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Cast:
Yu
Rong Guang
Cynthia
Khan
Gai
Chun Wah
Hui
Hoi
Lee
Chi Chow
Gwoh
Chun Yim
Gan
Dak Mau
Dale
Cook
Action:
Yu
Rong Guang
Wong
Wah
Producer:
Wong
Gaai
Director:
Cheng
Siu Wai
Score:
 
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DEADEND
OF BESIEGERS
AKA:
Steel Horse ||
Dead End Of Besiegers
Year:
1992 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
In
the early 90's following the massive success of Tsui Harks's 'Once
Upon a time in China', the face of Hong Kong action cinema
changed drastically. Suddenly, every action movie was a period
piece featuring feats of superhuman ability thanks to
innovative wirework and deceptive camera techniques. This
"new wave" of action highlighted the ingenuity and
imagination of action directors like Ching Siu Tung, Yuen Woo
Ping and Corey Yuen Kwai amongst others and put the West to
shame when it came to the pure adrenaline displayed on screen.
One
such new wave period piece, which has largely gone unnoticed
amongst many inferior examples, is the Cheng Sui Wai directed
'Deadend of Besiegers' featuring the high-kicking talents of
Yu Rong Guang and the illuminous Cynthia Khan. Neither leads
ever managed to leap onto HK's A-list during the early 90s,
and were often in the shadows of more popular icons such as
Jet Li or Michelle Yeoh. However, both Yu and Khan have the
looks and the talent to carry this style of film, and it is a
shame that they were often overlooked. Khan’s style is very
similar to Michelle Yeoh (whose original surname she famously
adopted) thanks to her intensive dance training affording her
the timing and flexibility necessary to look fluid on screen.
Previously she had looked her best working with Donnie Yen and
Yuen Woo Ping on the high octane 80's classic 'In
the Line Of Duty 4', and in the mid 90’s she impressed
in a supporting role in the excellent Sammo Hung directed
'Blade of Fury'. Yu on the other hand was hugely impressive in
Woo Ping's 'Iron
Monkey' (now getting a new lease of life in the U.S) and
Corey Yuen's 'My
Father is a Hero' opposite Jet Li. More recently he could
be seen as an Imperial Guard duelling Jackie Chan in the
finale of 'Shanghai
Noon'.
'Deadend
of Besiegers', filmed in 1992, sees Yu as a Japanese warrior
(named Wuwechimatao) shamed in defeat by a Western Boxer.
After being so humiliated, he chooses to commit Hari Kiri
(noble suicide) but is stopped in the nick of time by a
travelling Buddhist Monk who convinces him to seek
enlightenment by learning Chinese Martial Arts. On his journey
to China, Wu gets on the wrong boat and upon arrival is
mistaken for a Japanese pirate. After escaping from both the
pirates and the Chinese, he finds solace in the hills,
secretly learning Shaolin kung fu from watching Monks and the
“Dog’s fist” style from Michelle. In his constant battle
to avoid anyone who wants to kill him – which is virtually
anyone – he predictably saves the day and becomes a hero.
The
plot may be nothing entirely fresh, but what separates this
from any number of other new wave period flicks is the style
of the action. Numerous fighting styles are faithfully
portrayed from Japanese sword techniques to Chinese Wu Shu,
and the numerous clashes are always interesting as a result.
Not having a Woo Ping or Yuen Kwai on hand to style the fight
scenes, Rong Guang himself took charge of the action, and on a
clearly tight budget shows himself to be just as capable.
Helped in no small part by a plethora of talented martial
artists, many of whom you may recognise from Jet Li's 'Shaolin
Temple' series, the action sequences are well paced and
tightly edited. Much of the choreography is not particularly
intricate but makes good use of the cast's talents. Yu in
particular gets a chance to show off his impressive kicking
repertoire, proving himself to be one of the top bootmasters
in the business – a talent he is often given little credit
for, and every scene features mass destruction as walls are
broken and buildings are set on fire.
Not
up to the standards of 'OUATIC' or 'Fong
Sai Yuk', however, 'Deadend of Besiegers' is 90 minutes of
excellent entertainment featuring some excellent wireworked
fights and provides the viewer with a rare example to see Yu
Rong Guang carry a film and play a hero. He is an extremely
talented actor and performer who has not been given enough
chances to shine or the credit he deserves.
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