Bullet Points: The Tracker (2001)

2001’s The Tracker gave me a team up that I didn’t even know I wanted between Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) and Russell Wong (Vanishing Son)…

• The Gangs of New York: The movie begins with Kim Chang, back from a shopping excursion in the city, a trip that her husband Paul did not want her to go on. In Paul’s defense, he is not being a needlessly overprotective husband… there is a mob war going on in New York City between the Chinese and the Russians and Paul’s father is the head of the Chinese mob! So going out could be dangerous for the daughter-in-law of a mob boss. But Paul Chang will soon find out staying in is deadly too, when some men delivering flowers show up and deliver a barrage of bullets instead, many of which end up in Paul Chang… there’s a big police shootout outside the Chang home, the bad guys kidnap Kim Chang and get away as the delivery truck blows up to cap off the big action open.
• Wedding Crasher: Casper Van Dien plays Connor Spears. A former member of the NYPD, Spears now calls Los Angeles his home, working as a private investigator that specializes in finding people. Connor’s introduction made him my second favorite CVD character of all-time… Connor is at wedding (uninvited mind you) and standing in the receiving line waiting to speak to the bride… the same bride who committed insurance fraud in New Jersey, changed her name, moved to California and started a whole new life for herself. When it is Connor’s turn, he goes up to the bride and lays one on her and we aren’t talking a friendly kiss… we are talking a passionate kiss likely with tongue action. This is going on with her new husband standing right there next to her dumbfounded. The groom is about to get even worse news when he finds out the woman he married is not the woman she claimed to be and that she is wanted by the law! The bride can’t believe that Connor would do this to her on her wedding day, she tries to flee but is ironically blocked by her own wedding cake. Connor Spears takes his job seriously yet manages to have fun while doing it.

• The Surprises Continue: When Connor returns home after a job well done he gets a surprise of his own in the form of his old friend, Rick Tsung (Russell Wong, Romeo Must Die). Connor and Rick were the best of friends at one point until a situation involving Rick’s sister caused the two to have a falling out. Ironically, it is Rick’s sister that is about to bring the two together again because the woman at the beginning of the movie that was kidnapped was in fact Rick’s sister Kim and now Rick begrudgingly has turned to his old friend to go with him to New York City to help find her.
• And Cabbie Makes Three: Connor and Rick arrive in New York City and their uneasy alliance is on full display… the two do manage to agree on hiring Carmen to be their cab driver while they are in town after Carmen proves she is a spitfire that can handle herself in a fight. First stop, to the Chang house to look for clues… When that doesn’t pan out they go to the police, but the detective handling the case thinks Connor Spears is a dirty cop and that’s why he left the NYPD, so another dead end… then they try Mr. Chang to see if he can shed any light on things… the answer is once again no, but at least we get to see Connor and Rick fight Mr. Chang’s guards!

• The Most Likely Suspect: It stands to reason that in a mob war, the most likely to want to kidnap Kim would be the opposing family… so Connor and Rick track down the new head of the Malakov family, Daniel Malakov. Daniel is a bit of a loose cannon, but after talking to him it becomes obvious that he doesn’t have Kim or know where she is for that matter… it also becomes obvious that Connor and Rick have pissed off the Russians and we get another great fight scene, where he even Carmen and her cab get involved. Unfortunately so do the police and they arrest our three heroes.
• Blessing in Disguise: The arrest turns out to be a lucky break, not because they are told to stop getting involved in the active investigation… but because Connor runs into his old partner Chick, who was injured in the line of duty and now finds himself in a wheelchair running the motor pool. The reunion is rough at first, but now with Chick on the team, they can get some inside information on the case (and Chick can shamelessly try to get inside Carmen’s pants).

The Tracker was worth tracking down for me. There was a strong chemistry between Casper Van Dien and Russell Wong. Carmen and Chick were great supporting characters and end up being invaluable to the mission. There were more than enough roadblocks along the way and they really never stop coming all the way up until the twist ending. If any of this sounds like your cup of tea, I would track down The Tracker at your earliest convenience.

No twist ending here, I’m going to wrap up this review with some Bonus Bullet Points…

• The Name Game: Not to be confused with 2019’s The Tracker starring Dolph Lundgren or 1988’s The Tracker starring Kris Kristofferson.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Casper Van Dien punch a guy in a wheelchair, then The Tracker is the movie for you.
• Dated Technology: The Tracker features both an answering machine and a mini-disc player.
• Favorite Quote: “You are a horse’s asshole” – Connor Spears
• Employee of the Month: Betty, the maid for Paul and Kim Chang, deserves an Employee of the Month award and bonus… when those gunmen show up and start shooting up the Chang home, Betty comes out a gun in each hand, firing away! That’s going above and beyond her domestic duties.