Rock on Fire
Director: Lung Sang
Year: 1994
Rating: 7.5
Like an out of control pinball
on jet propulsion fuel, this film madly veers between kinetic violence and
explicit highly charged sex and often the two are indistinguishable from
one another in this satisfying “B” action exploitation film. A good “B” action
film can be a purifying experience in that it is not burdened down with expectations
or the need to develop character beyond the basics. It is all there on the
surface for the viewer to slurp up quickly like a melting ice cream cone.
This film fits neatly into the basic plot rules of a “B” action film, but
it pushes everything over the edge like a bulldozer.
Two Japanese Red Army terrorists are in Hong Kong trying to buy some weapons
from Stuart Ong. Ong is a HK city councilor and thus off limits to the cops
– but he runs a weapon smuggling scheme on the side and enjoys very rough
sex whenever and however he can get it. At one point he chokes a woman to
death – and then proceeds to have sex with her. He is clearly a nasty character
and he has Billy Chow around to protect him.
The terrorists are a perverse brother and sister act – the tortured brother
played by Ken Lo screams out in agony whenever his sister, Mikie Ng Miu-yee,
has intercourse with another man. Mikie – called Icy – drips sex like a warm
ripe mango – all sultry and sticky – and very dangerous. She is one of the
more vicious femme fatales in a long line of HK femme fatales. Her idea of
sex is akin to a stock car rally full of moving parts and skid marks – with
a big car crash at the end. Having sex with her is tantamount to death –
she rips out the throat of one fellow during orgasm with her teeth – while
another fellow ends up with his eyeballs bouncing on the floor as if surprised
to find itself in a game of craps. In other words, Mikie is magnificent –
absolutely stunning and it is a shame that she seems to have appeared in
only a handful of Cat. III films in the mid-90s. Ken Lo has some good high
kicking scenes – and proves how tough he is as well when he seals his own
wound with a blowtorch!
On the other side of the law are the cops – headed up by Shing Fui On – but
most of the focus is on Inspector Cindy (Takajo Fujimi) and her male partner.
They try working their way towards Stuart Ong and the terrorists, but every
angle seems to lead to a dead body or a dead end. The film rarely slows down
for more than a moment before it is heating up again – as the film shifts
rapidly between the different sets of characters. Eventually, we enter into
the sacred realm of girls and guns – as the oh so composed Inspector Cindy
faces off against Mikie in a bone crunching fight. Cindy eyes her opponent
carefully, while Mikie purrs and licks her lips in anticipation.
For whatever reason, this film fared quite poorly at the box office in 1994,
but it deserves much better. It is a well-made film for its kind – with some
good action and a continuous tense edgy core that feels like it can go anywhere
– and Mikie may make your eyeballs feel like rolling on the floor as well.
As a note – to no one’s surprise I am sure – this film has no connection
to Ringo Lam’s “On Fire” films.
