The Adventurers

If the old adage ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ can be applied, then it’s for director Ringo Lam’s over the top 1995 action thriller THE ADVENTURERS which - despite strong performances from its leads (in particular Andy Lau) - attempts to squeeze too many genres into this movie.

With its tough as nails violence and bloodshed (which makes up most of the screen time) we also have a bit of Top Gun, a bit of romance, a bit of deadpan humour and a bit of emotional drama thrown in… Take your pick! The film marks the only collaboration between Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau and action director Ringo Lam before his departure to Hollywood, and with the movie’s location partially taking place in the US, it was an indication of things to come.

That said, the story begins in Cambodia in 1975, to be more precise, during the reign of the Civil War and the Khmer Rouge. Eight year old Wai Lok-yan, while hiding in a closet together with his younger sister, witnesses the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of Ray Lui (Paul Chun) and his henchmen. As the backstory goes, Wai’s dad, ‘Uncle’ Seung (David Chiang) and the aforementioned Ray were buddies in the employ of the CIA while in Cambodia, until Ray decided to go rogue, switch camp and work for the Khmer Rouge. Not only does Wai lose his parents on that fateful day, but is unable to save his sister from the burning flames when Ray’s men torch the house. Following the incident, ‘Uncle’ Seung takes the orphaned Wai with him to Thailand where - forward twenty years - he is now grown up (and played by Andy Lau) working as a Thai Air Force pilot. But Wai has no ambition to become the next ‘Maverick’ Mitchell or the next ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, far from it, he has but one thing on his mind: to avenge the brutal slaying of his family! His chance comes when one day, while reading a newspaper, he finds out that dirty rat Ray Lun has since become a billionaire thanks to his profession as an arms dealer, and now resides in the USA. However, when Wai learns that Ray is attending a high profile event in a Thai hotel, he jumps at the chance.

Now calling himself Mandy Chan, Wai manages to infiltrate the event where he briefly makes the acquaintance of Mona (Rosamund Kwan), who later turns out to be the mistress of Ray Liu. Unfortunately, Ray wears a bullet-proof vest (guys of his ilk usually do) and as a result, Many remains unsuccessful in killing his parent’s killer, though the assassination attempt provides the perfect cue for an almighty action-laden shootout involving god knows how many individuals. Undeterred and with the help of the CIA, Mandy now arrives in San Francisco’s Chinatown, ready to execute his next masterplan, that is to say, he wants to gain the trust of Ray’s estranged daughter Crystal (Jacklyn Wu) in order to get to Ray. Alas, fate throws another spanner in the works because before he can bamboozle his way into Crystal’s rather complex persona, she is kidnapped by the Vietnamese Black Tigers - a particularly ruthless gang in constant competition with Ray and his posse.

It’s from then on that things get more and more muddled, with Mandy attempting to rescue Crystal from the clutches of the Black Tigers (purely for his own agenda of course) while a confused Crystal attempts to escape Mandy - leading to various humorous scenarios and yes, eventually there is romance in the air. As more and more characters appear with the same speed as other characters get bumped off, one begins to feel a trifle overwhelmed by the many twists and turns. Fans of relentless action will find plenty to like about The Adventurers, a misleading title as it suggests things like treasure hunts.

THE ADVENTURERS is presented as a Limited Edition 2K Blu-ray release, presented in an O-card slipcase and with a collector’s booklet. Other bonus material includes various audio options, English subtitles, audio commentaries, interviews, plus theatrical trailer.