Li Chien-Ping (Jaguar Force Thunderbolt) directs and stars in this Taiwan action film that charts the downfall of a hot-headed, local gangster named Sing-Fa Cheng / Ah Long (Jack Kao).
After a bloody shoot-out with Fu-Hsiung, a cop he has known since a child, a wounded and delirious Cheng looks back on his life via a series of vignettes and flashbacks.
In the hands of a more skilled and competent director, the decision to tell the story via flashback may have worked out better. Unfortunately, Li Chien-Ping's direction and general staging of the action is merely average and the film probably would have benefitted from a more linear structure.
Sing-Fa Cheng is portrayed as a mean-spirited, troubled soul. While the narrative suggests that this is due to a defect at birth, it's hard to sympathise with a character that murders shopkeepers, beats up hawkers , roughs up the homeless and makes a living from extortion!
Alex Man plays Fu-Hsiung, as a cop who tries hard to mentor and warn a young Cheng of the perils of the fast life. This is painfully unconvincing due to the fact that Jack Kao and Alex Man are roughly the same age in real life, yet Alex Man is meant to be at least 20 years his senior.
Still these various gripes aside, it's certainly interesting to see Jack Kao (an intense looking actor whom I quite like) in an early leading role. Pauline Chan is a tad under-used and, although getting to show some skin, her final (non-nude) scene in the film is the more memorable and striking image of the whole movie.
The lack of budget perhaps prevented the finale from having the slam bang ending the film needed, but there are echoes of Long Arm Of The Law (1984) in the showdown in Cheng's hideout, with the heavily-armed police closing in on the gang with precision. A brief scene of an attack on a police station is also filmed with a good amount of energy and style.
He-Born To Kill is ultimately let down by not really having anyone to root for. I do love a good anti-hero or villain but Cheng is too joyless and depressing to care much about. Still, there are plenty of bloody squibs, throat slashings, stabbings and sex scenes in the mix to keep things ticking along. As mentioned at the top of the review, the ingredients are all there, and with some stronger direction (and better budget), He-Born To Kill could have been more than just a luke-warm recommendation.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Best Friend, VHS (Taiwan) (Mandarin language with English subtitles)
After a bloody shoot-out with Fu-Hsiung, a cop he has known since a child, a wounded and delirious Cheng looks back on his life via a series of vignettes and flashbacks.
In the hands of a more skilled and competent director, the decision to tell the story via flashback may have worked out better. Unfortunately, Li Chien-Ping's direction and general staging of the action is merely average and the film probably would have benefitted from a more linear structure.
Sing-Fa Cheng is portrayed as a mean-spirited, troubled soul. While the narrative suggests that this is due to a defect at birth, it's hard to sympathise with a character that murders shopkeepers, beats up hawkers , roughs up the homeless and makes a living from extortion!
Alex Man plays Fu-Hsiung, as a cop who tries hard to mentor and warn a young Cheng of the perils of the fast life. This is painfully unconvincing due to the fact that Jack Kao and Alex Man are roughly the same age in real life, yet Alex Man is meant to be at least 20 years his senior.
Still these various gripes aside, it's certainly interesting to see Jack Kao (an intense looking actor whom I quite like) in an early leading role. Pauline Chan is a tad under-used and, although getting to show some skin, her final (non-nude) scene in the film is the more memorable and striking image of the whole movie.
The lack of budget perhaps prevented the finale from having the slam bang ending the film needed, but there are echoes of Long Arm Of The Law (1984) in the showdown in Cheng's hideout, with the heavily-armed police closing in on the gang with precision. A brief scene of an attack on a police station is also filmed with a good amount of energy and style.
He-Born To Kill is ultimately let down by not really having anyone to root for. I do love a good anti-hero or villain but Cheng is too joyless and depressing to care much about. Still, there are plenty of bloody squibs, throat slashings, stabbings and sex scenes in the mix to keep things ticking along. As mentioned at the top of the review, the ingredients are all there, and with some stronger direction (and better budget), He-Born To Kill could have been more than just a luke-warm recommendation.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Best Friend, VHS (Taiwan) (Mandarin language with English subtitles)
