“The Fatal Raid” Japanese DVD Cover
Director: Jacky Lee
Cast: Patrick Tam Yiu-Man, Michael Tong Man-Lung, Jade Leung Ching, Sharon Luk, Lin Min-Chen, Jadie Lin, Jeana Ho, Hidy Yu, Chiu Sin-Hang, Yona Fong
Running Time: 91 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The Fatal Raid originally started out as a sequel to 2016’s Special Female Force, but somewhere along the way it was decided to scrap the sequel angle and make it a standalone story with different characters. I have a couple of theories around why this decision was made – first off is that the producers perhaps realised that Special Female Force was a pretty lacklustre attempt at a movie, so making a sequel to it was hardly going to be a thrilling box office prospect. Secondly is that the plot of The Fatal Raid is so remarkably similar to Special Female Force that it feels more like a remake than a continuation, so it was decided that having people think it was a rip-off rather than a remake was the lesser of two evils. Either way, it ended up being made, and apparently in 2019 incorporating the word ‘Raid’ into a movies title was still considered a bankable thing to do.
To demonstrate the similarities, it’s worth giving a quick plot recap of Special Female Force. Opening in Thailand, a sting goes horribly wrong which results in a unit being almost completely wiped out. 20 years later, the only surviving member (played by Jade Leung of Black Cat and Satin Steel fame) is now a trainer for new recruits in Hong Kong, one of whom turns out to be the daughter of one of the fallen comrades from the botched operation in Thailand all those years ago. Now let’s take a look at The Fatal Raid. Opening in Macau, a sting goes horribly wrong that results in several unintended fatalities. 20 years later, one of the surviving members (played by Jade Leung of Black Cat and Satin Steel fame) is still on the force, and a new recruit she ends up working with turns Continue reading
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