Rapid Fire (1992 film)

Rapid Fire is a 1992 American action film directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe and Nick Mancuso. The film was released in the United States on August 21, 1992. Lee was reportedly in talks with 20th Century Fox about making Rapid Fire 2, prior to his death.

Rapid Fire
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDwight H. Little
Produced byRobert Lawrence
Written byAlan McElroy
Story byCindy Cirile
Alan McElroy
Starring
Music byChristopher Young
CinematographyRic Waite
Edited byGib Jaffe
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox[1]
Release date
  • August 21, 1992 (1992-08-21)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish[1]
Box office$14.4 million (US)[2]

Plot

The film opens in Thailand, with Antonio Serrano, a mafia drug distributor visiting long-time associate Kinman Tau, a drug kingpin. Serrano is having troubles and wants them to work together, but his request is not reciprocated.

Turned off from politics after witnessing the death of his father at Tiananmen Square in China, Los Angeles art student Jake Lo is lured to a party of Chinese pro-democracy activists. While there, he witnesses Serrano killing party sponsor Carl Chang, who was an associate of Tau. When Serrano and his men attempt to kill Jake, he swiftly disarms them using martial arts techniques. Jake is placed under protective custody by federal agents, who coerce him into coming to Chicago and testifying against Serrano.

When the agents at the safe house are revealed to be corrupt, Jake escapes through the window and encounters a young police detective named Karla Withers, who instantly falls for him. Withers' partner, Lieutenant Mace Ryan, helps Jake evade his pursuers and reveals that he had been pursuing Tau for 10 years.

Jake is persuaded by Ryan to help him exploit Serrano's FBI ties and obtain information about Tau's next shipment. Though the sting operation is successful, Jake is nearly killed in a barrage of gunfire and assaults Ryan after he reveals his involvement was not necessary. Later that night, Jake and Karla begin a romance and have sex in her apartment, while Ryan and his team lead a raid at the revealed location of the next shipment: Tau's laundry factory. Both the lovemaking and the events of the raid are shown alternately as they occur in actual time, culminating with Serrano being murdered in his cell by one of Tau's henchman.

Jake, Ryan and Withers subsequently team up to bring down Tau once more. Though Ryan and Withers are captured by Tau's men, Jake rescues them and eventually kills Tau at a train platform. He and Karla then evacuate Ryan from the burning factory and ride to the hospital together in an ambulance.

Cast

Release

The film is debuted at No.3 at the box office.[3] After Brandon Lee's death while filming The Crow, his films, such as Rapid Fire, saw a surge in video sales.[4] 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the DVD in Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 16 July 2001, and Region 1 in the United States on May 21, 2002.

Production

Paul Attanasio was brought in as a script doctor to re-work the film's story before shooting.[5] School scenes were filmed at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Many of the fight scenes were orchestrated by Lee, which contain elements of his father Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do fighting style.[6]

Reception

Stephen Hunter of the Baltimore Sun wrote that the film's fast pace, which he compared to video games, leaves Lee unable to show his charisma.[7] Although he called the film a "disaster", Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel called Lee likable and appealing.[8] Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas described the film as "better than Enter the Dragon" and a star-making role for Lee.[9] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film exploits the death of Lee's father, martial arts actor Bruce Lee, to make his character seem more sympathetic.[10]

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator that includes both contemporary and modern reviews, it has an approval rating of 45% based on 22 reviews; the average rating is 4.86/10.[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[12]

References
  1. "Rapid Fire". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  2. "Rapid Fire". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  3. Fox, David J. (1992-08-25). "Weekend Box Office `Unforgiven' at Top for Third Week". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  4. Hunt, Dennis (1993-04-09). "A Resurgence of Interest in Films of Brandon Lee". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
  5. "Paul Attanasio Bio". iMDB.
  6. "Brandon Lee follows father's footsteps". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  7. "Lee's charm is raked by 'Rapid Fire'". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  8. Siskel, Gene (1992-08-21). "Dump `Rapid Fire,` But Keep Brandon Lee". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  9. Thomas, Kevin (1992-08-21). "'Rapid Fire' Launches Heir to Lee's Kung Fu Legacy". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  10. Holden, Stephen (1992-08-21). "Review/Film; Violence Compounded by More Violence". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  11. "Rapid Fire (1992)". Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  12. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
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