Wild Search (1989)
8/10
Witness Chow, Cherie and Ringo on fine form.
21 June 2014
Chow Yun Fat stars as Mew-Mew, a reckless cop still mourning the loss of his wife and son, who were killed by a thief. Into his life comes Cher (Cherie Chung), sister of dead arms dealer Elaine Lee (Elaine Jin), and Cher's cute little niece Ka Ka (Cheuk Yan Chan), the only witness to her mother's murder. As Mew-Mew sets about investigating the killing, he begins to develop feelings for Cher, but suspecting Ka Ka's father Hung (Paul Chun) of being the ringleader of the arms smuggling gang, he becomes a target of the bad guys, which in turn puts the lives of Cher and Ka Ka in danger.

Wild Search sees one of Hong Kong cinema's greatest action stars, Chow Yun Fat, reunited with one of Hong Kong cinema's finest action directors, Ringo Lam, to bring us a film that might surprise their many fans, being just as much a subtle romance as it is a hi-octane action flick. However, thanks to superb central performances from Fat and Chung, and masterful direction from Lam, who balances the action and drama brilliantly, even those expecting far more bloodshed should find this film a totally captivating experience.

Some accuse Wild Search of being a rip-off of Peter Weir's Witness, and to some extent I guess they're correct, the basic plot bearing some similarities to the 1985 Harrison Ford thriller, but it is also a very good film in its own right.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
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