Raging Fire (2021) User Reviews

Rest In Peace, Benny Chen

[subxerogravity · 8/10 · 16 August 2021]

I found it to be an excellent action movie.

I went to go see Donnie Yen bring it and he delivered, despite this feeling that Yen is hit by old age. You can tell he was avoiding the quick punches from Ip man that he most likely cannot pull off any more, but he makes up for it with this new raw, tough and tumble style, made to look special with some great camera work.

Than again, another reason for Yen's change of styles could be that I was expecting a kung fu flick but what I got was just this complete action film. It has everything you would expect from an action flick: Gun fights, car chases and fight scenes and what makes it nice is that you get more than one of all these things.

I can't honestly give a good examination on how the story goes as my mandarin is non existent and I read subtitles at a 6th grade level, but I'll give some credit to the acting that got me engulf in a story I was barely picking up. Some good character development was going here on the big screen.

I would love to say that this movie is as good as Heat, or somewhere around there because the movie feels like they 're trying to get there, but that's a little too ambitious. It's a decent police drama with a whole lot of amazing action and I'll leave it at that,

martial arts opus with great action and exceptional script

[lotekguy-1 · 8/10 · 8 August 2021]

This contemporary Chinese martial arts crime flick is a perfect vehicle for its two male leads - Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Yen plays the good cop. Tse is his former good-cop buddy, who has become really good at being really bad for reasons we learn along the way. Many of these films are thrown together with a muddled plot that exists only to set up their action sequences. Here we have a shining exception, as main characters and their backstories are fleshed out to fine advantage, making for a production that satisfies the brain as well as fulfilling the desired adrenalin quota.

Yen has nearly 80 acting credits and handful of directing stints, including fight-scene choreography. He comes by his art honestly, as the son of a martial arts master (Fun fact - that's his mom, not his dad.), trained from childhood in multiple disciplines. Although I've only seen about a fourth of his films, I'm inclined to think that at this stage of his career, Yen may be incapable of cranking out a bad movie. (I specify the present because after writing the previous sentence, I caught one of his flicks from 1991, showing he didn't always have good scripts to choose from.) He's perhaps best known for starring in the history-based Ip Man series. There, as here, Yen embodies the stoic integrity of a Gary Cooper, with the bonus gift of kicking butt like a Jet Li.

The Raging Fire plot involves a cop-killing band of robbers, motivated by both grudges and gains. Yen is in charge of catching them; we learn early that Tse is the ringleader, with his motives unfolding throughout. The tale plays out more coherently than is often the case in Asian cops vs. Gangs flicks (actually, the same is true for many Hollywood entries, as well), magnifying the emotional impact of its splendidly-staged action sequences, stuffed with all the fights, shootouts, chases and explosions genre fans crave. A couple of Yen's one-on-ones are particularly exciting and creatively staged.

Late director Benny Chan deserves credit for not only pacing the action flawlessly, but editing and lighting those scenes for clarity of who's doing what to whom that's way above the norm from both sides of the Pacific, in what is, lamentably, his final project. Tse is also superb as a more complex villain than usual, with an understandable, almost sympathetic, transition from valued colleague to nemesis. That all adds up to a gem within its genre.

Lots of action but somehow suspense n tension is nada n the script a bit weak.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 7 November 2021]

The movie has ample amount of action and some good hand to hand combat but somehow i cudnt care about any of the characters and the movie aint engrossing enuff.

Riveting action film elevated by Benny Chan's direction

[ObsessiveCinemaDisorder · 7/10 · 5 September 2021]

Raging Fire is a gripping cops-and-robbers action movie that is elevated by late director Benny Chan's attentive direction of its drama and explores its theme earnestly. Donnie Yen's riveting action sequences set a new standard for Hollywood-level production values in a Hong Kong action film.

Bong, an officer of the Regional Crime Unit, is an outcast in the police force due to his overly righteous attitude and a refusal to conform to the legal grey zone, much to the frustration of his superiors. Bong is left out of a police drug bust, where the entire police team is massacred by a masked gang of thieves.

The crew is led by Ngo, an ex-cop-turned-criminal and former protege of Bong. Ngo once beat an informant to death and Bong's unwillingness to lie in court cost him a five-year prison sentence. Ngo sets on exacting vengeance on Bong and the police department.

