Long Arm Of The Law (1984) @ 省港旗兵

Lam Wai 林威 stars in Long Arm Of The Law (1984) 省港旗兵

At a glance:

An obviously dated but important Chinese film that predates all the John Woo gun movies from Hong Kong that we celebrate. Director Johnny Mak Tong Hung 麥當雄 gets some cold-blooded actin out of exploitation flick staple Lam Wai 林威 (pic) in a movie where everyone's a bad guy. It's about how a bunch of Mainland ex-soldiers travel to Hong Kong hopin to pull off some heists and make the kind of money that they can never make in 100 years workin in China (referenced in the film). Hooray for Capitalism. Hooray for exploitation cinema.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Might be difficult to find this film in its entirety (not those episodic YouTube uploads). Might be more difficult to find out why it's good cinema if you're just a regular movie buff. This was one of the earliest films for villain staples like Chan Ging and Shum Wai.

Watch out for:

A climactic gunfight through the mazy, squalid squatters in what was once the lawless Kowloon Walled City. Fuicho. Some really OTT executions, too.

Most memorable line:

"I am a Mainland boy. I don't know my ABCDs. I do things without any love or interest. Don't try to be funny with me. What are you, whore? You're a rotten tomato. You're a chicken biscuit. Now, strip!"

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Eye-openin crime flick about how it used to be durin the days of givin your brother a Dupont lighter to show him how you've made it big. Long Arm Of The Law (1984) was ranked #6 on the list of Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures durin the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony on 27 March 2005.★★★
Trailer for the curious:

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