MY FATHER IS A HERO is a collaboration between director Corey Yuen and star Jet Li that feels virtually identical to one of their previous pictures together, BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING. The two films are interchangeable in terms of look, feel, and fight action, so they'd made a fine double bill for martial arts fans. This one has some touching scenes between Li and Xia Miao, who plays his son. Usually, I don't like kids in action or suspense film; they're invariably whiny, they cry a lot, and they get in the way. Not Miao. He's a tough, ass-kicking boy who takes no crap whether it's from the bullies at his school or the thugs his dad's involved with. Miao's acting is strong and he's definitely the best child actor I've seen in an action film yet.
The film ticks all the boxes without really breaking anything in the way of new ground; most Hong Kong crime thrillers of the 1990s were like this, with ultra-cool and slick criminal gangs and plenty of tension when the hero gets involved with them. The family scenes and the touches of romance in this one aren't as out of place as they sometimes can be, and it helps that there's a high calibre of acting talent throughout. The late Anita Mui is particularly good as the tough cop on Li's tail.
Li himself is once again excellent, showing off his skills in both the acting stakes and the action parts, and with Corey Yuen at the helm the fights in this are superb. The shoot-out at the shopping mall is great stuff, and of course the majority of the fun is saved for the extended climax. Here, we get Li tackling three top villains on a bomb-laden boat. The bad guys are Rongguang Yu (the sunglasses-wearing, ultra slick chief villain who's one of the slimiest I've seen – he almost drips oil and grease), Collin Chou (who was the main villain in BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING) and Ken Lo (the high-kicking guy who Jackie Chan fought at the end of DRUNKEN MASTER II). The ensuing action is thoroughly entertaining, especially when Li ties his son to the end of a rope and proceeds to use him as a human yo-yo, thwarting the villains by tossing him through the air at them! All in all a lot of fun, as long as you're not expecting a classic.
The film ticks all the boxes without really breaking anything in the way of new ground; most Hong Kong crime thrillers of the 1990s were like this, with ultra-cool and slick criminal gangs and plenty of tension when the hero gets involved with them. The family scenes and the touches of romance in this one aren't as out of place as they sometimes can be, and it helps that there's a high calibre of acting talent throughout. The late Anita Mui is particularly good as the tough cop on Li's tail.
Li himself is once again excellent, showing off his skills in both the acting stakes and the action parts, and with Corey Yuen at the helm the fights in this are superb. The shoot-out at the shopping mall is great stuff, and of course the majority of the fun is saved for the extended climax. Here, we get Li tackling three top villains on a bomb-laden boat. The bad guys are Rongguang Yu (the sunglasses-wearing, ultra slick chief villain who's one of the slimiest I've seen – he almost drips oil and grease), Collin Chou (who was the main villain in BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING) and Ken Lo (the high-kicking guy who Jackie Chan fought at the end of DRUNKEN MASTER II). The ensuing action is thoroughly entertaining, especially when Li ties his son to the end of a rope and proceeds to use him as a human yo-yo, thwarting the villains by tossing him through the air at them! All in all a lot of fun, as long as you're not expecting a classic.