Gordon Chan Movies

Legendary Hong Kong director Gordan Chan brings Wen Ruian's hit novel to the screen in this action-packed supernatural thriller that's the first chapter of an epic trilogy centered on the adventures of four legendary detectives and martial arts masters. A coin cast has been stolen, counterfeit currency is circulating, and now Coldblood (Deng Chao), Emotionless (Liu Yi Fei), Life Snatcher (Ronald Cheng), and Iron Hands (Collin Chou) are on the case. Operating under the powerful Master Zhuge (Anthony Wong), they form a powerful quartet capable of solving any crime. As government institutions and financial organizations conspire the four sleuths follow a trail of clues. Meanwhile the dead are rising up under the command of an unknown force, and carving out a swath of terror on their trail to the capitol. Master Zhuge's team may be the best at capturing criminals, but can they stand up to a horror that's beyond the realm of this reality? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A celebrated Chinese hero returns to the mainland seven years after the fight that made him a myth, and assumes the identity of a masked crusader in order to expose the clandestine alliance between the Japanese and the mafia, and to procure a vital assassination list in this epic action thriller from Infernal Affairs director Andy Lau. At the height of the Warlord Era, China is being torn apart though internal conflict, allowing Japanese forces to gain a foothold in Northern Shanghai. His mentor murdered by Japanese troops, Chinese avenger Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen) single-handedly defeats an entire dojo full of enemy combatants amidst a blinding shower of bullets. Though his body is never recovered, Chen Zhen is presumed to have perished in the fight. Flash forward seven years, when high-ranking Japanese officials rub elbows with ruthless gangsters in the lavish Casablanca nightclub as the impoverished masses starve in the streets. Suddenly, into the Shanghai social scene steps a wealthy entrepreneur named "Ku" (also Yen), whose obvious affluence quickly gains him an audience with the most powerful mob boss in town. Little do the local criminal masterminds realize it's all an elaborate ruse; by day Ku uses his relationship with the formidable gangster to gather intelligence on the collusion between the Chinese underworld and the Japanese military, and by night he dons a mask in order to fight the powers attempting to oppress his people. But the closer Ku grows to scorching beauty Kiki (Shu Qi), the more he risks blowing his cover. Later, when Ku discovers evidence of a top-secret Japanese hit list that threatens to shift the balance of power in their favor, he prepares to risk his life in a fight that could alter the future of an entire nation, and give the downtrodden masses hope for a better future. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This action-fantasy opus from Hong Kong director Gordon Chan - a co-production of Hong Kong, China and Singapore with a predominantly Chinese cast - represents at least the third screen incarnation of a famous macabre Asian short story from the Qing Dynasty. (Prior versions emerged in 1966 and 1993). The setting is the Yuan Dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries. As the tale opens, soldiers rescue a resplendent orphan girl, Xiao Wei (Zhou Xun) from desert bandits. She is taken in by General Wang (Chen Kun) and his wife Peirong (Vicki Zhao), who lavish attention on her, but three months into the unofficial adoption, a bizarre series of events befalls the city: a gruesome serial killer begins striking all over the map, killing his victims by ripping out human hearts. Deeply distrustful of the young girl and suspicious that she may actually be a bloodthirsty demon disguised as a human, Peirong summons the help of General Pan Yong (Donnie Yen), a washed-up, burnt-out alcoholic who has formally retired from military service. Lo and behold, as it turns out, Pan has befriended a Chinese ghostbuster, Xia Bing (Sun Li), who, as it turns out, has been chasing Xiao for years in revenge for her ghastly murder of one of his relatives. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A fashion columnist investigates her boyfriend's death with the help of two debt collectors and a newspaper photographer, uncovering evidence of a vast conspiracy that reaches to the highest ranks of the corporate world. Convinced the car crash that claimed her boyfriend's life was no accident, Ling convinces eye-witnesses Fei and Ma to tell her exactly what they saw. When Ling's editor Tsang begins to exhibit some particularly troubling behavior, the probing reporter realizes she's on the right track. Joined in their quest for the truth by observant shutterbug Kei, Ling, Fei, and Ma finds her story threatened upon discovering that a powerful tycoon has just purchased the newspaper Ling works for, and seems to have his own ideas about what the headlines should read. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Though it's an English-language film, the fantasy action comedy The Medallion is one of the highest-budgeted movies to come out of Hong Kong. Cop Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) and his partner, Interpol agent Arthur Watson (Lee Evans), are in pursuit of international human-smuggling crimelord Snakehead (Julian Sands). The partners get seriously wounded and a mysterious ancient medallion transforms them into superpowered warriors called Highbinders. The two halves of the medallion are supposed to grant eternal life when joined together by a powerful young boy who was born during a specific time in the Year of the Snake. The villainous Snakehead wants to gets his hands on both the child and the medallion, and the heros try to stop him. Aided by special effects and action choreography by Sammo Hung, Chan fights his way toward a violent conclusion with Snakehead that takes place in mid-air.. Claire Forlani plays Jackie Chan's love interest, the Interpol agent Nicole. Also starring John Rhys-Davies as Commander Hammerstock-Smythe. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

