Genres

Visitors Review

2013-05-18 20:09:04

Son of Dragon

This review is from: Rapid Fire [VHS] (VHS Tape) Bruce Li's biological son in an action movie involving martial arts. WOW. The Crow fights organized crime in this cop thriller. Action personified, martial arts style! Nuff' said.

edwagreen 2013-05-18 05:26:16

Rapid Fire-No Desire- Woe is Me for Brandon Lee **

Disappointing film that is somewhat saved by some excellent actionscenes. The shootings, wreck scenes, car chases and other excitementare about the best of what this weak film has to offer.Having survived the uprising in China's square in 1989, Lee is to behonored only to witness a rub-out of someone by a mafia type persondealing in heroin.The film becomes one of who shall be trusted. Cops really aren't copsand this can become confusing at times.Lee is taken in charge of by veteran cop Powers Boothe and the two teamup to thwart the drug ring. Of course, when Boothe catches a bullet atthe end of the film, Lee rushes in to save him from a raging fire. Thefilm might have been better had they further emphasized the rapportthat had been building between the two.

Paul Andrews 2013-05-02 02:11:51

Forgettable 90's action thriller.

Rapid Fire starts in Los Angeles where Chinese student Jake Lo (BrandonLee) is invited to a fun raising party in aid of helping those in hisown country, while at the party a drug trafficker named Carl Chang(Michael Paul Chan) is murdered by Californian drug lord & mobsterAntonio Serrano (Nick Mancuso) which Jake is witness to. Jake managesto survive Serrano's attempts to kill him at the party & is placed inprotective custody as the only living eye-witness, various Governmentagencies have been after Serrano for years & it is felt that Jake'stestimony could put him away for life but after being handed over tothe FED's in Chicago another attempt on his life is made but againusing his wits & martial art skills Jake manages to survive. Unable totrust anyone & with nowhere to go a cop named Mace Ryan (Powers Boothe)manages to convince Jake to trust him. Ryan has been after Serrano forten years & sees Jake as the key to nailing him & together they team upto being Serrano down & those who grow & supply the heroin...Directed by Dwight H. Little this incredibly formulaic action thrilleris perhaps most notable for featuring Brandon Lee the ill fated son ofmartial arts legend Bruce Lee in his final completed film as he wouldbe accidentally killed while shooting his next film The Crow (1993), tobe honest Rapid Fire is completely unremarkable in every aspect & whileit's not terrible it's pretty forgettable & far from special. RapidFire just feels like it has been thrown together using every actionthriller cliché going, the fish out of water hero, betrayal, one goodhonest cop willing to do what's right while those around him arecorrupt, an American mobster, drug deals gone bad, Chinese gangsters &lots of men in grey suits who walk around trying to look tough. Thewhole script feels like it has been cobbled together trying to use justabout every action thriller cliché & stereotype that it all became abit of a blur & it was all too familiar. On it's own the familiaritywouldn't have been so bad if the action made up for it but even this isroutine & predictable. The dialogue is pretty bland, the blandcharacter's do little to life Rapid Fire above average either, thereare many better action films out there with even the generic soundingtitle Rapid Fire not inspiring much interest. The script does try toinject a little human tragedy & give it's main character a little bitof background as the massacre in Tienanmen Square is featured but thisangle is quickly dropped as is Lee's quest to find out the truth abouthis dead father.I suppose the biggest disappointment with Rapid Fire was that theaction scenes are so dull, virtually every one is not much more thanpeople shooting at each other & no-one seems able to hit Brandon Leeobviously even though they are a few feet away. When Brandon Lee doesget to show off his martial art skills the film livens up a bit butthey aren't used enough & over too quickly. There's not much otheraction, a car blow's up, a truck overturns & there's a fire at the endbut not much else. The best sequence is at the end as Brandon Leefights the Chinese drug lord on train tracks which leads to an obviousdeath for the bad guy but it's as good as the film gets really. Thefilm looks alright but has no great visual style or substance.With a supposed budget of about $10,000,000 this has decent productionvalues but even back then that wasn't a lot of money for a big actionflick. The acting is alright, Brandon Lee is watchable enough whilePowers Boothe doesn't seem that interested.Rapid Fire is as routine & forgettable a 90's action thriller as thereis, Rapid Fire is the type of film that you think you have seen before& you definitely have except with different actor's as there reallyisn't an original moment in the entire 95 minute duration.

2013-05-01 07:34:29

The Most Underrated Action Movie This Decade

Rapid Fire may be a showcase for Brandon Lee's martial art skills but it is still a good movie. The action scenes are terrific and there's plenty of them. The movie itself may only be 90 min. but it is a very enjoyable 90 min. with all the fighting and explosions. To me the best thing about the movie is Kate Hodge who played Karla Withers. She is hot and I wish she was in more movies.

Philip 2013-03-30 13:15:18

Awesome Movie with Great Action

This is a great martial arts movie and my only favorite martial arts movie. Brandon Lee was incredible in this movie as College Student/Martial Artist Jake Lo, who his character witnesses a murder by a group of Chicago Drug Lords and everyone, including corrupt FBI agents, want him dead. So he has to take the law into his own hands and body. Brandon Lee's fight sequences, including the Chicago Restaurant shoot-out scene, were really incredible. This was the first movie i ever saw Brandon and he became one of my favorite actors. Rapid Fire is one of my favorite movies and i hope when you see it, it will become one of your favorites too.

2013-03-29 22:50:04

BRANDON LEE IS [GREAT]!!!

Brandon Lee is one of the best martial artist of all time and in this movie he just demonstrate that,this movie is awesome!!!.I also want to say that my DVD dosn't have the disc deffect people are talking about and don't freeze in any part of the movie. I also wnat to recomend SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO and the most brilliant movie of all time THE CROW!!! ...

2013-03-24 20:35:31

What would have been

Rapid Fire will forever stand as the movie that landed Brandon Lee the star making role of the Crow, which sadly as we all know, would be the last time he graced the screen. Lee plays a college student and martial artist with a tragic past who witnesses a mob hit and is soon on the run. Eventually he allies himself with an obsessed cop (Powers Boothe) to bring down the mob and the heroin smuggling drug ring it fronts, with plenty of greatly coreographed action along the way. Lee alone makes Rapid Fire worth seeing, not only because it was one of his last screen roles and a look at what might have been, but because he could have become the biggest action star of his time, much like his legendary father. Lee has all the right moves here, and his swaggering performance is reason enough to see the film. Boothe is great as well in one of his rare good guy roles, and the cast is rounded out by an ultra sleezy Nick Mancuso as a mob boss and Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3's Kate Hodge. The story isn't always coherent, and the editing is a bit triteful, but for action fans and fans of Lee's short lived legacy, this is worth picking up.

2013-03-24 08:04:23

great fight sequences and screen presence of Brandon Lee elavate this movie

i watched this movie a long time ago,and remember it as being nothing short of awesome.i guess our tastes change as we grow older.anyway,after watching it last night,i found myself disappointed.don't get me wrong,i still think it's a fairly decent movie.the problem is that many movies of this genre are fairly decent.(and some of course are not so decent)i think there are 2 things that set this movie apart from others. one thing is how fantastic and spectacular the fight scenes are.the other is the charisma and screen presence of the late Brandon Lee.without those 2 components,this movie would be maybe a bit above average.as it is this movie gets 3.5/5

2013-03-15 22:08:31

Underrated

This underrated martial arts vehicle stars Brandon Lee as Jake Lo, acollege student who becomes the targets of drug lords after being awitness to a murder.The action scenes are very well handled. The highlight of the moviewould have to be the warehouse scene about 20 minutes or so into themovie. However, some of the other fight scenes are also veryentertaining to watch.Brandon Lee gives a pretty good performance in this movie, better thanmost martial arts movies made in this era. Overall, this movie is worthyour time, and unfairly overlooked.

