4 Star

Action Triple Bill.

Eureka hits the target once again with this Special Edition of Jet Li (Once Upon A Time In China Trilogy, The One) films, from the heyday of the Hong Kong action film, the 1990s. From his staple gun toting high action, to Adventure and flights of fantasy, to contract killer. All done with the lightning fast fists of our action hero. A great collection, and packed full of Special Features, (See Below) a must own for the action and martial arts fan.

First up is the 1995 cop-out-on-a-limb action drama, Enforcer (My Father is a Hero), as Kung Wei (Jet Li) tries his hardest to be a husband and good father to his Kung Fu award-winning son Ku Kung (Miao Xie, Dream Journey, Legend of the Red Dragon). He is a cop in Wei Tung, China, but his boss needs him to spend three months in Hong Kong to investigate a terrorist cell run by Po Kwong (Rongguang Yu, Iron Monkey, New Police Story), who is after a new type of liquid bomb. Wei must infiltrate and stop Po. This sees Wei arrested in front of his family, and put in jail with Darkie (Blackie Ko, Undercover Blues, City of Desire), who is a known link to Po. They escape jail and make it to Hong Kong, where Wei is inducted into the gang. Things are going to plan until eagle-eyed Hong Kong Inspector Anne Fong (Anita Mui, The Legend of Drunken Master, Rumble in the Bronx) catches a glimpse of a pair of eyes hiding behind a ski mask. Full of action right from the start to the climax.

Second is Dr Wai in the Scripture With No Words, an adventure fantasy-comedy that sees Chow Sai Kit (Jet Li) as the serial adventure writer that has serious writer’s block, due to his pending divorce to Monica (Rosamund Kwan, This Thing Called Love, Millionaires Express). This sends him into flights of fantasy, as he takes out his frustrations as the King of Adventurers Dr. Wai, and the search for the scripture with no words. On his adventures and back in the office, he is supported by his two sidekicks Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro, House of Flying Daggers, Chungking Express) and Yvonne (Charlie Yeung, Fallen Angels, Christmas Rose). Lots of desks were harmed in the making of this film, great fun.

Last but not least is Hitman (a.k.a. Contract Killer) where a wealthy ex-yakuza crime boss named Tsukamoto is murdered by the elusive “King of Killers” a killer with no face. But Tsukamoto had set up a ‘revenge fund’ which means there is $100 million available to find the killer, and it is open to any one willing to put up $5 million for the opportunity to get to kill the King of Killers. But the one that wants it most is grandson Eiji (Keiji Sato, A Hero Never Dies, Gen-X Cops), an immigrant also wants the chance to make an amazing amount of money, he is Fu (Jet Li) and when he meets Ngok Lo (Eric Tsang, Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II) he finds his sponsor who is willing to put up the fee.

It is not long before Fu meets Lo’s daughter Kiki (Gigi Leung, Tempting Heart, Turn Left, Turn Right) who disapproves of her father’s dodgy dealings, but she is obviously a love interest for Fu. Also on the trail of the killer is Officer Chan Kwan (Simon Yam, Ip Man, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) who is a very efficient man. This is an explosive film with plenty of action and many, many kung fu fights that really show off the skills of these Martial Arts supremos.

Heroes and Villains is a cracking package, that will delight any martial arts, action fan.

HEROES & VILLAINS: Three films starring Jet Li (Eureka Classics) 3 Disc Special Edition is available on Blu-ray

 

SPECIAL THREE-DISC BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES

• Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sam Gilbey
• All three films presented in 1080p HD from new restorations across three Blu-ray discs
• Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new essays by Simon Abrams and David Desser

 

Disc One – THE ENFORCER aka MY FATHER IS A HERO

 

• 1080p presentation of the fully uncut Hong Kong theatrical cut from a new 4K restoration
• Original Cantonese mono audio
• “Classic” English dubbed audio
• Newly translated subtitles
• Brand-new audio commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
• Archival interview with producer Wong Jing
• Archival interview with actor Tse Miu
• Archival interview with actor Ken Lo
• Deleted scene
• Original Hong Kong trailer

 

DISC TWO – DR WAI IN THE SCRIPTURE WITH NO WORDS

 

• 1080p presentation of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a new 2K restoration
• Original Cantonese audio available in; DTS-HD MA 5.1, stereo and original mono presentations
• “Classic” English dubbed audio
• Brand-new audio commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema (HK version)
• Alternate “International version” presentation (English and Mandarin audio options)
• Brand-new audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng [International version]
• Newly translated subtitles
• The Smart and The Brave – archival Jet Li featurette
• Original Hong Kong trailer

 

DISC THREE – HITMAN

 

• 1080p presentation of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a new HD restoration of the original film elements
• Original Cantonese audio available in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and stereo presentations
• English dubbed audio available in both “classic” mono and stereo presentations
• Alternate “Contract Killer” presentation (Optional English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and stereo audio)
• Newly translated subtitles
• Brand-new audio comm by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema[HK version]
• Archival interview with Jet Li
• Archival interview with Simon Yam
• Archival interview with Keiji Sato
• Archival footage from the film’s première
• Original Hong Kong trailer and international release trailers