by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 2, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee, Sun Yueh, Carrie Ng, Roy Cheung, Maria Cordero, Lau Kong
Intro:
... a gritty, impactful and profoundly influential Hong Kong action thriller that deserves its place in the pantheon of classics. Brimming with stellar extras and housed in a gorgeous package, this is a great way to revisit and own the timeless flick.
The Film:
The mid 1980s were a wild time for Hong Kong action cinema. Director John Woo (The Killer, Hard Boiled) had blown the bloody doors off in 1986 with the terrific A Better Tomorrow starring actor on the rise, Chow Yun-fat. However, it was the next year that made arguably the longest lasting cultural impact, with Ringo Lam’s City on Fire (also starring Chow Yun-fat). The gritty tale of an undercover cop getting involved with a bunch of jewel thieves was not only a fresh, vibrant and gritty HK riff on The French Connection, it also managed to inspire American auteur and tootsie-wootsie enthusiast Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs (we’ll get back to those comparisons in a bit). Still, films are often a product of their time and don’t always age particularly well. So, all these eons later, how does Lam’s City on Fire stack up in 2026?
Pretty damn well, friends. Pretty damn well.
City on Fire is the story of Ko Chow (Chow Yun-fat), a charismatic, erratic undercover cop who is assigned to a case involving a slick gang of jewelry thieves responsible for the death of a fellow officer. Chow is not keen at all, but he reluctantly agrees. He slowly but surely gains the trust of gang member Fu (Danny Lee) and the pair strike up an uneasy but genuine friendship as the thieves prepare for their biggest heist yet. Add to that the growing rivalry between Chow’s superiors in the police force, the increasingly fractured relationship with his girlfriend, Hung (Carrie Ng) and Chow’s plate is pretty damn full. And when the job turns bad and gets shockingly violent, he’ll be lucky to make it out alive.
Inspired by a spate of real life jewelry robberies in Hong Kong, City on Fire is a gritty, unflinching look at criminal stupidity and police incompetency. Director Ringo Lam attended a court case where the real life crooks were getting done and was struck by what massive dickheads these people were, complete morons! He then channeled that into the yarn, showcasing a cadre of short-sighted, greedy, trigger happy losers. The exceptions to that rule are Chow and Fu, both played to perfection by Yun-fat and Lee respectively, who shine as decent, albeit deeply flawed individuals. The result is a gritty, realistic experience painted in shades of grey. And red.
Much has been made of the connections between City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs, and while it’s true that there are two of three moments ol’ mate QT clearly homages, the purpose of these films couldn’t be more different. Reservoir Dogs is an ensemble movie about cool characters being cool. They’re stylish, they’re witty, they’re endlessly quotable. We spend more time watching them bang on about pop culture than we do any of their jobs. Conversely, City on Fire is about hopeless, violent gronks. They dress badly, they’re not very bright and they frequently screw up with fatal results. We also follow the crooks on their jobs in Lam’s film, watching the tense heists turn pear shaped with shocking regularity.
It’s not a perfect film, mind you. The second act slows down a lot to accommodate Chow and Hung’s deeply toxic relationship, which loses its charm pretty quickly. You can tell Lam has a history with goofy comedies here, because the tone can turn downright screwball at times which is a bit jarring. However, it all comes together for a tense, shocking and much imitated third act that ends with a wallop.
The 4K print is absolutely pristine, letting you enjoy every grimy inch of 1980s Hong Kong, showcasing this classic flick in its best presentation to date.
The Extras:
A very solid grab bag of jewels here. There’s an audio commentary by film historians Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto, Burn It Down! an interview with Screenwriter Tommy Sham, Some Like It Hot – an interview with film historian Ric Meyers, Portrait of Anger – an interview with cinematographer Andrew Lau, and Long Arm of the Law – an interview with actor Roy Cheung.
There’s also an interview with Ringo Lam, who tragically left us in 2018, but who sounds as gritty and uncompromising aa his work.
Best in show is a tie between Burning Rivalries – an interview with film historian/author Kim Newman who talks about the influence of Ringo Lam on Reservoir Dogs and how the hot takes are all a bit half-arsed, and Hong Kong Confidential – Inside City On Fire with author Grady Hendrix: a fascinating and charming piece from the author of These Fists Break Bricks and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Hendrix, charismatic as always, has plenty to say about the film and its place in the canon of Hong Kong cinema, plus some revelations about how it got made and why Ringo Lam was so keen to make it. Longtime fans owe it to themselves to check out these short but dense featurettes.
There’s also a beautiful steelbook to house the movies, a flash 60-page hardcover booklet with brand new essays by Camille Zaurin and Walter Chaw. All of which is housed in a very pretty hardbox, perfect for shelfies.
The Verdict:
City on Fire is a gritty, impactful and profoundly influential Hong Kong action thriller that deserves its place in the pantheon of classics. Brimming with stellar extras and housed in a gorgeous package, this is a great way to revisit and own the timeless flick.
Much imitated but rarely equaled, City on Fire and its haunting saxophone score will stay with you long after the credits have rolled and the blood has dried.
