Plot: Inspector Waipong Wong has to put his life and resignation from the Hong Kong police department on hold to investigate his former partner’s mysterious murder. What he and his crack team of three other cops uncover is a plot far more sinister than they originally anticipated.
I have to admit I had never watched The Big Heat before until my buddy Anuj mentioned it and that I needed to check it out. He was not wrong as this movie is amazing and still hilariously violent all these years later.
The kills in this movie still hold up with great practical effects and there are almost too many to mention here. The elevator scene is amazing as is the goon getting shot and then getting his head cut off. Oh and the guy getting mangled by a car was awesome too.
This is a movie for gorehounds and action fans but also fans of John Woo. This is like a Friends Reunited movie as we have Waise Lee (from A Better Tomorrow) as Chief Inspector Waipong Wong, Kong Chu (from The Killer) as the villain Ching Han, and Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok (Mad Dog from Hard Boiled) as the heroic Detective Ah Kam. Matthew Wong also stars as the over enthusiastic Inspector Kwok-Keung Lun who has “dead meat” written on him from the start.
The story is basically investigating the death of Waiping Wong’s partner and trying to take down corrupt smug businessman Ching Han. The tone is dead serious and it works well; the action is out of this world and has an almost guerilla feel to it where you can even see bystanders on the street watching them film. There are shoot-outs and some mind blowing explosions especially the apartment towards the end of the picture.
I love every moment of this film and will need to pick it up on physical media as I just rented it on YouTube.
Keep an eye out for producer Tsui Hark who shows up as the long haired cop at the end.
Overall, if you love ultra violent but super cool action movies then you’re going to love The Big Heat as it’s got a great cast and some spectacular kills making this a must watch.