Rapid Fire (1992 film)
Rapid Fire | |
---|---|
Directed by | Dwight H. Little |
Screenplay by | Alan B. McElroy |
Story by | Cindy Cirile Alan B. McElroy |
Produced by | Robert Lawrence |
Starring | |
Cinematography | 20th Century Fox[1] |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[1] |
Language | English[1] |
Box office | $14.4 million (North America)[2] |
Rapid Fire is a 1992 American action film directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe and Nick Mancuso. The film was released in the United States on August 21, 1992.
Plot
The film opens in Thailand, with Antonio Serrano, a mafia drug distributor visiting long-time associate Kinman Tau, a drug kingpin. Serrano is having troubles and wants them to work together, but his request is not reciprocated.
Turned off from politics after witnessing the death of his father at
When the agents at the safe house are revealed to be corrupt, Jake escapes through the window and encounters a young police detective named Karla Withers. Withers' partner, Lieutenant Mace Ryan, helps Jake evade his pursuers and reveals that he had been pursuing Tau for 10 years.
Jake is persuaded by Ryan to help him exploit Serrano's FBI ties and obtain information about Tau's next shipment. Though the sting operation is successful, Jake is nearly killed in a barrage of gunfire and assaults Ryan after he reveals his involvement was not necessary. Later that night, Karla invites Jake to her apartment and shows him his father's confidential file. After an intimate discussion, they realize their feelings for each other and have sex. Meanwhile Ryan and his team lead a raid at the revealed location of the next shipment: Tau's laundry factory. Both the lovemaking and the events of the raid are shown alternately as they occur in actual time, culminating with Serrano being murdered in his cell by one of Tau's henchman.
Jake, Ryan and Withers subsequently team up to bring down Tau once more. Though Ryan and Withers are captured by Tau's men, Jake rescues them and eventually kills Tau at a train platform. He and Karla then evacuate Ryan from the burning factory and ride to the hospital together in an ambulance.
Cast
- Brandon Lee as Jake Lo
- Powers Boothe as Lieutenant Mace Ryan
- Nick Mancuso as Antonio Serrano
- Raymond J. Barry as Agent Frank Stewart
- Kate Hodge as Detective Karla Withers
- Tzi Ma as Kinman Tau
- Tony Longo as Brunner
- Michael Paul Chan as Carl Chang
- Dustin Nguyen as Paul Yang
- Brigitta Stenberg as Rosalyn
- Basil Wallace as Agent Wesley
- Al Leong as Minh
- François Chau as Farris
- Quentin O'Brien as Agent Daniels
- Roy Abramsohn as Agent Klein
- C'Esca Lawrence as Lisa Stewart
- Michael Chong as John Lo
- Jeff McCarthy as Agent Anderson
Production
Dwight H. Little's work had attracted the attention of
Interested in building up an action star of their own, Fox retained Little's services for a new vehicle starring Brandon Lee, whose name held great marketing upside, although Little found him to be a commandable actor as well.[3] Director of photography Ric Waite and stage actor Basil Wallace, who played the main bad guy "Screwface" in Marked for Death, also returned.
The film's impetus came from producer Robert Lawrence, who had come across Lee's early Hong Kong feature Legacy of Rage.[1] Its working title was Moving Target.[1] Before Little was hired by Fox, John Woo was in talks to direct.[4] According to Lee, the script was tailored for him, and he had access to screenwriter Alan B. McElroy from the get-go.[5][6] Cindy Cirile, the wife and frequent collaborator of executive producer John Fasano, also contributed to the story. Paul Attanasio performed some uncredited rewrites.[7] Nonetheless, Little was dissatisfied with the way the second antagonist was reintroduced later into the story, which he felt was anticlimactic and hampered the picture's reception.[3]
Fox's
Due to Seagal's
Principal photography started on May 28, 1991 and was announced as completed on October 8, 1991. The prologue was shot on location in Thailand. The rest of the film was shot in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas, where it is set.[1] The interior of the Chicago restaurant, where one of the film's larger setpieces takes place, had to be rebuilt on a Valencia, California set in order to film the collapse of its balcony.[1]
Release
Theatrical
The film debuted at number 3 at the domestic box office.[11] It finished its North American run with a US$14,4 million tally.[2]
Home media
The film was released on
Reception
Stephen Hunter of the
On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator that includes both contemporary and modern reviews, it has an approval rating of 45% based on 22 reviews; the average rating is 4.86/10.[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[20]
In retrospect Director Dwight Little said they should have combined the two villains into a single one so audiences got a single climactic fight instead of a "weird structure" with multiple climaxes.[21]
Aftermath
According to some outlets, the script Simon Says by
In 1995,
Dustin Nguyen met Brandon Lee's sister
Soundtrack
The film's
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Rapid Fire (1992)". afi.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Rapid Fire". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Haanen, Roel (January 2021). "To Control the Frame: Dwight Little". Schokkend Nieuws Filmmagazine. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Leydon, Joe (January 3, 1993). "Cover Story – New Gun in Town: John Woo, Hong Kong's legendary action director, teams with Jean-Claude Van Damme for his first American thriller, Hard Target". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ a b Introducing Brandon Lee – The Action Hero of the 90's (Featurette). Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 1992.
- ^ "Brandon Lee follows father's footsteps". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Paul Attanasio Bio". iMDB.
- ^ a b Hicks, Chris (July 24, 1992). "Brandon Lee follows in his dad's shoes, but he hopes to win respect as an actor in his own right". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9781593935801.
- ^ a b Rapid Fire: Brandon Lee – International Profile (Featurette). Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox International. 1992.
- ^ Fox, David J. (1992-08-25). "Weekend Box Office 'Unforgiven' at Top for Third Week". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Rapid Fire Blu-ray". blu-ray.com. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Lee's charm is raked by Rapid Fire". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (1992-08-21). "Dump 'Rapid Fire,' But Keep Brandon Lee". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (1992-08-21). "'Rapid Fire' Launches Heir to Lee's Kung Fu Legacy". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (1992-08-21). "Review/Film; Violence Compounded by More Violence". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Rapid Fire (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
- ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
- ^ "Dwight Little interview".
- ^ a b Pearson, Guy (13 May 2020). "How what should have been Rapid Fire 2 was turned into Die Hard 3". filmstories.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Morris, Clint (18 February 2013). "Caffeinated Chronicles: Brandon Lee would've been in Die Hard 3". moviehole.net. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Hammond, Mick (October 2, 2020). "Warrior's Dustin Nguyen is furthering Bruce Lee's legacy off screen as well". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Christopher Young – Rapid Fire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". discogs.com. 1992. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Steigman, David (9 October 2008). "Rapid Fire: Blu-ray Review". thedigitalbits.com. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Srisavasdi, Greg (25 May 2020). "Movie Mainline Spotlight: A Rapid Fire Take On 'Hardline'". deepestdream.com. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
External links
- Rapid Fire at IMDb
- Rapid Fire at Box Office Mojo
- Rapid Fire at Rotten Tomatoes