2013-03-15 10:57:38

Good movie......Disc defects!

Well, I just got my order of Rapid Fire today and just like some of the customers who posted an interview, I too am having slight problems with the disc. Actually, just 1 minor problem. It freezes in the middle of the fight in the bar just before Brandon fights the big man. I don't how it's possible for many people to have this same problem with different 'Rapid Fire' DVD discs. I thought it was either the disc or my DVD player. Luckily, I came here to and found out that I'm not the only one with this disc defect. I guess the company that made the Rapid Fire disc are the ones responsible(manufacture defect). Please correct me if I'm wrong on that one. I've already found out from other people that they have returned their Rapid Fire disc to replace it with the same copy and still they have the same problem. I won't even bother returning it after finding this out.Another problem I experience is the poor quality sound. I have Rapid Fire on tape. Actually, my dad recorded it on a tape in EP(extended play) when I was little and to this day the sound comes out better than the one on DVD. When I say that, I mean that in my tape, a punching sound can be heard and felt better than the one on DVD. The sound on DVD(gun shots, punches, etc.) was toned down a bit. I also have some other movies on DVD where some sounds cannot be heard or were toned down whereas on VHS, the sound effects are better heard.Does anyone know why the "pause" happens in the bar fight? I once tried to fast forward it but it froze and nothing happens. I even tried to rewind, press stop, and even push the OFF button on my DVD player and it still wouldn't do anything. It completely froze my whole DVD player....then after 5 seconds it turned off cause I pressed the OFF button. Reminds me of my computer everytime it freezes. I guess it's because I have to fast forward right BEFORE it freezes, NOT WHILE it is frozen. Anyone here ever tried that?Other than that, the movie was good. I've always like this movie and Brandon Lee is amazing. It's just that damn defect though that ruins my interest in watching the movie on DVD. Damn, now I have to resort to my VHS version, which I don't mind but the problem is, my VHS player isn't working at the moment. Heheh.Well, that's it. Someone please respond back if you are in the same position as I am. Thanks!

2013-03-12 02:34:28

A great movie for Brandon Lee fans

I am a huge Brandon Lee fan and I love this movie. His style of acting issorealistic and sincere you get a real sense that he is living thissituationbefore your eyes. His expressions, the look in his eyes, his acting isveryhonest. In the scene when he is in the apartment with the corrupt cops,the"deer caught in the headlights" look he has when he realizes he is introuble is priceless. He has a quirky sense of humor which he shows inmanyof his movies. I always laugh during the apartment scene when he searchesfor food and discovers nothing but Pop-Tarts. Although the love sceneseemstacked on, the movie is still one of my favourites.

2013-03-11 10:25:12

Pretty good action movie

This review is from: Rapid Fire (DVD) This was my first time seeing Brandon Lee. I've never seen The Crow. I didn't realize he was a martial artist as well. At times his moves looked very remenisent of Bruce Lee! It's pretty impressive. I actually bought this movie because Powers Boothe is one of my favorite actors. But Brandon Lee was very good. Of course, there are some things about this movie that arent very realistic. Like how he can fight his way out of a room filled with 20 guys with automatic weapons. All in all its a pretty good action/martial arts movie.

2013-02-08 12:57:53

why is it not on dvd?

Brandon Lee is the most overlooked martial arts star of this decade. Granted he only made three american movies (we'll just forget about Laser Mission) in his short career, and the Crow was the best all around film. But don't forget about the amazing choreography(spelling) that he created for Rapid Fire. The martial arts in this film stand up to the best in this genre - there is no reason Rapid Fire should not be available on dvd.