Benny Chan directs the drama with delicate hands, surrounding star Donnie Yen with character actors Ray Lui and the always underrated Patrick Tam. Chan effectively brings the audience deep into Yen's character moral dilemma, "Is it justifiable to do a bad thing to do some good?" Yen's cop says no while Tse's thief says yes.

Benny Chan ensures that every fight is dramatically motivated. The action sequences, including gun fights, car chases and martial arts, leap off the screen in a glorious adrenaline-pumping fashion and consistently feel dangerous. Through a combination of shooting on-location and CGI, the film makes great use of the Hong Kong locales that brings a consistent tactility and realism. It is also doubly fun if you know Hong Kong.

Nicholas Tse, despite putting in a huge effort in giving a complex performance, never finds proper footing for his villain. He acts as the calm and cool collected mastermind but goes completely unhinged in other moments. The film does a solid job earning the audience's sympathy by showing Ngo's backstory as a cop. However, that crumbles in the present story as we witness who the villain has become and the incongruities in his grand plan. Is the character desperate for revenge, wanting to score cash, or just completely nuts? It all falls somewhere between. As the third act rolls in, there's no more time for the script to clarify Tse's intentions.

That being said, Raging Fire has a lot to offer. Nostalgic Hong Kong action movie fans will walk away satisfied. The film ultimately won me over with its overwhelming ambition to break new ground. I wonder now what Benny Chan would have done with his next action picture.

Rest in peace, Benny Chan.

wasted effort for Donnie Yen

[A_Different_Drummer · 6/10 · 1 November 2021]

Good editing can improve on a so-so script but not even the best editor can improve on a convoluted, disjointed mess like this one. Good production values are no substitute for a solid story that hooks the viewer. An hour into this, you may still be wondering who you are supposed to root for. Yen playing a stoic cop looks lost.

It's insane

[Neptune165 · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

This is easily the best action film of the year, the detailed fight choreography and the strong physical performances is what made this film. Worth to go and need to go to cinema to watch in order to feel the great action scenes such as fights, explosions, car chase, gun shoot scenes. These high level HK action movies are rather rare in recent years, it certainly is a great enjoyable moment in the cinema watching it. Highly recommend. It was so fun and entertaining, and the action scenes delivered hard. But warning it is really brutal.

Great fun as you'd expect from Chan

[namstonk · 7/10 · 28 October 2021]

So there's the usual mad stunts and fight scenes, plus some great performances. Lots of smashing up cars, loads of gun fire and explosions, the final scene is pretty darn good. Is it Chan's best? No but it is a fitting film for his last. Cheers Benny.

Incredible action thriller

[masonsaul · 9/10 · 5 March 2022]

Whilst the plot is nothing new, Raging Fire is an absolutely incredible action thriller full of memorable set pieces and is definitely a superb and bittersweet final film for director Benny Chan.

Donnie Yen gives an excellent lead performance whose physicality is balanced against more dramatic moments. Nicholas Tse is a superb villain, equally physically capable with believable motivation yet still managing to be gleefully evil.

Benny Chan's direction is phenomenal with a variety of standout set pieces including hand to hand combat, shootouts and car chases. The music by Nicolas Errèra is great, consistently ridiculously bombastic which helps to make everything even more dramatic.

going through the motions

[stanman23 · 6/10 · 24 December 2022]

This HK crime/action thriller stars big screen veterans Donnie Yen as the by-the-book cop chasing Nicholas Tse as the disgruntled former protege hell bent on revenge. The story and acting are unoriginal and unbelievable (not in a good way) to say the least. If you switch your brain off and just watch it for the action and fight scenes then sure it works but don't expect any great drama. The entire movie seems like it was made just to bring back the HK police-gangster action movie with aging stars past their prime as the draw. Nic and Donnie have had better movies as their performances here fall flat. The movie written and directed by the late Benny Chan as his final work has some nostalgic touches with old faces appearing but overall fails to excite.

Great action, subpar everything else

[FeastMode · 5/10 · 12 March 2022]

I'm a huge Donnie Yen fan. As one would expect of a movie he stars in, the fight scenes are awesome. Fast paced but completely clear. Brutal without holding back for MPAA rating. And the non-fight action is also enjoyable.