The narrative of The Hitman unfolds following the assassination of a sleazy Japanese businessman in Hong Kong. Various groups come together at a meeting held by the administrators of the dead man's Revenge Fund, which offers a $100 million reward to find the killer. Fu (Jet Li), a penniless mainlander, walks into the meeting by accident and is taken under the wing of Ngok Lo, a smooth-talking agent for professional hit men who proposes Fu help him track down the killer. Some of the funniest scenes are when Ngok Lo buys Fu new clothes and coaches him in Hong Kong ways. Ngok's daughter, a young lawyer who is unhappy with her father's background, seems to fancy Fu. Fu and Ngok are busy trying to stay one step ahead of the psychotic son of the murdered man, who is also after the assassin -- a reputed mythical Killing Angel. A genre film reflecting the current zeitgeist in Hong Kong following the Chinese take over, The Hitman was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

A volatile man with a tendency to use liquor to cool his temper and the leader of a police commando unit, Don Wong is in the midst of a psychological evaluation when he and his team are forced to team up with a bungling customs squad and their greenhorn leader, who happens to be a woman, to bring in a huge shipment of heroine worth $2.5 billion. This big-budget Hong Kong actioner from Gordon Chan and is similar in theme to his 1994 film The Final Option. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jet Li stars in this historical Hong Kong action film, as Chen Zhen, a Chinese student in Japan in the 1920s. When his master is killed during the Japanese occupation of China, he returns to avenge his teacher's death. Back in China, he finds himself caught in the escalating racial tensions between the Chinese and the Japanese. The martial arts sequences in this 1994 film are handled more seriously than flashy acrobatics of other kung fu epics of the time and are perhaps a better showcase for Li's awe-inspiring fighting abilities. This story is inspired heavily by Bruce Lee's classic Fists of Fury. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi

Gordon Chan Kar-seung directs this critically panned crime comedy starring Andy Lau Tak-wah as Wong Kau-tai, an idiot savant who is mistaken for the head of a massive and ruthless crime syndicate after his mobland doppelganger is arrested in India. Everyone quickly becomes concerned with Wong's bizarre behavior and his fascination with toys, especially his bodyguard Chung (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing) and the gang's number two guy Uncle Seven (Ng Man-tat). When Wong declares that the gang is getting out of crime all together, crime load Master Dragon (Yuen Woo-ping) orders his stunning hitwoman daughter Veronica Kwan (Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam), who looks fetching in a leather jumpsuit, to marry Wong, and then kill him. Sandra Ng Kwan-yu also appears. Rumor has it that director Gordon Chan was forced to direct this film by the triads. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this romantic melodrama, Wu Mei-yi sings for the guests at her father's nightclub in Shanghai. It's the middle of the Japanese occupation, and her father has just been arrested by the Japanese. She is pregnant, and knows it. Her baby's father is a man she truly loves, but he's not here and may even be dead. Meanwhile, the Japanese are in charge. She responds to the proposal of one of the Japanese officers and marries him. Just after the war, We Mei-yi's long-absent Chinese boyfriend tracks her down in Japan, where she lives with her husband and child. He is heartbroken at the choice she's made and is accusatory, but she defends herself ably. Not only that, but she has come to love her new man and is not prepared to give him up for a past love. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Hong Kong comedy star Stephen Chiau stars in this period piece about Beggar So, a Chinese folk hero. After he's banished from the Army for illiteracy, So becomes a member of the Society of Beggars, eventually being named their king, and in time he becomes respected enough that he's called on to help save the Emperor's life when danger calls. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi