In 1990 John Woo was pretty much finished with Hong Kong even if he didn’t know it. He was getting calls from Hollywood; the heroic bloodshed genre he had helped create was becoming stale, his relationship with Tsui Hark had been destroyed after the release of the Killer and the market was changing to comedies. However he wanted to make one last movie which he started developing whilst working another (Once a Thief released in 1991). This other film would be Hardboiled, Hong Kong’s own Dirty Harry with a violent nonsense cop trying to get a vicious serial killer.
The film was to be an edgy thriller not a stylish action film at the start according to John Woo. It didn’t really turn out like for a lot of reasons. Whilst they in pre-production the film was meant to have Tony Leung as psychopath who poisoned babies which unsurprisingly tested horribly with US investors. The script had to be changed and Barry Wong the screenwriter of films like Yes Madam, Island of Fire, Armour of God and Officer Tuba and who had an appearance in John Woo’s The Killer as Cheif Inspector Dou was brought in to help rewrite the script. He started rewriting the script changing it so Tony Leung was an undercover cop but would die before finishing the rewrite was finished so John Woo combined various elements from both scripts to create the film itself which as many critics can attest wasn’t a bad thing.
The films plot follows Tequila (played by Chow Yun Fat) a jazz musician detective with the Hong Kong Police Force who is tracking down a serial killer called the Dragon who’s shooting people randomly around Hong Kong whilst he deals with death of partner. Meanwhile Teresa Chang (Michelle Yeoh) is investigating a triad bosses and arms dealer Johnny Wong (Antony Wong) with help from undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung) who may not exactly be sane. It turns out that Alan is the Dragon having snapped under the pressure of being an undercover cop and he dupes Johnny Wong into helping him gain hold of a hotel and cause a hostage situation which Tequila and Teresa must stop.
When the film came out in Hong Kong it was a moderate success. However the film would become a surprise success in the west much to the surprise of the filmmaker and the actors involved. Many critics have tried to pinpoint why and have come up with some answers. Mainly they point to the major actors (Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung and Antony Wong) and the films mix of explosive action, grisly killings and beautiful cinematography. To quote Hong Kong film historian Bey Logan “Hong Kong is presented as city of pulp fiction come to life. With it neon lights, vicious gangsters, a villain beyond saving and hardboiled cops it presents Hong Kong as a city which needs to be saved, which the heroes certainly do.”
The film relies heavily on the actors turning in good performance so the film’s less action heavy parts (it is very action heavy though, about a third of the movies has action set-pieces) can watchable which they do magnificently. Chow Yun Fat’s turn as Tequila the hardboiled detective with a heart of gold is fun to watch. One moment he’s blasting a mercenary away with a shotgun, the next he’s playing saxophone in a jazz club in a rather lovely scene where he awkwardly tries to chat up Teresa which is both heart warming and hilarious. Michelle Yeoh is on fire as Teresa the no nonsense cop who’s trying to do the case by the book which she slowly has to give up over the course of the film.
The films action is amazing as well. The opening shootout in the tea house is a classic of action cinema with the hotel takeover and shootouts being a close second including a 6 minute take following Tequila and Teresa as they clear a floor of bad guys leading to a shootout in the hotels pool which is awesome in its mixture of chorography and set up. A personal favourite is the foot chase between Alan and Tequila as they jump between the roofs and go between the alleyways of Hong Kong in a claustrophobic sequence.
With its success in the west the film would be a jumping off point for both the actors and director for successful careers in the West and Hong Kong. John Woo would make several films in the west including Goldeneye in 1995 and The Punisher in 2005 as well Max Payne in 2012 (Mostly due to lobbying from Sam Lake and Remedy Entertainment) as well as still making films in Hong Kong including the critically acclaimed Blackjack with Tony Leung in 1998 and Manhunt in 2016 which won him a Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award from Tiff. Michelle Yeoh would have a very successful career in the west thanks to the release of this, Police Story 3: Supercop and Heroic Trio with that year and the following year which catapulted her to cult stardom in the West. A humorous appearance in Jacky Brown (the scene where she and Pam Grier argue about Kung Fu movies is hilarious) and a role Tomorrow Never Dies launched her western career leading to her getting roles in such films like Dark Knight and Kill Bill 3 alongside Chow Yun Fat as well as TV.
Chow Yun Fat wouldn’t have as dramatic a career but he would still have a sizable presence in Western pop culture thanks to his appearance in this film and others previously with John Woo. He has had a good career in the west appearing as John Lee in Replacement Killers 1& 2 (but not 3 which makes sense because it’s terrible), Bad Boys 3 has Mr Chang and in the Oscar nominated Pacific Rim as Commander Chang whilst in Hong Kong appearances in films like Hero, the God of Gamblers series and Johnnie To’s Shootout alongside Antony Wong. Tony Leung’s career as been less dramatic mainly sticking to Hong Kong and China with only occasional sorties into Western films with roles in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Transformers 4 being good indicates why he doesn’t do a lot of Western films. He is probably most famous in the west for appearing in Chunking Express and The Ballad of Fallen Angels (both by Wong Kar-Wai) and the Grandmaster as Ip Man.
The person who has probably had the most exciting and bizarre career is Antony Wong who bounces around effortlessly between villain and hero roles in both Hong Kong and Western films. In the west he’s probably known best known as Mr Po in the Sleeping Dogs game series, the cult film Domu as Mr Leung and the recent Rogue One film as smuggler Sep Chipasa whose also set to appear in the upcoming Han Solo film. In Hong Kong he’s famous for appearing in Infernal Affairs Trilogy, the horror comedies Happy Campers and Bio Zombie (by Wilson Yip) and Shootout alongside Chow Yun Fat.
The film itself would become a cult classic in the west influencing many film directors from Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson, Rachel Talalay, Guillermo del Toro, Kathryn Bigelow and Robert Rodriguez been known fans of the film and inserting references to it in their films. It also has a massive fan base in Japan with many anime creators referencing it ranging from Shinichirō Watanabe, all the way to Satoshi Kon oddly and manga creators like Naoki Urasawa and Sho Fumimura been known fans as well. It also lead to the popularity of the Heroic Bloodshed genre in the west which still continues to this day with franchises like Max Payne, The Raid and The Couriers being good examples of its continuing growth.
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