4 Star

Vengeance At All Cost.

Eureka Classics brings us another great action film from famed director Ringo Lam (Burning Paradise, Wild Search). This time we start in Cambodia, when the Khmer Rouge (1975) is moving in and the deaths start in earnest. For one young man, his life will change forever as he seeks revenge for the death of his parents. With Andy Lau (RUNNING OUT OF TIME 1 & 2, The Goldfinger) in the lead, you know you are in for a wild ride, great action.

In the paddy fields of Cambodia, a family farms their rice as the Khmer Rouge are moving into the country. Uncle Shang (David Chiang, In Broad Daylight, Five Shaolin Masters) who works for the CIA, tries to warn Yan’s father about the danger they were in, and they should move to Thailand with him, but father thinks everybody needs rice and they will be fine.

But the threat is real. Ray has turned against the CIA, and has aligned with the Khmer Rouge and he is after the documents Yan’s father was collating with Uncle Shang. Not finding them, he brutally kills Yan’s parents and his sister dies in the ensuing fire as Yan runs for his life.

Twenty years later, Yan (Andy Lau) and his best friend Mark are pilots in the Thailand air force. But today Yan saw a newspaper headline saying his father’s killer is a very rich and successful arms dealer.

This enrages Yan, and he vows to avenge his parent’s slaughter. Lui is attending an arm’s sale to meet leaders of armies, Yan gets a gun and goes after Lui, Mark joins him. But his attempt to kill Lui goes wrong, and he survives, unlike Mark. This is where Yan meets Mona (Rosamund Kwan, Once Upon A Time In China Trilogy, HEROES & VILLAINS) Lui’s mistress.

This leads Yan and Uncle Shang to try a new tactic, Yan will move to San Francisco and take over Uncle Nine’s (Victor Wong, Tremors, Big Trouble in Little China) gang, the Hwa Fuk-tong gang, he also changes his name and tries to take over San Francisco. 

It’s all gun fu and kung fu, with Andy Lau taking the lead as bodies and cars fly through the air, in this ambitious action film. That sees Yan go after Lui and takes on a general (Ka-Kui Ho, Prison on Fire, Drunken Master III) and Lui’s daughter, Crystal Lui ‘Chan’ (Chien-Lien Wu, Eat Drink Man Woman, A Moment of Romance).

A great film for action and Andy Lau fans.

THE ADVENTURERS (Eureka Classics) Limited Edition Blu-ray

 

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:

Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration
Restored Cantonese audio tracks (stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1 options)
Optional unrestored Cantonese stereo track
Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
New audio commentary by film critic David West
Two Adventurers – new interview with Gary Bettinson, editor of Asian Cinema journal
Previously unseen archival interview with writer and producer Sandy Shaw
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Hong Kong cinema scholar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park