In the second half of the 80s, after the huge success of Wu Yusen's The True Colors of Heroes (1986), Deng Guangrong's (1946-2011) production company Yingzhijie launched a series of gangster movies that reinvented it as an action star. Although "Fighting the Jianghu Again" (1990) is not as wonderful as his previous "Jianghu Dragon and Tiger Fight" (1987) with director and screenwriter Zhang Tongzu, and is similar to the style of many gangster movies at that time, it is very solid in its core story.
Compared with the films they have worked on before, "Fight again" is more like a serious drama film, but thanks to several exaggerated gun battles, this film has still won the general recognition of Hong Kong film fans. But its main content is still to tell the protagonist Long Ge (Deng Guangrong) in the process of trying to find his missing daughter in the process of self-reflection and revitalization of the hero.
Through this film, Deng Guangrong proves that he is still capable of supporting a film alone, and his performance is subtle and restrained, no longer the impressive exaggerated roaring performance of the previous "Dragon and Tiger Fight". Deng Guangrong's character is hot on the outside, and his portrayal of this middle-aged man who is determined to make up for the mistakes of the past, but is destined to repeat the same mistakes because of his identity, is enough to win strong sympathy from the audience.
Luo Meiwei's character Xiaolongnü, who was not yet married to Jacky Cheung at the time, was rebellious and obedient, which was a perfect contrast with the image of Deng Guangrong's gloomy former gang boss. Although the fate of Deng Guangrong's daughter has long been foretold, the interaction between him and Luo Meiwei still makes the middle part of the film interesting. The process by which the two gradually learn to respect each other, and the intimate relationship that resembles father and daughter, are both moving and believable.
Deng Guangrong's opponent is the villain Li Peng, played by Ren Dahua, who is undoubtedly one of Ren Dahua's most classic villain roles. Ren Dahua impressively showed Li Peng's madness and greed for power, and in order to achieve his goal, he did not give up on his own people, even women and children.
Andy Lau is only a "friendship cameo", and he does not appear again after a brief appearance in the first act, until the last scene when Deng Guangrong beckons his vancouver brothers to help him deal with Li Peng.
Unfortunately, Feng Jie, played by Li Meifeng, is a "vase" role as always, and she can't help but fall in love with him in the process of helping Deng Guangrong find a daughter, but she still tries her best to add some highlights to this supporting role; As the film inevitably moves towards the end of the male duel, Feng Jie has not simply become a chip and punching bag for the villain.
Although structurally, "Fight Again" is basically a standard drama film, as everyone expects from this type of film, there are of course several rather violent and memorable action scenes in the film. With the blessing of action directors Jiang Daohai, Dong Wei and Pan Jianjun, the narrative of the film often becomes very surreal, and it really lives up to the tone of Hong Kong movies .commencing with "madness and overheating".
After the opening barrage of gun battles, the middle of the film gives the audience the necessary respite, and while it feels a bit deliberate, the long period of calm before the furious climactic shootout comes is also enjoyable. In the film, the guns and ammunition seem to never run out, the bad guys have hundreds of men, and the final showdown between the little brothers summoned by Deng Guangrong and Ren Dahua's small army lasts for a full ten minutes, consuming probably more ammunition than a war.
Unexpectedly, Lin Minyi's soundtrack has become the biggest shortcoming of this movie, and the electronic music with tied hands and feet is almost without highlights from beginning to end, and it is not helpful for dramatic plots and action scenes.
Due to the script of the drama core, many people will undoubtedly regard "Fighting the Rivers and Lakes Again" as a more restrained work of Deng Guangrong's later period. But its dramatic core is also a major advantage of the film, allowing Deng Guangrong to fully display a restrained and subtle performance, fully demonstrating his acting skills and shapeability.
Admittedly, "Fighting the Jianghu Again" is neither as sensational as the previous "Dragon and Tiger Fight", nor as relaxed and humorous as Deng Guangrong's "Dragon Rising in the Sea" (1992) and "Black Panther World" (1993), but it is still a wonderful and violent film. The strong emotional core makes it stand out and stands the test of time.