Rapid Fire (1992)

[trekgeezer]

Brandon Lee stars as Jake Lo a troubled college student who knows how to kick ass. Seems Jake's father died right in front of him while protesting at Tiananmen Square. Now Jake wants nothing to do with the Chinese freedom movement.

He is invited out by the nude model from his art class to a museum where there is  a fund raiser going on for the Chinese freedom movement. His life changes big time when he witnesses the murder of Chang (a middle man in a heroin ring) by Tony Serrano (Nick Mancuso), a mafia don trying to get his fair share of the heroin trade.

Jake is picked up by the FBI and flown to Chicago to testify against Serrano. Only the FBI guys are mostly in Serrano's pocket and quickly try to dispatch Jake. A task force of Chicago cops lead by Mace Ryan (Powers Booth) rescues Jake only to use him for their own ends.

Needless to say there is plenty of kung-fu, gunfire, explosions , and car chases. This is not one of the worst actioners I've watched, but it does get pretty damned silly at times.

All the acting is typical of late 80's early 90's action movies and those special 'bonding' moments between Brandon and Powers Boothe seem terribly forced.

Overall I would rate this as just another run of the mill example of the genre.  

[Scottie]

"He is invited out by the nude model from his art class to a museum"

You had me at hello. Is that for real? What a great pick up line on both ends.

Girl: "I saw the way you were looking at me in class. You couldn't keep your eyes off me. Let's go on a date.

Boy: "I couldn't keep my eyes off you. It was for a grade-- Let's go to a museum."

Fun stuff.

Has Brandon Lee a respectable repitoire of movies to his name? All I've seen is Laser Mission and that movie was a pill... I mean a Dr. Forrester "Hard Pill To Swallow" pill. And I know he died during the filming of The Crow by an improperly loaded gun. But, is his career worth checking out?

[Gerry]

I really like RAPID FIRE, it's got a lot of great action from Lee who was just starting to come into his own in a career.  This one and THE CROW are the only two of his movies that are really worth watching IMO, but they both show what potential he had before his life was so ignominiously cut short.

LASER MISSION - stinks
SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO - really stinks and has the most humiliating line Brandon Lee ever had to say (praising the merits of Dolph Lundgren's manhood)