2013-02-07 20:46:22

Brandon Lee Lives Up To The Legenday Status Of Bruce Lee

Jake Lo, A college student who lost his father in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, is somewhat tricked in attending a political rally to raise money for dissident Chinese Students. The partyis held by a wealthy drug dealer who works for Kinman Tau, a criminal mastermind behind an internationl drug racket, as theparty continues a down on his luck american gangster kills the host of the party in a fit of rage And Jake Lo ends up beinga witness to the murder and finds himself caught in the crossfireof a vicious drug war between two mob boses. Mindless Viloence, Well worn out charcters the viewer has seentime and time before in these type of films but somehow thanksto Branden Lee's competent style and the grace of the fight sequnces this film is way above most others in the genre. It'shard to live up to The Sheer Brillance His Father Bruce Leehas acomplished But Brandon Lee Does Deliver the one liners andthe action in grand style.

2013-02-03 06:14:50

Rapid Fire

Great movie finally availabe on dvd! The only problem is that in the big shootout towards the end of the movie the picture freezes in the middle of the chapter. Unable to make it move without fast forwarding i returned it and got another copy whichdid exactly the same thing. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

Matthew Harms 2013-02-02 21:16:09

My FAVORITE action flick

Seeing as how this is my favorite action flick ever I thought it best totell everyone that it is the best.I watched this movie first with my brother when it came out and I enjoyed itbut I did not really enjoy it. I then took about a year of watching othercrummy action movies with my friend to realize how good Rapid Firewas.After this revelation where we learned of the mighty grandeur of thisamazing movie we probably watched it once a week for months. We had everysingle kick, punch down that Brandon did. Although the plot and acting isn'texactly high quality, the fridge in the face makes up for it all.Ouch!If you don't want to take a lot of time watching sub par action movies justgo straight for the best one out there!

Dave Thomas 2013-01-21 02:44:32

Damn, I love this movie

This was the first movie I saw with Brandon Lee in it, and despite thehackneyed plot, cheesy dialogue and pedestrian performances from thesupporting cast, I still love it. Simply put, Brandon Lee kicksass.Even compared to '90s kung fu stars like Jet Li and Donnie Yen, Brandonhadsome excellent moves. The fight scenes, choreographed by Lee and JeffImada,are well-paced and exciting, with Lee demonstrating his amazing skill. Inparticular, his big fight with Al Leong features some impressive use offather Bruce's one-inch punch. I wish it was out on DVD!

StrayButlerReturns 2013-01-20 22:55:45

Exciting, Rapid-Fire Action Flick!

Designed and constructed as nothing more than a kick-'em-up actionvehicle for Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), Rapid Fire is satisfyingpatchwork genre film-making. It's a highly entertaining, albeitpainfully generic pastiche of Mafioso politics, crooked FBImachinations, perpetual mayhem and an array of awesome actionsequences. No elements are incorporated into Rapid Fire to hoist itabove the territory of the strictly ordinary, but it remains fulfillingas a mindless action flick.The plot, naturally, has a clichéd ring to it: in a typically contrivedway, Jake Lo (Lee) witnesses a mob execution. Jake agrees to testifyagainst the Big Powerful Bad Guy No-One Has The Guts To Mess With, andthe FBI places him in the witness protection program. Since it's anunwritten law in the world of action flicks, this witness protectionprogram proves rife with corruption, and Jake - once framed by the FBI- is forced to take matters into his own hands. On the run from the lawand caught in the middle of a battle between two feuding drug lords,the Jake is faced with only one way to clear his name: team up with arenegade cop (Boothe). Nothing new here, folks.Alan McElroy's screenplay (from a plot conceived by himself and CindyCirile) seems culled from about 15 television movies concerning witnessrelocation, unjustly-accused heroes, and cops so devious it'simpossible to tell who to root for. The plot twists are all quitepredictable, the love interest (in the form of a female cop played byKate Hodge...is there any other kind?) seems rudimentary, and thevillains are comprised of stock B-movie bad guy clichés. Point is,there's no narrative innovation, and characterisations are nothingunprecedented. But why watch such a motion picture on the basis ofanything other than action? You shouldn't. Rapid Fire is an actionmovie; plain and simple. Sure, the world already has enough actionmovies, but Rapid Fire manages to do something that other action moviesfailed to achieve: showcase the amazing fighting skills and generalagility of Bruce Lee's son. The film never breaks out of the B-moviemould, but Brandon Lee (who helped choreograph the fighting) is givenmultiple action scenes to work with, ensuring the movie is worthsitting through despite the recycled plot and characters.As for Brandon Lee, he's not as wooden as one might expect. It was tohis advantage that his acting didn't suffer from the exasperatingeccentricities of his action star peers - such as Steven Seagal'segocentric mumbling or the preening style of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Or,for that matter, he wasn't marred by any of their accents either. Leecould act; he emitted a charming screen presence of good looks andgenuine cool. His fisticuffs are fluid and exhilarating, and boast aninventiveness rarely witnessed outside of Hong Kong kung-fu cinema -not only does Lee use his hands and feet as lethal weapons, but he alsodefends himself by improvising with nearby objects. Lee's sudden death(due to an on-set accident during production of his next movie, TheCrow) is a true tragedy - the young lad had a promising career ahead ofhim. As for the rest of the cast, there's a solid, if routineperformance courtesy of Powers Boothe playing the grizzled,single-track cop, in addition to Nick Mancuso who's passable as thevillain, and Kate Hodge who's likable but nothing special as the loveinterest. Al Leong makes a brief appearance to battle Lee at one stage,too. During the '80s, Leong's played background henchmen in severalaction films (like Die Hard and Action Jackson), and it's terrific tosee him here.As far as standard, mindless cookie-cutter action movies (with littleredeeming values) go, you could certainly do far worse than Rapid Fire,though that's hardly a ringing endorsement. Those who enjoyballs-to-the-wall action movies will find enough to enjoy within thesefast-paced 90 minutes, but others need not apply.

