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| Images courtesy of Eureka Entertainment |
Eureka Entertainment like Arrow Video and 88 Films alongside
them have seen fit to try and publish East Asian films whether they be
Japanese, Chinese or South Korean in home video releases for introduction to Western
filmgoers. With particular interest as
of recent in actor Andy Lau’s works, including the Johnnie To film Running
on Karma, Eureka’s latest acquisition is City on Fire director Ringo
Lam’s 1995 triangular romantic actioner The Adventurers. Restored in 2K and released in a new special
edition with a slipcover and original artwork by Time Tomorrow, this release is
unique for containing three audio options: remixed 5.1, restored stereo or
original unrestored stereo. For the sake
of purity, I went with the unrestored track and while the sound was at times
muddy it didn’t detract from the overall viewing experience which became, at
times, hyperkinetic and even hallucinatory.
Wai Lok-yan (Andy Lau) was eight years old when he watched his
parents perish in Cambodia at the hands of Ray Lui (Paul Chun) a double agent
who double crossed his father working for the CIA. Taken in by his father’s colleague Shang
(David Chiang) to Thailand where he is raised to become a member of the Thai Air
Force, he soon learns his father’s killer has resituated in the United States
as a rich arms dealer. To track him down
and get close to him, he ingratiates himself on his daughter Crystal (Jacklyn
Wu) with the help of Ray’s mistress Mona (Rosamund Kwan) who herself begins to
fall for Wai Lok-yan. When it becomes
clear in order to fulfill this mission he must marry Crystal, it stirs Mona’s
own jealousies which become increasingly dangerously triangular engulfing this
unlikely trio dragged into the currents by Wai Lok-yan’s thirst for vengeance.
Made shortly before Ringo Lam left for the United States to
direct the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Maximum Risk, the film The
Adventurers is an energetic, tense and occasionally sexy triangular
love-crime-vengeance epic. The one and
only time Andy Lau and Ringo Lam collaborated on a film, the film was
co-written by Ringo Lam, Yip Kong-yam and Sandy Shaw. With razor sharp hyperkinetic editing by Wong
Wing-ming which at times moves so fast and flashy the folks at Eureka saw fit
to put a warning on the box for viewers with epilepsy, the film at times
reminded me of the flash cuts of Natural Born Killers or even the “sex”
scenes of Demolition Man. Lensed
by two cinematographers Ardy Lam and Arthur Wong in 1.85:1 widescreen with a
rousing original score by Teddy Robin Kwan, the look of the film is luminous
and lush with ample room for more than a few naughty sight gags including but
not limited to a half-naked Crystal being rescued from kidnapping and gunfire
mid-shower.
Performance wise, the film rests largely on the shoulders
and star power of Andy Lau who is a fiercely trained fighter who gets engaged
in some pretty wild battles. Rosamund Kwan
from the Once Upon a Time in China film series is excellent as a femme
fatale who helps Wai Lok-yan get where he needs to go but also secretly desires
him as well and Jacklyn Wu as Crystal brings vulnerability and conviction to
her role. The most seasoned actor in the
piece is Paul Chun who appeared in Robert Wise’s 1966 70mm epic The Sand
Pebbles and is regarded as one of Hong Kong’s greatest film stars. Also present is Shaw Brothers legend David
Chiang who himself won the Best Supporting Actor award for the 2023 Hong Kong
drama In Broad Daylight.
A transitional film for Ringo Lam who was about to embark on
an international film directing gig before returning to his native homeland and
one of two action films that year for Andy Lau, The Adventurers is a
mostly solid Hong Kong gunslinger and martial arts fighter flick. Eureka Entertainment’s release comes with plentiful
extras including but not limited to the aforementioned three audio tracks, an
audio commentary by film critic David West, an interview with the editor of Asian
Cinema journal Gary Bettinson and a previously unreleased interview with producer
Sandy Shaw. Also included with the
reversible sleeve art is a collector’s booklet with an essay by Hong Kong
cinema expert Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park.
Fans of Hong Kong cinema, Ringo Lam or Andy Lau star power will come
away elated with this explosive and fiery tale of bloody revenge.
--Andrew Kotwicki
