Directors: Andrew Kam,
Johnnie To
Notable Cast: Waise
Lee, Matthew Wong, Phillip Kwok, Lionel Lo, Paul Chu, Betty Mak, Peter Lai,
Stuart Ong, Robin Shou
There’s always a sense of shock and accomplishment when one
discovers an overlooked diamond of a film out there in the black holes of the
cinematic void. This is the feeling that overcame me when I sat down to watch
the Hong Kong action flick The Big Heat
with my brother the other day. As a fan of the cops n’ criminals genre of Hong
Kong action flicks from the 80s and early 90s, I was also a tad shocked that
this one has flown under the radar. Not only is this film good, but it’s packed
with a phenomenal cast and co-directed by one of Hong Kong’s greatest
directors, Johnnie To. The film itself is ripe with wonderful artistic
direction, massively entertaining and vicious action sequences, and a darkness
to its police team narrative that gives it an impressive depth. The Big Heat, despite its generic title,
deserves to be listed among some of the best of the style and belongs up there
in the ranks of classics from John Woo, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark.