Tiger Cage 3 (1991) [Film Review]

Tiger Cage 3; or, Beware of Femme Fatale
     What have I done? In this world, whoever gets the money also gets the power!
The third part of Tiger Cage is also the final instalment of Yuen Woo-ping’s action thriller trilogy. Interestingly, this particular movie is a sharp breakaway from the style set by the previous pictures. There is more emphasis on drama and economic espionage. Is Tiger Cage 3 a worthy conclusion of the saga about righteous police officers from Hong Kong? Let's see together.

Release Info

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping Starring: Kwok Leung Cheung, Michael Wong, Sharla Cheung

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 冷面狙擊手 Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis
Inspector James (Kwok Leung Cheung) and his colleague Inspector John (Michael Wong) are investigating a businessman called Lee Siu Bong (Kam-Kong Wong). Thanks to James’ girlfriend, Suki (Sharla Cheung), who works for Lee, the police obtains documents which incriminate the businessman. However, Lee Siu manages to get the papers. He also kidnaps Suki and injures James. In the meantime, John is discharged from the force due to accusations of carrying out blackmail. The friends join forces in an attempt to get even with Lee. However, things do not appear to be as they are…

The Streets Are Hot
After seeing Tiger Cage 1 & 2, I was hopeful that Yuen Woo-ping will deliver yet another action flick with well-made choreography and fast-paced fights. However, Tiger Cage 3 seems to be more like a mash-up between Sam Raimi’s Darkman (1990) and The Bold and The Beautiful (1987) soap opera. Seriously, the main protagonist, Inspector James, ends up getting disfigured by the bad guys due to the documents of his sweetheart (just like in Raimi's film). What is more, the alliances between characters shift more frequently than Windows 10 updates. Towards the third act, you can get pretty confused in the maze of plot twists.

Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Sharla Cheung, then you will find her as the redeeming factor of this story. In fact, Tiger Cage 3 is all about Sharla and her sex appeal. In addition, each scene is an excuse to put her into a new 1980s dress. Honestly, I think that Sharla was doing a much better job in Stephen Chow’s comedies, whereas in Tiger Cage 3 her performance is mediocre at best.

What about the action? Don’t get your hopes, because the fight sequences are scarce. The only confrontations worth nothing are Kwok Leung Cheung vs. John Cheung showdown and the finale at a rooftop of a skyscraper. What is more, Michael Wong is criminally underused in this picture (Yet again, when counting his short appearance in Magnificent Warriors). Michael seems to be the only actor experienced enough to carry this movie, but weak script brings everything down.

That being said, I enjoyed the picturesque panorama of Hong Kong. Tiger Cage 3 is one of the rare movies which show how awesome the city’s downtown area really is. This place is truly one of a kind.

Recommendations
I recommend Tiger Cage 3 only for die-hard fans of Yuen Woo-ping. This movie is the only entry in the trilogy which was made without any solid idea. I guess Yuen must have really liked Darkman when it came out and he wanted to replicate those vigilante vibes. Try to refer to D&B company’s other productions instead, like In the Line of Duty series.

Overall score: 5/10

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Tiger Cage 2 (1990) [Film Review]

Tiger Cage 2: or, Midnight Run
     Do you even know where is the Caribbean Sea?
Director Yuen Woo-ping continues his series of dynamic thrillers about police officers with Tiger Cage 2, the movie that has absolutely nothing in common with the original Tiger Cage apart from the title and a couple of returning actors. This “sequel in name only” is considered by many fans of Hong Kong cinema as the cult classic due to relentlessly electrifying action set pieces and the presence of Doonie Yen as the male lead.

Release Info

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping Starring: Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan, David Wu

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 洗黑錢 Runtime: 102 min

Synopsis
Mandy (Rosamund Kwan) is a lawyer at a prestigious company; however, she witnesses a brutal murder in the parking lot in the course of which a suitcase filled with money laundered by mobsters goes missing. The mobsters presume that Mandy may be in the possession of the money, so they go after her. Due to unexpected circumstances, the lawyer bumps into a hot-headed cop called Dragon (Donnie Yen). The two are framed for killing Mandy’s friend, Petty (Carol Dodo Cheng). As a result, Mandy and Dragon are on the run from the gangsters and the police. With the help of a fellow worker from the company, David (David Wu), the trio decides to find the money and clear their names.

Yes, Madam Goes Places
Tiger Cage 2 is a film produced by the famous D&B company and basically made by the same team of filmmakers who cooked up In the Line of Duty 4 (1989). Donnie Yen finally takes over the wheel as a leading man in this film and we see him battle such popular “bad guys” as Michael Woods and John Salvitti. Even Cynthia Khan herself makes a small appearance as Inspector Yeung. Apart from one nice chase scene, she does not have much to do in this film, but one has to appreciate her wardrobe (this casual white outfit is so slick!)

Yet, Cynthia Khan is not the only cutie who appears in Tiger Cage 2. Carol Cheng makes a surprise appearance as the love interest of the main villain, but she only has two scenes to play in. The real heroine of this picture is the beautiful Rosamund Kwan who portrays a standard damsel in distress with a baggage of foreseeable clichés. Nevertheless, it is a joy to see Donnie save her skin time and time again.

With regard to action, Yuen Woo-ping really tried to push the envelope with this project. In comparison with the original film, the fights are much bolder and bigger in scope. The sequences that stood out the most for me was the double-decker bus chase, Cynthia Khan vs. Leung Lam-Ling confrontation, and the epic sword fight between Donnie and John Salvitti. All of that coupled with synthwave-like music score by Richard Yuen amounts to a great viewing experience.

The only disadvantage of Tiger Cage 2 I can think of is a mediocre villain. Robin Shou is a very good actor but he is no match for the charismatic Simon Yam who dominated the first movie. I think someone like Andy Lau or Tony Leyng Ka-fai would have been a better choice.

Recommendations
If you like straightforward beat-em-ups, then I recommend Tiger Cage 2. In the Line of Duty 4 is a better cop film in my opinion, but this also a fine endeavour from director Yuen Woo-ping. Now, I’m off to check out Tiger Cage 3.

Overall score: 8/10

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A (1998) [Documentary Review]

A; or, In Sonshi We Trust
     I want you to look at us closely. I want you to record us. We don't have a tradition of recording things. Even if we did, people would see it differently, because we made it. I want ordinary people, people who can understand, to see what they can see, to hear what they can hear.
I have to make it clear upfront that I have always been interested in the controversial topic of Aum Shinrikyo and the 1995 Tokyo subway attacks. However, it was not until last year when I could conduct more research on the matter after reading Haruki Murakami’s extremely gripping Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. Going down the rabbit hole of internet search, I stumbled upon a 1998 documentary made by an independent filmmaker Tatsuya Mori. The film simply titled “A” is a behind-the-scenes look into the Japanese cult on the brink of destruction.
Release Info

Directed by: Tatsuya Mori Language: Japanese

Original Title: A Runtime: 134 min

In contrast to many respected producers and television companies, Tatsuya Mori, a freelance documentarian, was luckily allowed to step into Aum Shinrikyo facilities and record the plight of the cult between 1995 and 1997. In this 134 minutes long feature, we see a shocking image of Aum followers who display unwavering belief in Shoko Asahara, while struggling to acknowledge the atrocity of the sarin incident, which was planned by their beloved master.

The central protagonist of the story is Hiroshi Araki, then deputy spokesman of Aum Shinrikyo. This young introvert in his late 20s has to deal with swarms of news reporters, police officers, civil servants, and ordinary bystanders who postulate for the banning of Aum Shinrikyo group.

At the same time, Mori records everyday activities of other members in now-bankrupt facilities of the cult spread across Japan. They continue to meditate, pray in front of an image of Asahara, and listen to the master’s audio preachings. For non-Japanese viewers, these are truly striking images to look at. The followers themselves frequently provide confessions in front of a camera, shyly trying to put into words their line of reasoning which goes more or less like this: We had no idea what Asahara and his associates were doing. It is hard for us to believe in it, but since they admit this, it probably is true. What happened in the Tokyo subway was horrible, but it does not affect the overall goals of Aum Shinrikyo related to reaching enlightenment.

As Araki travels between different facilities which are either to be demolished or liquidated, Mori records an image of a deeply troubled man who, while thinking about his family, struggles to keep the publicly-hated organisation together. The ambiguity of this documentary raises some moral concerns: Are these people truly brainwashed? Should they be allowed to pursue their concept of utopia even if their leader turned out to be a terrorist? Does the police have any right to harass them? Mori neither acknowledges nor answers these questions. He objectively points the camera at the followers of Asahara and harnesses their complex confessions.

Recommendations
Whether we like it or not, Aum Shinrikyo continues to exist in the world of today as two separate organisations: Aleph and The Circle of Light. Hiroshi Araki continues to be the spokesman of Aleph, and recently he was featured in Atsushi Sakahara’s Me and The Cult Leader (2020) documentary. In 2001, Mori released a sequel called A2, which was followed by a novel A3 If you want to learn something more about Aum Shinrikyo, then I highly recommend the original A documentary.

Overall score: 8/10

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