Undeclared War (1990)


An international terrorist for hire called Hannibal [Vernon G. Wells] and his girlfriend, Rebecca Ecke [Olivia Hussy], kill the U.S. ambassador to Poland in a crowded cathedral in Warsaw. They turn up in Hong Kong with a plan to attack an international business conference. Now, CIA agent Gary Redner [Peter Lapis], who happens to be the dead ambassador's brother-in-law, is forced to team up with local police inspector Bong [Danny Lee] who hasn't much use for any outside help. It's a race to stop a madman in this action-packed adventure from Hong Kong filmmaker Ringo Lam Ling-Tung.

This was a big international project that achieved marginal box office results. There are several geopolitical themes, which seem funny now, mixed in this scenario to save it from being just another tired police action film. Hearing Tommy Wong Kwong-Leung call the American president "Mr. George Bullshit" is worth the price of admission. Cinematographer Lau Hung-Chuen makes Hong Kong look real good while the director managed to choose some locations that are not seen so often. Some good action sequences are ruined by hokey looking blood squibs that mist the air with blood. The acting performances of the non-Hong Kong actors are genuinely bad. Hussy looks quite long in the tooth; a long way from the beauty that was Juliet in the classic 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film.


Copyright © 2007 John Crawford. All rights reserved.