In the hope of making it big, Sheng (Siu Yuk-Lung) sneaks into Hong Kong from the mainland and teams up with an unpleasant gangster and arms dealer, Brother Er (Shum Wai).
A turf war is ignited between Er and rival dealer, Long (Lung Fong) which escalates into a series of fatal shoot-outs. Sheng reluctantly picks up some of Er's dirtier jobs, including the kidnapping of a young boy, but the plan turns sour when he is double-crossed and sent to jail. Whilst in jail, Sheng's junkie girlfriend overdoses and dies, prompting him to bust out and get his revenge.
Heroes in Jail is a tricky film to evaluate. For the first twenty minutes or so, the film darts around from one disjointed scene to another making it quite difficult to follow. Sheng's character isn't really interesting or charismatic enough to root for or even care about, and the action isn't particularly well staged or choreographed. That said, those well-versed in the cheaper side of Taiwanese action cinema will probably enjoy the cast of familiar faces (the bulk of whom are also in Lady Killer aka Deadly Assault, 1992) and the crude mish-mash of sex + violence on display.
The CATIII rating is earned by a few spicy sex scenes and some fairly strong violence e.g. An arm gets severed, an ear is bitten off during a fight and a female gets stabbed in her crotch (off-screen, but still quite a mean-spirited scene). It's worth noting that the nudity is missing from some versions of the film (there are both CATII & CATIII Hong Kong VCD releases), including the aforementioned crotch-stabbing and the death of a major character is removed too, so go for the CATIII version if you can.
Chui Seung-Ha (Pink Panther, 1993; Beauty's Evil Roses, 1992) whom I quite like to watch, has a fairly central role as the plaything of Brother Er. She has two nude scenes and also a couple of brief fights which could have lasted longer. Even Shum Wai gets to show off his fighting skills which you don't often see! Lung Fong isn't given as much screen time as I'd have liked, and isn't quite as nasty and despicable here as in some of his other meatier roles. Mark Cheng, despite being on the cover of the Mei Ah LD and VCD releases, has only a cameo appearance here.
The action ramps up during the final 15 minutes, with our anti-hero, Sheng running around with a bazooka blowing practically everything to pieces. I just wish Yu Tien-Lung would have directed the rest of the film with the same vigour as the energetic final showdown, which ends on quite an exciting, yet downbeat, freeze frame.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Mei Ah Laser Disc, LD (Hong Kong) (Mandarin language)
A turf war is ignited between Er and rival dealer, Long (Lung Fong) which escalates into a series of fatal shoot-outs. Sheng reluctantly picks up some of Er's dirtier jobs, including the kidnapping of a young boy, but the plan turns sour when he is double-crossed and sent to jail. Whilst in jail, Sheng's junkie girlfriend overdoses and dies, prompting him to bust out and get his revenge.
Heroes in Jail is a tricky film to evaluate. For the first twenty minutes or so, the film darts around from one disjointed scene to another making it quite difficult to follow. Sheng's character isn't really interesting or charismatic enough to root for or even care about, and the action isn't particularly well staged or choreographed. That said, those well-versed in the cheaper side of Taiwanese action cinema will probably enjoy the cast of familiar faces (the bulk of whom are also in Lady Killer aka Deadly Assault, 1992) and the crude mish-mash of sex + violence on display.
The CATIII rating is earned by a few spicy sex scenes and some fairly strong violence e.g. An arm gets severed, an ear is bitten off during a fight and a female gets stabbed in her crotch (off-screen, but still quite a mean-spirited scene). It's worth noting that the nudity is missing from some versions of the film (there are both CATII & CATIII Hong Kong VCD releases), including the aforementioned crotch-stabbing and the death of a major character is removed too, so go for the CATIII version if you can.
Chui Seung-Ha (Pink Panther, 1993; Beauty's Evil Roses, 1992) whom I quite like to watch, has a fairly central role as the plaything of Brother Er. She has two nude scenes and also a couple of brief fights which could have lasted longer. Even Shum Wai gets to show off his fighting skills which you don't often see! Lung Fong isn't given as much screen time as I'd have liked, and isn't quite as nasty and despicable here as in some of his other meatier roles. Mark Cheng, despite being on the cover of the Mei Ah LD and VCD releases, has only a cameo appearance here.
The action ramps up during the final 15 minutes, with our anti-hero, Sheng running around with a bazooka blowing practically everything to pieces. I just wish Yu Tien-Lung would have directed the rest of the film with the same vigour as the energetic final showdown, which ends on quite an exciting, yet downbeat, freeze frame.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Mei Ah Laser Disc, LD (Hong Kong) (Mandarin language)
