I remember when I saw this earlier on in the beginning of my deep dive into HK cinema(probably around the late 90'sor immediately after). I definitely didn't like it. I saw that Vinegar Syndrome gave it a re releases, so I decided to give it another chance. Undeclared War is a somewhat offbeat action thriller dealing with international terrorism towards the end of The Cold War. A eclectic international cast that has Danny Lee, Rosamond Kwan and Vernon Wells(from Commando, Road Warrior) in multiple uncanny roles here. The film is very dark in tone and actually has a lot of relentless action. I think this was done well, but feels a little uneven as film. I think Undeclared War has it's flaws. I don't think this is close to as good as something like City On Fire, but it easily is as good as a JCVD vehicles like Maximum Risk or Replicant. Undeclared War is a bit more unpolished and gritty than that and that's a part of it's charm.
4 Reviews
action:good, Story: oh.. no! But I was Fun.
actiontdolbin12 January 2002
This movie is not a good enough! But frankly said, I like Ringo Lam. some of his movie is Not Good. such as Ko dou gai bei! I hate that movie. Whatever, maybe this movie can be a killing time movie. action is good. and story is easy going. I mean not a tedious.
You'll be very entertained by Undeclared War
tarbosh220001 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
An evil man named Hannibal (Wells) and his sidekick Rebecca Eche (Hussey) are the leaders of the so-called "World Liberation Army", which is just a front for a terrorist organization. Leaving a trail of death in destruction in their wake, they travel from Poland to Hong Kong and attempt to set up shop there. But local cops Inspector Bong (Lee) and Inspector L. T. Tang (Wong) are trying to stop them - as is American CIA-Agent-With-An-Attitude Gary Redner (Liapis). Despite the typical inter-agency and inter-country squabbles, the men band together to stop Hannibal and Rebecca. Adding to their stress are the interventions of the US Ambassador (Hedison) and newswoman Ann Chang (Kwan). Will our unlikely heroes put an end to the UNDECLARED WAR?
1-2-3-4, I UNdeclare a thumb war! Or, at least Ringo Lam does in this intrigue-actioner with a truly international cast. Finally, we get to see the Australian Vernon G. Wells team up with the Argentinian-born but British Olivia Hussey causing mayhem in Poland with a Chinese director! Only during the video store era could you get a country-spanning mashup like that. Wells's nefarious baddie role of Hannibal is said to be a "master of disguise", and it is true he can put on a gray-haired wig and look like Leslie Nielsen at the drop of a hat. Truly a must-have for any aspiring terrorist.
All that being said, fans of Hong Kong action and the style of Ringo Lam will find plenty to feast on with Undeclared War. It has all his classic directorial trademarks, and the shooting, fighting, and stuntwork can't be beat. Whenever anyone gets shot, they're enveloped in a thick red mist, as if they had a pack of Crayola crayons in their pocket (only the red ones, of course - for some reason), and the bullet slammed right into it.
Peter Liapis as Redner was a real revelation here. Apparently, we had last seen him in Ghost Warrior (1984), but he must not have made much of an impression. Well, he more than makes up for that here, as he gets all the best lines in the film and adds a lot of energy to not just his own role but to the movie overall.
David Hedison, a mainstay of TV throughout his career and throughout all of our lives is also present and accounted for here, and only the year before he had appeared in Licence to Kill (1989). Going from James Bond to Ringo Lam in one easy step. What a life.
In America, Undeclared War came out on VHS on the Imperial label. Unfortunately, the transfer is not the best, with blurry/washed out colors and muddy audio. The guitar and sax on the soundtrack don't come across as clear as they should. Thankfully, some of the dialogue is subtitled but there is an array of thick accents throughout the film. Not a bad thing, of course, but, to date the VHS is the only way to see Undeclared War in this country. A cleaned-up digital release is badly needed and would surely raise its standing in the eyes of viewers.
Really the only flaw here is that it's 104 minutes and doesn't really need to be. Other than that, Undeclared War is more of an Unseen War because it remains a hidden gem, at least in the U. S. Here's hoping a company like MVD will give it a Blu-ray treatment sometime soon. In the meantime, if you can find it, we think you'll be very entertained by Undeclared War.
1-2-3-4, I UNdeclare a thumb war! Or, at least Ringo Lam does in this intrigue-actioner with a truly international cast. Finally, we get to see the Australian Vernon G. Wells team up with the Argentinian-born but British Olivia Hussey causing mayhem in Poland with a Chinese director! Only during the video store era could you get a country-spanning mashup like that. Wells's nefarious baddie role of Hannibal is said to be a "master of disguise", and it is true he can put on a gray-haired wig and look like Leslie Nielsen at the drop of a hat. Truly a must-have for any aspiring terrorist.
All that being said, fans of Hong Kong action and the style of Ringo Lam will find plenty to feast on with Undeclared War. It has all his classic directorial trademarks, and the shooting, fighting, and stuntwork can't be beat. Whenever anyone gets shot, they're enveloped in a thick red mist, as if they had a pack of Crayola crayons in their pocket (only the red ones, of course - for some reason), and the bullet slammed right into it.
Peter Liapis as Redner was a real revelation here. Apparently, we had last seen him in Ghost Warrior (1984), but he must not have made much of an impression. Well, he more than makes up for that here, as he gets all the best lines in the film and adds a lot of energy to not just his own role but to the movie overall.
David Hedison, a mainstay of TV throughout his career and throughout all of our lives is also present and accounted for here, and only the year before he had appeared in Licence to Kill (1989). Going from James Bond to Ringo Lam in one easy step. What a life.
In America, Undeclared War came out on VHS on the Imperial label. Unfortunately, the transfer is not the best, with blurry/washed out colors and muddy audio. The guitar and sax on the soundtrack don't come across as clear as they should. Thankfully, some of the dialogue is subtitled but there is an array of thick accents throughout the film. Not a bad thing, of course, but, to date the VHS is the only way to see Undeclared War in this country. A cleaned-up digital release is badly needed and would surely raise its standing in the eyes of viewers.
Really the only flaw here is that it's 104 minutes and doesn't really need to be. Other than that, Undeclared War is more of an Unseen War because it remains a hidden gem, at least in the U. S. Here's hoping a company like MVD will give it a Blu-ray treatment sometime soon. In the meantime, if you can find it, we think you'll be very entertained by Undeclared War.
Fine action from a top director
Leofwine_draca25 October 2022
UNDECLARED WAR is a really nice action thriller from Ringo Lam and I have to say I'm surprised that I'd never heard of it before watching. Why? It's easily of the same quality as anything Hollywood was making during this era. The film stars Danny Lee and Tommy Wong as a couple of Special Branch cops who get involved in a plot when international terrorists arrive in Hong Kong. Their Western counterparts are negligible, but it's great to see Vernon Wells and Olivia Hussey (!) as the villains. The real star is the choreography, with a wealth of high profile shoot-outs, fights and stunts. Poor old Lee and his cohorts really get put through the winger in this one, believe me!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
