“Outlaw Brothers” American DVD Cover
Director: Frankie Chan Fan Kei
Cast: Frankie Chan, Yukari Oshima, Max Mok Siu Chung, Michael Miu, Sharon Kwok, Sheila Chan Suk Lan, Michiko Nishiwaki, Jeff Falcon, Mark Houghton, Jonathan Isgar
Running Time: 97 min.
By HKFanatic
“Outlaw Brothers” belongs to that most cherished of genres: the late 80’s/early 90’s Hong Kong martial arts movie. Released in 1990, this film directed by, and starring, frequent Jackie Chan collaborator Frankie Chan ticks all the requisite boxes: fierce hand-to-hand combat, reckless stunts, and a breakneck pace. As a result, the film has built up a following over the years and is frequently mentioned in the same breath as movies like “Righting Wrongs.” Believe it or not, “Outlaw Brothers” has been available on DVD in the UK as a Hong Kong Legends title since late 2005. Only now has Dragon Dynasty brought the film over to North American shores. Was it worth the wait? Well, yes, mostly.
“Outlaw Brothers” is a film that celebrates the vacuous, surface-obsessed quality of the Eighties. Frankie Chan and Mak Mok play two close friends who make a living by stealing high-end sports cars. They savor the taste of ‘the good life’ that their ill-gotten gains provide them with: driving Porsches, wearing designer clothes, making it with hostess girls. In other words, they’re worlds away from our usual morally upright martial arts heroes. At first glance, most of “Outlaw Brothers” resembles a random episode of Miami Vice. The soundtrack certainly fits – it’s all keyboard pads and popping bass guitar, almost like b-sides from the Tom Tom Club.
Compounding the superficial nature of the movie, the script indulges in the same political incorrectness you’ll find in many Hong Kong movies of this era. There’s a tasteless joke about AIDs within the first twenty minutes and the ending features the questionable use of live chickens for a stunt. The female characters don’t have it much better. They’re frequently treated as a punchline – or a punching bag. The only co-star who comes out unscathed is Yukari Oshima, a talented actress and martial artist who made a name for herself via the ‘girls with guns’ genre. You may recall her from films such as “Millionaire’s Express” and “Iron Angels,” and she gets to show off her fighting skills during some of “Outlaw Brothers'” best setpieces.
Behind the camera, Frankie Chan has a clear eye for action. All of the fight scenes are staged so that the audience can follow every move and appreciate the performers’ obvious athletic skill. An early clash in a parking garage is one of the highlights of the entire movie. Frankie Chan may look a bit wiry and older than his years, but he can clearly hold his own in a fight. On the run in the parking deck, he manages to fend off nearly a dozen attackers with a mere broom. The editing during the climax of the movie is a bit too fast paced for my taste – cutting back and forth between Frankie and Yakuri’s individual bouts with a frequency that makes it difficult to fully appreciate either fight – but that’s the only real flaw in Chan’s action direction.
While I’d hesitate to label “Outlaw Brothers” an outright classic of its genre like movies such as “Righting Wrongs” and “She Shoots Straight,” it’s still more great Hong Kong-style action for those who miss the genre’s heyday. Most of the script is fluff, moving the plot along with broad comedy and misguided romance, but when the fists start flying it’s easy to forgive Frankie Chan for any missteps. Fung Hark-On served as fight choreographer on the film; while Jackie Chan visited the set to add flavour to the Yukari Oshima fight with Jeff Falcon. One of the best fights in the movie might just be the scene where a bunch of security guards form a ‘human centipede’ while hanging on to the bumper of a speeding car. Such reckless endangerment is par for the course for ‘Outlaw Brothers.’ Hong Kong action buffs wouldn’t have it any other way.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 7/10
The human centipede off of a car has been around for years most famously in silent movies (especially Keystone).
Check out this Billy Bevan short Wandering Willies (1926) around the six minute mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61UPO3LrNNg
Its cool that I saw this literally a few days before I saw Outlaw Brothers. There is a better copy of this video on Silent Encylopedia which can be found at Best Buy now for about 10 dollars.
Right now I am looking for information on what stunts Jackie Chan had his hand in. HKMDB states that it was just the last scene, but I’m looking for more concrete information.
Good catch. Jackie Chan has always been pretty influenced by the comedians and stuntmen of the silent era. Though, as you say, it’s unclear just how much input Jackie had on Outlaw Brothers as a whole. Thanks for bringing this up. What did you think of Outlaw Brothers?
I figured out how much input JC had on this film. In an interview on the HKL release (this is on youtube) Yukari Oshima says that Frankie called Jackie in to help with one shot in the final fight scene between her and Jeff Falcon. He did leave one of his assistants behind to help finish though. Jackie was working on another film at the time.
My rating is similar to yours. I have been writing a review which I’ll try to finish soon so I won’t repeat here, but my rating is similar to yours. I don’t rate it as highly as several on kungfucinema, but I did like it. I probably would have liked it even more if they didn’t do the chicken scene.
I loved the fights, but the killing and maiming of the chickens really bothered me. Thankfully, it can be chapter skipped, but it still makes me uneasy about owning the film.
I know it’s a cultural thing, but even the film makers should have noticed that they suffered.
I was also put off by the subplot of Frankie’s sister being beaten by her husband, and how he barely gets his comeuppance. It seemed like they were making a joke out spousal abuse.
Or how for no reason, Yukari turns heartless and admits to using Frankie and Max before it ends with her getting kicked. I know misogyny is a cultural thing in Asia too, but even Yukari fell victim to it in the end.
Agreed, Jackyvoe. This movie really bothered me because of those scenes you write about. It was really fucked up. I know people will say it’s for comedy, but is it really? It’s actually terrifying to think the filmmakers thought this shit if funny.