Bruce Li stars as a chauffeur to a wealthy businessman. When his employer is executed for drug smuggling, Bruce remains loyal to the family, if only to look after his boss’s young son. Bruce comes into possession of an amended version of his boss’s will and soon, everyone comes after Bruce trying to get their hands on it.
Even though Edge of Fury takes place in modern times, its themes of honor and loyalty would feel right at home in a period Kung Fu movie. I liked how Bruce still had his boss’s back after he went to jail, even if it lost him the respect of the community, who see him as being guilty by association. You know, resonant thematic material is great and all, but it’s not really worth a whole lot unless Bruce is kicking ass. I’m happy to report the movie contains plenty of scenes of Li doing just that.
Most of the fights involve Bruce taking on several henchmen at the same time, including one nicely choreographed sequence atop of a stack of shipping containers. He also has a memorable brawl when he beats up a gang of thugs for talking shit about his sick mother. He gives a good performance too (he even cries at one point), which is something I wasn’t expecting. Heck, even the little kid is amusing. In most of these things, the child actors act like little brats, but the scene where he catches his stepmom kissing a villain and proceeds to kick their butts is a lot of fun.
If Edge of Fury has a fault, it’s that the final showdown isn’t quite as exciting as the fight scenes that came before. It also suffers from an abrupt ending, although you can say that about plenty of other Kung Fu flicks of the era. Those quibbles aside, this remains one of Li’s best efforts and fans of the man should absolutely check it out.
AKA: Hong Kong Connection.
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