Litter Box Treasures: FIRESTORM (2013)

In Litter Box Treasures, we focus on a variety of older films which aren’t necessarily classics, but are well-worth discovering.

FIRESTORM (2013)

Starring Andy Lao, Yao Chen, Gordon Lam, Hu Jun, Ray Lui. Directed by Alan Yuen. (110 min)

BY D.M. ANDERSON💀

Imagine if Michael Mann’s Heat were directed instead by the late Tony Scott, and you'll have a good idea what to expect from Firestorm. Subtlety and restraint were never part of Scott’s vocabulary and you won’t find either of those qualities here, either. This violent Hong Kong action epic, directed by Alan Yuen, is unabashedly bombastic, in-your-face and over-the-top. But hey, if you are going to draw your primary inspiration from one of the most revered films of the 90s, you might as well go whole-hog and crank everything up to 11.

Firestorm has a gang of thieves who commit daring armored car robberies in broad daylight in the middle of Hong Kong. The main characters are two men on opposite ends of the law. Lui (the great Andy Lau) is a police inspector, so desperate to nail this gang that he resorts to ethically-questionable tactics. Bong (Gordon Lam), just released from prison, is torn between returning to his old ways and trying to change for the sake of his pregnant girlfriend, Law (Yao Chen), but ultimately falls in with this vicious group of thieves.

Lui and Bong have known each other since their school days. This familiar plot device serves a similar function to the DeNiro/Pacino pairing in Heat…to establish our protagonist isn’t exactly a saint, nor is our antagonist a total demon. The same can’t be said for the rest of Bong’s gang, who are as extraordinarily ruthless, shooting hostages in the head, tossing children from second-story windows and unconcerned with collateral damage when blasting their way out of stand-offs with police.

A tender moment in Firestorm.

Despite nicely creating flawed-yet-sympathetic characters, mayhem is the main message here, which isn’t meant as a criticism. This tightly-wound film features several well-edited action set-pieces, each bigger and more violent than the last, culminating in a climactic showdown on the streets of downtown Hong Kong. This final confrontation, at least a half-hour long, must be seen to be believed. Sure, a lot suspension of disbelief is required, but the nearly-orgasmic level of gunplay, explosions and carnage makes the similar firefight in Heat look like Nerf Gun battle.

On a side note, the film’s synopsis touts a typhoon-level storm approaching Hong Kong, indicating it’s a major part of the story. However, this storm is only fleetingly mentioned in background newscasts and briefly discussed among the gang of thieves (who essentially blow it off…no pun intended). Disaster movie fans should take note: at no point does this storm factor into anything that happens. But don’t worry, kids, your thirst for urban destruction will be sated through other means.