City on Fire

This tense Hong Kong crime thriller is known best as the film upon which Quentin Tarantino borrowed heavily for his 1992 debut, Reservoir Dogs. Those who criticized the American director for lack of originality have perhaps missed the point. In the highly commercialized, formulaic crime genre of ...more

This early, breakout effort by director Ringo Lam strives to accomplish quite a bit on its low budget and short shooting schedule. Lam should have spent more time and money; the result is a Hong Kong police actioner that barely measures up to standard episodic television fare. Brief car chases that end with fiery crashes, a couple of abbreviated fistfights and one or two shootouts leave one longing for something more kinetic to connect with. Turning to the story, we find resigned and disgraced ...more