Unfortunately there are only 3 or 4 action scenes in this 2-hour movie. The rest is run-of-the-mill and ranges from mediocre to useless. It brings down the movie for me and keeps it from being rewatchable. (1 viewing, 3/12/2022)

some feelings

[j_movie · 8/10 · 4 August 2021]

There is nothing to be picky about at the production and action levels. The overall completion is very smooth. It is also a good work in Hong Kong action films in recent years. It is gratifying that in recent years, Hong Kong directors have become more and more brave in shaping the characters in the gray area. After Infernal Affairs, many directors have been assimilated or hidden by capital and began to make some relatively safe works. In recent years, because of the change of the general environment, the "anger" in the creators' hearts has been aroused again, so there are very representative figures such as pan Chengfeng and AO. They can't be defined by a simple dualism of good and evil. This is the most real place of human nature. From the perspective of Chen Musheng's own works, it can be regarded as an upgrade of the new police story. In essence, there is no great new idea. There is little ink on the inner struggle of the characters, which can only be defined by cool films. However, as a creator, it is a happy thing that the posthumous work will be so widely recognized. I would like to pay tribute to the director and thank him for creating so many romantic and warm dreams.

Not Donnie's best work

[battlecrusadersgames · 6/10 · 25 July 2022]

Whether you'll like this movie will depend on what you want from an action film. If you want mindless fast paced action, then you should enjoy it, but for a film with substance, i'd advise looking elsewhere.

The story is all but non-existent, leading to a pointless conclusion, i really had no interest and any characters except Donnie's, who of course is as cool as always.

As for the action scenes, they come from 2 ends of the spectrum. On one hand you have the gripping, brutal, jaw dropping fight scenes, with some great cinematography and in the other, head scratchingly farfetched chases, that make Fast and Furious look believable.

So all in all, this isn't the worst movie ever, thanks to the Martial Arts skill that the leads have and the Choreography skill of the stunt team, sadly it just left me uninterested after the first 5 mins, so unfortunately one of Donnie's poorer films.

Wild action scenes...

[tccandler · 5/10 · 15 December 2021]

Action movies from Hong Kong are almost universally packed with spectacular stunts and crazy set-pieces. "Raging Fire" is no exception. The cinematography is really nice... but the editing and the direction are a little choppy, which leads to some confusing storytelling and some hard-to-believe sequences.

7.5/10

[robertforret · 7/10 · 14 November 2021]

This is the new Cantonese action crime thriller set in Hong Kong. It stars Donnie Yen as Cheung Sung-pong, a highly respected and experienced cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. His path crosses with that of his former protege Yau Kong-ngo (Nicholas Tse) who after 4 years in prison in a case where Cheung gave evidence against him forms a gang and seeks revenge on those who have wronged him.

I couldn't quite get into this film at the start, I thought the story was a wee bit cheesy. However as the film progressed it got much better. There was a clear good guys vs bad guys dynamic, the bad guys ambushing a drug deal, stealing the proceeds and then going on to target the high profile individuals who were involved in putting them in prison for what they believed was an injustice. Donnie Yen has over the years become one of China's main action movie actors. The action scenes and martial arts were brilliantly done and the last 30 minutes were pretty cool.

Overall, it took a while for me to get into it but it is one of the action films of the year. If I'd watched this film 10-20 years ago, I'd have been blown away. This film took me back to the action films I enjoyed growing up. A clear good guy/bad guy, some brilliant shootouts and a massive showdown towards the end. 7.5/10.

Cherish Director Chen's memory!

[g-89622 · 6/10 · 15 October 2021]

The script is relatively simple, classic black and white duo mode, trying to achieve a revival of fashion action movies (or just back to the light? Type elements are readily available. The gray area of the foot is not the center of gravity (not to mention the design only for the establishment of character image, neither of them has more development). The focus is on the strength of the fists and precision design of the fight, both sides with full anger to maintain an idea, have to burst into a fierce enough scene. The church fight in the third act has obvious sublimation intentions at the end, but the empty body can no longer be filled. Cherish Director Chen's memory!

Calm Fire

[VioletShiny · 6/10 · 13 November 2021]

When i hear that the movie is gonna be action and with Donnie as a a main star, it always bring happiness to me, because you know, that this movie will be at least fight-action blast, so do Nou Fo or Raging Fire, but it has it's flaws.

Story is pretty typical, especially if you are a big fan of chinese/korean action movies, standart story about revenge, betrayal, family and some morality. Only the problem for Nou Fo is that it takes too much time to "build up" everything we know and see before and didn't add something special. So for the duration of 2.00 hours +-, there are lik 80% of talks, drama, obvious cliche's and 20% of action, which can be bad if you are expecting a non-stop brutal fights along the way.

