Wild Search

Director: Ringo Lam

Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Roy Chueng, Cherie Chung, Tommy Wong and Paul Chun.

Plot: The police are staking out a Hong Kong flat, waiting to catch some major gun-dealers. While the suppliers are conducting their deal, they move in. Both buyers are killed in the gunfire, but not their young daughter. The suppliers escape, and as their ruthless boss covers his tracks, he goes after the girl, the only witness. They trace her to a safe house, but are killed in the ensuing gunfight.

Review: Ringo Lam delivers yet another gritty Hong Kong thriller starring his favourite actors Chow Yun Fat, Roy Cheung and Tommy Wong. This was an excellent way for him to follow on from his “On Fire” films. He seemed to be totally committed to Wild Search. The script writer Nam Yin (who also stars) was also the person responsible for the Prison On Fire script.

Chow Yun Fat is a very capable actor and he portrays his character believably, he is an every day man, who has to cope with day to day struggles, he is not a gun toting hero like in the John Woo films. The man is such a graceful actor, in one scene he portrays his anger through facial expressions before he is pushed over the edge and forced to use a physical way of releasing his stress, in this case he smashes a nearby bottle.

Roy Cheung plays bullet, as always he is cast as the all out villain, and with a name like bullet its not hard to tell what he does. He gets to use his famous death stare and is brilliant in the gripping finale with Chow Yun Fat. During the finale Roy and Chow struggle in a burning house, as if Ringo Lam didn’t already have enough on his plate he added the unpredictable element that is fire. Not only is it hard to control but it puts the actors and other crew members at risk. It paid off though and I’m sure everyone was happy with the results as it makes for a refreshing yet intense final few minutes.

Tommy Wong is cast as a police officer that is working on the same case as Chow. He is a great actor and his presence is defiantly felt. Other fans of HK cinema sight this as his best work, I’d probably agree, but it’s worth checking him out in the “On Fire” film series and A Moment Of Romance. Cherie Chung stars as the sister of the victim, her and Chow fall for each other, but the romance is made difficult because of the case and her ex-husband nosing in on her affairs. Cherie and Chow have appeared together many times in films such as The Postman Strikes Back and Once A Thief. Chan Cheuk Yan plays the little girl Ka Ka, she is a fantastic actress, it would be a crime not to mention her because she is the element that drives the plot forward.

Behind the camera were acclaimed cinematographer Andrew Lau, the music was scored by composer Lowell Lo and was sung by the late Anita Mui.

Ringo Lam had to outdo his “On Fire” films, which is no easy feat for any director as they were all brilliant and well acclaimed. The result was Wild Search which was just as good and just as well received, and so it should be, its an entertaining film that puts the audience through lots of different emotions. It’s hard to see how Ringo keeps making better and more realistic gangster films but somehow he does, it’s also worth seeking out Full Contact if you haven’t already done so. Often referred to as the HK version of Witness, Wild Search should not be missed by anyone remotely interested in Asian Cinema.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10.0