2013-01-20 17:00:25

Lee was b@d @$$ 7.5/10

Just a random review of a random VHS I bought. Rapid Fire released in 1992 directed by Dwight H Little he directed Halloween 4 a good sequel Marked For Death & Murder At 1600 I remember that being good. Starring Brandon Lee as Jake Lo, Powers Boothe as Mace Ryan. Kate Hodge as Karla Withers Nick Mancuso as Anonio Serrano & Tzi Ma as Kinman Tau. Jake Lo a college student witnesses & well a mafia leader named Anonio Serrano & well he wants him dead he'll use cops & special agents that are on his pay roll to kill him. Jake finds help in a Chicago cop Mace Ryan & his partner Karla Withers. Later on Jake beats Serrano up pretty good but a rival group lead by Kinman Tau kills Serrano in his jail cell. Then Jake, Mace & Karla go after Kinman Tau yo have some big fights & lots of action. Rapid Fire is a fun movie lots of action great fights Brandon Lee had some kick a** fights with no shakey cam BS pratical effects there is no complaints. There was going to be a Rapid Fire 2 but of course Brandon Lee died so it didn't happen unfortunately. He was offered the role of Johnny Cage supposedly could you imagine Brandon Lee as Johnny Cage that would've rocked. So stay around as I review more movies & video games.

SPaS 2013-01-20 03:24:33

Good popcorn- actioner

I don't understand why people go bitching about this flick. What are youexpecting from a movie called "Rapid fire", anyway?? If you're not an actionfan then you should know better and go watch "Piano" or some other high-browstuff. Rapid Fire is just great, that is, in the light-hearted,action-packed whupass-flick-category. Better than any Van Damme (althoughHard Target and Universal Soldier come close) or S.Seagal (respectively,Under Siege and Marked for Death come close) flick, I'd even compare thiswith Lethal Weapons 1-2! Don't mind the story - all you need to now is thatit features Brandon Lee in a very relaxed role, as a sympathetic collegestudent well capable of handling himself around, getting cornered by adrug-smuggling ring. The villains have been given the comic-book/cartoontreat, but in the very best of ways. Nick Mancuso as the henchman is justover the top- think Alan Rickman in "Robin Hood - the Prince of Thieves"! Sofix yourself a cup of popcorn and go rent this. Won't get bored, won't bedisappointed.