Rapid Fire (1992)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Brandon
Lee, Nick Mancuso, Raymond J. Barry, Tzi Ma, Kate Hodge, Tony
Product Description: Rapid
Fire (1992) focuses on Jake Lo, a Los Angeles art student who unwittingly gets
involved with a deadly Mafia drug distributor. He is then recruited by a police
lieutenant and his tough but attractive partner to help nab both the Mafioso
and his deadly associate, Kinman Tau.
My Review and Thoughts:
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Rapid fire is one of my favorite action packed films. I was
super excited to learn that Twilight Time was bringing this to Blu-ray. I never
understood why this film never got the special edition Blu-ray treatment it
deserved. Now thankfully through Twilight Time, this is a wonderful special
edition Blu-ray by the one and only company. They do an amazing job in
capturing this great film, bringing it to a new audience on a new high-quality
transfer, 1080p high definition. I am a super fan of Brandon Lee. Brandon Lee
died way too soon just like his father. Brandon Lee, I thought was going to be
one of the great action packed Stars of Hollywood. He left very few films but
the films he did leave left a lasting mark in the action world. Rapid Fire is one of those. Of
course, it will always be the one and only The Crow that everyone will remember
him as. Specifically knowing that he died making the film, but Rapid Fire was
one I consider to be his greatest. He did such a wonderful job capturing his
father's Essence in this film.
From Showdown in Little Tokyo, Rapid Fire and The Crow, he
left three solid films that left a lasting mark in my life. A lasting mark in
my movie loving life. I think all three films are worthy to be praised and
worthy to remember his Essence, his power and his Beauty. He died at 28 years
old, such a shame, such a horrible reality. He had so much ahead of him. I
think another horrible reality of Brandon Lee's death is that he was talking to
20th Century Fox in continuing the character of Jake Lo in Rapid Fire 2, which
would have been such a great series of films.
This also stars another wonderful actor Powers Boothe. He
was a constant example of villain, character actor, or the one you always
remember. It's hard to believe he is no longer with us. He left a vast career
of Cinema both great and small. He always owned his characters and created a
Flawless reality around the situations at hand. I always thought he was a
perfect villain throughout his films. I personally will always remember him
from his defining moment as playing one of the evilest men in all of history.
The cult leader Jim Jones. He did a fantastic and utterly cinematic mastery in
this 1980 miniseries. If you have not seen Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones,
you need to seek it out and watch the Brilliance of Powers Boothe. Other films
I absolutely loved him in as Southern Comfort, A Breed Apart, Red Dawn, The
Emerald Forest, Nixon. It was great seeing him again in
Rapid fire was directed by Dwight H. Little. Little was an
interesting director that has a vast career of many styles of films, most
directors tend to stick to one type of category whether it's comedy or action
or drama sometimes mixing in other genres, but Little had a vast career of
mixing so many different styles of films, just to name a few films, Getting Even, Marked for Death, Bloodstone, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home,
Murder at 1600 and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. As of this writing
he is only directing television series and TV movies since 1997. His TV career
has captured many wonderful TV series, from The X-Files, Bones, 24, Prison
Break and countless others. I think his direction of the action film Rapid
Fire; he did a splendid job in capturing that adrenalin mentality that you want
in an action film. He also added drama, capturing his characters on screen in
the living Realty.
I've always felt that Rapid Fire never got the Acclaim that
it deserved. So many critics hated it. So many people put it down, but I think
it was a wonderful film capturing the essence of Brandon Lee. There is a lot of
action in it and a lot of fast paced reality on screen. It's almost as if, one
critic described it as a video game. If you go into this wanting a
thought-provoking Oscar-worthy film, you're going to be majorly let down. If
you go into this wanting an action adrenaline film starring a person that has
fast moves and uses Jeet Kune Do fighting style, then you will be rewarded with
a good time.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
I have seen Rapid Fire many times. I saw it on the big
screen when it first came out alongside my Mom and Dad. I saw it on VHS. I've
seen it on DVD. I've seen it on television and now I've seen it on a
high-quality high-definition 1080p Blu-ray that looks amazing. Fantastic in
sound quality, crisp in imagery. The colors are vibrant. The whole product is
worthy to praise when it comes to audio and video.
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
AUDIO: English 2.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Extras:
Isolated Music Track: the music for this film is by a
wonderful American composer named Christopher Young. Young is an interesting
composer, he has created many musical realities for many different styles of
films. All one must do is look at his many styles, from lower-budget, to
horror films, to even award-worthy films including one of my personal favorites
Hellraiser. The modern Sci-fi classic Species. The fresh take on the slasher
genera Urban Legend. The spooky ghost story The Grudge, among many others. He
also composed for The Shipping News and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
for Best Original Score for this film. I have always felt his music made the
movies he worked on more brilliant. I think he is an underrated musician. It's great listening to this isolated music track.
Audio Commentary with Composer Christopher Young and Film
Historian Nick Redman. This was a fantastic special feature. Not only do you
get the isolated score from Christopher Young, you also get to hear him in the
audio commentary alongside one of the great film historians of all-time Nick
Redman. This commentary alongside the isolated score track is worthy to be
praised for this Blu-ray and it is a must own Blu-ray in that reality, because
you get so much from the audio commentary that the movie can be watched in a
different way.
Featurette Introducing Brandon Lee
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Another fantastic product. A wonderful transfer to high
definition 1080p. The sound quality and the video are fantastic. You get some
wonderful special features. This is a film that I feel has always been
underrated. It is a film that I feel should be expressed in the essence of
Brandon Lee and his father Bruce Lee. I feel that this is a movie that is a
cult status genre. It's a film that lingers on your mind long after it's over.
I have always remembered this film from seeing it on the big screen for the
first time and now being able to experience it on 1080p high-definition special
edition Blu-ray by Twilight Time is a fantastic, awesome, spectacular treat.
Highly recommended.
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