Ringo Lam was a leading director in the last big wave of Hong Kong cinema before the 1997 handover. He would make quite a few action films during the time when he, John Woo, Stanley Tong and Tsui Hark ruled the screen with their bullet riddled ballets. His best known film from this period in America was City On Fire since that’s the movie Quentin Tarantino ripped off to create Reservoir Dogs. Eventually Ringo Lam went off to Hollywood to make Maximum Risk with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge. Before he left, he created an epic film about Cambodia and arms running in The Adventurers.
The movie opens in Cambodia in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge is at its bloodiest. Ray Lui (The Sand Pebbles & Hong Kong 1941‘s Paul Chun) shows up at the house of small child Wai Lok-yan and executes his father. Turns out they were once working for the CIA along with Wai’s Uncle Seung (New One-Armed Swordsman‘s David Chiang). Now Lui has flipped sides to support Pol Pot and is taking care of loose ends. Uncle Seung smuggles his nephew into neighboring Thailand. The child grows up to become an air force fighter pilot (Infernal Affairs‘ Andy Lau). Twenty years after the slaughter, Wai gets news that not only is Ray alive, but he’s also a billionaire arms dealer coming to Thailand. Wai plots to say hello to the old family friend and get revenge for his mother and father. His first attempt goes wrong. He only survives because Ray’s mistress Mona (Once Upon A Time In China‘s Rosamund Kwan) who is sick of how he treats her. Wai discovers that Ray is more connected with his employers than he ever imagined. Uncle Seung once more smuggles him out of the country. He uses his CIA connections to get Wai to San Francisco. The agents want him involved with Ray’s only child Crystal (Eat Drink Man Woman‘s Jacklyn Wu) in order to set up a better second chance at vengeance.
The film features Victor Wong as a mobster in San Francisco. He’s best known from John Carpenter’s Big Trouble In Little China. You might also know him from Year of the Dragon, The Golden Child, The Last Emperor, Prince of Darkness Tremors, 3 Ninjas, The Joy Luck Club and Life Is Cheap…But Toilet Paper Is Expensive. It is interesting to see Victor Wong in the middle of a Hong Kong action film.
Ringo Lam doesn’t hold back the firepower on the screen in this huge tale. We’re getting gun fights with endless bullet budgets. He even gives us a massive air attack with buildings blowing up. There is also a bit of romance between Andy Lau with Rosamund Kwan and Jacklyn Wu as he gets into Ray’s life. The intrigue is pumped up as Andy Lau goes deep into the plan to get his revenge and do a bit of dirty work for the CIA. There’s a lot going on to keep a viewer engaged. The Adventurers is a great film from mid-’90s Hong Kong cinema.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer is from a new 2K restoration. The Audio includes Restored Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Stereo, Original Unrestored Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Stereo and Cantonese DTS-HS MA 5.1 Surround. Things sound grand as the revenge plot takes hold. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by David West is informative about the film. We get the background on various actors in the film. We learn which character is related to the place where Bruce Lee died. He points out that the film lasted four weeks in the cinema which is a huge success. This was a comeback for Ringo Lam with his previous film being a flopped. He alerts us to scenes that will be repeated later in the film. The Adventurer came out the same year as Jackie Chan’s Rumble In The Bronx.
Two Adventurers (21:26) is an interview with film historian Gary Bettinson that discusses the career of Ringo Lam. The ex-actor started directing comedy films, but found his footing in action with City on Fire in 1987. We learn of the last golden era of Hong Kong Cinema from 1986 to 1993. Part of the problem was the underworld Triads began backing Hong Kong films and were scaring off legit backers. Bettinson puts The Adventurers into the context of the times. While Ringo Lam worked in Hollywood, he found himself back in Hong Kong making movies there.
Writing For The Dark-Faced God (14:26) sits down with screenwriter Sandy Shaw. She had started writing for TVB when she was 20. Hong Kong was director driven at the time. She talks about working with Ringo Lam and Andy Lau on the script for The Adventurers. We get a fun story about her running into Ringo during a fishing trip before they met to work on the film.
Trailer (3:17) opens with a massive fighter planes attack on a coastal town. This film will make the screen explode with bullets flying all over the place. Not to mention the screen sizzling with Andy Lau and Rosamund Kwan.
Illustrated Booklet with essay by Aaron Han Magnan-Park on the movie.
Eureka! Entertainment presents The Adventurers: Limited Edition. Directed by Ringo Lam. Screenplay by Ringo Lam, Yip Kong-yam & Sandy Shaw. Starring Andy Lau, Rosamund Kwan, Jacklyn Wu, Paul Chun, Ben Ng, David Chiang, Philip Ko, Victor Wong, Ron Yuan, George Cheung, Van Darkholme & William Ho. Running Time: 111 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 29, 2025.