Action scenes, that rares parts of them, - fast, bloody, and beautiful, even though gunfights are bad due to very cheap graphics, but hand-to-hand are worth to watch. Graphic itself are bad. Car chasing, car crashes, fire, explosions.

Heroes on other hands are suffering from the same problem as a story, almost all of them are just copies from other famous characters, especially the bad guys with no proper logic to their actions.

Overral, if you love action movies and you love Donnie's works - this is must see, even thougt if wont fulfill the hunger for action, but in other case its not worth that much time.

Competently enjoyable

[daisukereds · 7/10 · 30 October 2021]

A very serious-in-tone and slick/modern in look "Cop Drama" with lots of action, themes of revenge, innocence and justice.

It's a very enjoyable movie that impresses with the choreography and set pieces. The production is beyond impressive, just like the stunts that are filled with realistic aggression and raw violence. With wonderful and dynamic camerawork, as well as decent locations and great lighting.

And while it entertains throughout without question, it doesn't leave you with much to talk about or discuss. No memorable lines (at least from the dialogue shown in the subtitles), or revelations. Pretty standard, at least from what you can expect from a competent movie.. One you consume once, and move on.

The bad guys are really well written, but there is no way for it to end but what you can anticipate from the beginning.

And again, the action is just too good to miss (which is the majority of the movie).. exactly what you can expect from Donnie and actors at his level.

Yen Smolders in 'Raging Fire'

[tkdlifemagazine · 8/10 · 9 August 2021]

Yen Smolders in 'Raging Fire'. Donnie Yen has clearly established himself as an international, bankable action star. He is not only a dynamic martial arts action star, but a highly watchable screen presence.

In Raging Fire, Benny Chan's final Directorial work, Yen combines the elements of his persona as an action star and dramatic actor for a successful result. His dramatic engagement equals his action prowess, and these elements combine to make this film superior.

Shan (Donnie Yen) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. However, his past unexpectedly comes back to haunt him when a sting operation is attacked by a mysterious group of criminals led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former protégé, a talented former officer who had once respected and admired Shan. However, a terrible mistake three years prior landed him in prison, quickly turning the once rising star into a furious man with a grudge, and the will to destroy everyone who had wronged him-including his former mentor.

Many East Asian action films have a common theme showcasing the blurred line between police officer and villain. This film is no exception. While Yen is clearly the protagonist, Nicholas Tse is a sympathetic, albeit ruthless, adversary.

The film's story is not necessarily original, but it is engaging. Both Yen and Nicholas Tse bring a deep gravitas to their performances that makes them sympathetic, despite the circumstances. Nicholas Tse' performance is a strong counter-balance to Yen's. Yen's does not have as much depth and meaning without Tse.

This film is unusually deep for an action film, and perhaps, that is defining signature of a Benny Chan film. Here it is executed on a high level.

While the film has dramatic elements, there is no shortage of action. The knife fight choreography is about as exciting as you will see in any film. While I could write on about the dramatic undertones for paragraphs it is the final Yen-Tse showdown that puts this film among the top of the year's martial arts action jewels. The fight choreography is sensational.

I am sentimental; so I couldn't help but feel sad that Chan will not have the chance to see the international acclaim this film will likely garner. The closing credits feature behind the scenes clips of BennyChan in action, directing this one. He is clearly all-in.

The film is subtitled.

Solid Action Sequences

[bbevis-47954 · 6/10 · 27 November 2021]

Everything else should have been left on the cutting room floor. The dialogue is terrible, the story is predictable and the pacing is extremely inconsistent. If you have a two hour runtime you need to give us a reason to care for the characters. The action sequences are interspersed throughout the two hour runtime inconsistently, leaving a lot of time to fall asleep when nothing interesting happens when people aren't being stabbed or shot. If you can't fill the gaps of the movie without action with somewhat interesting substance than you might as well rewrite the script to have a better flow and cut the runtime by thirty minutes.

All gripes with the story, pacing, acting and characters aside. The the action sequences are a delight. There are several that are directed with a level of energy you don't see in big Hollywood blockbusters and it was a pleasure watching the choreography on screen. What helps the action is the variety. There are fight sequences, car chases, shootouts, knife-fights and the obligatory hero vs villain fight scene at the end. No doubt the action will satisfy anyone looking for bone crunching action. Unfortunately everything else will make you either fall asleep or check your phone waiting for the next action sequence to commence.

