. The torture scene where the hero is zapped in a very cinematic way is among my favorite movie tropes of the 80’s and this one certainly is one of the best. Riggs lures him in by getting nearly killed and then finally delivers a stiff headbutt, a dropkick, and finishes him by breaking his neck with his bound legs. What a great way to kill Al Leong!
Die Hard (1988)
If you were an action star in the 80’s then you most likely killed Al Leong. It wasn’t always a gratuitous or flashy scene like some of the others on this list, but it always felt good knowing that Al got killed in your film. Die Hard doesn’t let Leong spend much time in front of the camera but it was pretty clear from the moment he appeared that he would soon be shot half a dozen times.
Rapid Fire (1992)
Brandon Lee could have been a monster of the action world if he were still alive. I’m just grateful that he made the movies that he did while he was around and that he totally killed Al Leong. Rapid Fire is one of those movies that any big action fan will gush over for days and part of that comes down to watching Lee square off against our buddy Al.
Last Action Hero (1993)
We’ve already seen a ton of legendary action stars kill Al Leong so why not break out the biggest of the bunch? Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the early stages of his extended downturn when it came to his action career but Last Action Hero might be the coolest (full pun intended) death scene in the history of Al Leong dying on screen.
