In the same year Alfred Cheung unveiled the screwball
romantic action comedy flick Paper Marriage featuring Sammo Hung and
Maggie Cheung opposite each other in an unlikely romcom pairing, Cheung teamed
up with Sammo Hung once again only this time as stunt choreographer and
producer in the hard hitting and relentless crime noir On the Run starring
Yuen Biao and Pat Ha. Co-written by Cheung
and Wong Wan-Kei and co-starring Charlie Chin, Yuen Wah and Phillip Ko, the
film is a white-knuckled unforgiving police corruption thriller whose ruthless
viciousness remains unparalleled and brass knuckled iron fisted punch to the gut
still leaves unhealable scars.
Like yin
and yang, the polar opposite project of Paper Marriage on every level
and regarded as a modern classic of Hong Kong thriller genre cinema, On the Run
originally came out in 2023 as a UK exclusive set via 88 Films. Circa 2026 on January 20th, 88
Films is doing up a new 2K restored disc release in both the UK and USA for the
first time featuring a collectible limited slipcover, reversible sleeve art and
plentiful extras including a newly filmed interview with director Alfred
Cheung.
Officer Heung Ming (Yuen Biao), following another drug bust
operation, finds himself in over his head with grief following the murder of
his wife and narcotics partner. With
police officials quick to point to Heung Ming as the culprit, his own
investigation leads him to Chui Pai (Pat Ha), a deadly female assassin responsible for
pulling the trigger that killed his wife.
At first it seems like a cut-and-dried police pickup, except that
Superintendent Lui (Charlie Chin) overseeing the case is in cahoots with
nefarious drug lords who will stop at nothing to keep the news that they’re
sitting on a pile of drugs and money from getting out into the open.
Rescued from being assassinated himself,
Heung Ming finds an unlikely ally in his wife’s murderer Chui Pai who herself
becomes targeted by the corrupt police force intent on silencing them. Amid the chaos, Heung Ming tries to escort
his young daughter to safety, ushering her into the care of her uncle while
evading police wire taps trying to track down and take the runaway
cop-and-assassin duo out.
A taut, unbearably tense and increasingly hostile Hong Kong
action thriller which shows again the opposing end of director Alfred Cheung’s
creative powers and producer/choreographer Sammo Hung’s strengths as a dramatic
filmmaker, On the Run is brilliantly photographed by Peter Ngor in
pink-purplish hues amid colorfully rendered interiors, powerfully scored by
Violet Lam with notes that seep into your steadily somber emotional state and
full of committed performances across the board from every actor.
Yuen Biao is tasked with carrying an almost Sisyphean
weight for the entirety of the picture and watching him shoulder it starts to
weigh on ourselves after awhile. Equally
complex and startling is Pat Ha as the assassin who at first seems like a cold
blooded snake but over time reveals her own blackened heart that’s been stomped
down by recurring tragedies and grieving of her own. Charlie Chin as the evil superintendent Lui
also gives a committed performance as a psychopath teetering on the edge of
madness and possession and his foray down the spiral doesn’t feel forced or
phoney.
Proof positive
both Sammo Hung and Alfred Cheung had the chops to do serious drama alongside
goofy carefree comedy with leading stars Yuen Biao and Pat Ha giving powerful performances
across the board, On the Run is absolutely one of the very best Hong
Kong titles from the 1980s as well as one of 88 Films’ strongest acquisitions
in a film die-hards as well as novice newcomers to Hong Kong cinema will want
to buy with confidence!
--Andrew Kotwicki