Jeff (Yun Fat) is a nightclub bouncer who is a little hard up for cash.  When his friend Sam (Wong) informs him that his cousin is going to be responsible for an arms raid, he decides that this will be a quick way to make money.  Judge (Yam) is the rather camp leader of the gang and takes a shine to Jeff immediately.  However, money must always come first and Judge betrays Jeff, leaving him for dead on the roadside.  Surprise surprise, Jeff is more than a little bit annoyed about this and decides to reap his bloody revenge on those responsible for the double cross; slowly!

Up to this point in Yun Fat's career we had only been witness to his smooth, suave and sophisticated alter ego in which he appeared with slicked back hair and the most expensive suit in town.  That all changed for this 1992 "bad-ass biker with attitude" flick in which Yun Fat looks meaner and tougher than ever, even using a knife in preference over a gun.  When Woo was at the helm he had crafted out several vehicles for Chow in which we had experienced slow motion bullet ballet and heroic codes of honour but with Ringo Lam you get a much greater sense of a realism.

The main character, Jeff, is certainly more of an anti-hero as he doesn't always do the right thing or follow the path that most would expect but you sure as hell know he will leave a trail of blood behind him.  There is no formulaic good vs. evil here and not everybody on either side is likable, but this is what makes it interesting and gives this a sharper edge to most Hollywood material.  Lam has always liked to make his characters a lot meaner than most and give the world a much bleaker outlook, which is more than a lot of directors would ever dream of.  Dark and depressing atmospheres aren't always successful as audiences often like happy-go-lucky films but this is so much more fun to watch.

Action-wise it contains an even mix of punch-ups and gunplay, providing excitement for fans of either style.  The fights showcase a lot of straight forward punches and kicks as well as an abundance of knife-play as the flick knife is Jeff's weapon of choice.  The shoot-outs are perhaps a little more adventurous and go from blood soaked explosions to one of the most defining moments in the director's career as he uses the camera to follow the bullet's trajectories to their intended targets.  Each scene is also accompanied by a varied selection of slow motion techniques and tight camera angles that enhance the already well laid-out ideas.

Through a combination of Yun Fat's sublime performance, great directing and the superb action set-pieces, this is surely a front runner for my favourite Chow Yun Fat film ever.  It truly is a must-see movie.