The Usual

[westsideschl · 3/10 · 27 January 2022]

Very typical Yen, Tse, Chan Hong Kong crime story w/usual car chases (very boring typical & unimaginative); police/political corruption (like China's leaders today). The usual street fights/shootouts of many against a few w/the usual jump fight scenes between cheap tenement housing structures. The usual drug deals; cops killed.

A fitting swansong

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 18 April 2022]

RAGING FIRE is a fitting swansong for Hong Kong director Benny Chan, who died during post-production. It's a cop thriller throwback to the likes of NEW POLICE STORY and INVINCIBLE TARGET, with Donnie Yen typically playing a dedicated cop on the trail of a gang of robbers headed by Nicholas Tse. The film suffers from being overlong - half an hour out would have improved that - and from over-complexifying a rather straightforward scenario. But the action zings, particularly in Donnie's two fight scenes, and the climax is a real delight. It tends to avoid cheese and overwhelming sentiment which is good too.

Raging Fire is amazing from start to finish!

[maulcun · 7/10 · 16 November 2022]

Raging Fire is amazing from start to finish! The film's story is not necessarily original, but was very clear and light. Conflict of morals, drama, action, fighting scenes.

The editing was choppy in parts but those are small negatives! Overall this is a classic!

Donnie Yen convinces as righteous cop who never seeks for the easy but rather the right way out of trouble.

But Nicolas Tse as a villian was awesome. His backstory was well written and it shows the motives behind his actions. I even have a sympathy feeling for what was happened to him and his team. Honestly it felt good to see a HK action film like this.

Very Disappointing

[HadiAriyan07 · 4/10 · 21 December 2021]

I had high expectations for this, for god sake the movie called "Raging Fire" so I'm very justified in having high expectations.

The movie makers thought they were making the next Heat or Den of Thieves with this one. Sorry to disappoint you, but the story was boring and not interesting, the script was awful, too much uninteresting talking and some really bad acting from few actors. The cat and mouse game was uninteresting; we know everything that's about to happen, so there were no surprises.

Everybody is coning for that Hong Kong action, spectacular stunts and crazy set-pieces. There is very little action camper to the lengthy two hours run time, to be excite, there is just 50 minutes of action in this two hour movie, and not all the action had good editing.

There is enjoyment in Raging Fire, it's not a bad movie, it had a few action scenes, so don't have high expectations going into it.

Awesome fights that is squandered by a bare bone plot

[MovieWarfare · 7/10 · 2 May 2022]

Director Benny Chan's last outing due to unfortunately passing away, is a fun martial art flick.

Raging Fire has amazing and stylish fight choreograph that are exhilarating. Additionally, a great performance from both Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse with the intense rivalry of their characters.

However, the story and characterization is bare bone with the movie having moments of slow pacing due to long expositions and overuse of flashbacks. The movie did not need to be 2 hours. It also has a slight clash of tone as the first half of the film has action set piece that feel grounded and gritty. The second half then starts having these really cartoony action scenes that make it feel like a completely different movie.

Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable martial popcorn flick that will definitely keep you entertained for it's run time.

Confusing at first, but satisfying overall.

[paulclaassen · 6/10 · 16 February 2022]

The police have a tip on criminal boss Wang Kun's next deal. They intercept, but things go seriously wrong. What follows, is a cat and mouse game between cop Cheung Sung-Bong and the criminals, and corrupt cops.

With way too many characters and the constant use of flashbacks I honestly was confused at first, not knowing who all the characters were and who to root for (except Sung-Bong, off course - played by Donnie Yen). To confuse you even more, the film then suddenly jumps to the kidnapping of Mr Hoo, but I had no idea who Mr Hoo was, why he was held for ransom, and whether there was a connection between him and Wang Kun.

Due to all the confusion, I simply enjoyed the first half of the movie for the action sequences, which were fast and brutal - similar to 'The Raid', although not as brutal. After the halfway mark, the film makes much more sense once it becomes clear who's side you're meant to be on, and who the antagonists are. Unfortunately the film does suffer from characterizations. The film will definitely benefit from a second viewing.

Ageing Donnie Yen is still in good shape, and still kicking up a storm! The film has a very good climax, and I thought Nicholas Tse was good as the main antagonist. By the end of the movie, I was satisfied with the film, how it developed and how it ended. This was entertaining and good fun, with some amazing action sequences. Well worth a watch.

Be sure to watch the end credits on this one.