After witnessing the death of his wife and son, police officer Kit (Jet Li) quits the force and becomes a bodyguard/stuntman for top HK action movie star Frankie Lone. Lone, who fibs to the press that he does all of his own stunts, is actually a womanizing and cowardice drunkard. When terrorists take over a building where Frankie and his crew are attending a jewelry unveiling, it is up to Kit to stop them and make sure that his charge and everyone else stay alive.
Basically a variation of DIE HARD, this Wong Jing production is most noted for its relentless skewering of action superstar Jackie Chan. The character of Frankie Lone is about as thinly veiled of an attack as one can get and I'm surprised Jackie Chan didn't sue someone (or at least kick Jing in the head a few times). Conversely, the onscreen character of Lone also spoofs Bruce Lee, the reason we are examining it here.
When Frankie first shows up, he is wearing the G.O.D. yellow jumpsuit. In fact his entire team sports those fashionable pieces. Later, bad guy Bond (Billy Chow) works out in a thong (!) while watching a Frankie Lone movie on TV. "I could beat him in real life," he mutters. The film in question has Lone with a pair of nunchuks taking on a few guys in a dojo. He even kicks a guy through a paper wall while offering the Bruce Lee screeches. During a dubbing session, Lone recreates the Bruce Lee screams and wails when he sees a cockroach crawling on his hand. Yeah, it is that kind of movie. During the finale, Bond forces Lone to don the tracksuit once again as the two go at it. Bond beats the crap out of Frankie's dad, which ignites the "Bruce" within him. Throwing his spinelessness aside, Frankie proceeds to beat the living hell out of Bond, even making a pair of nunchuks out of velvet crowd dividers.
One should definitely proceed with caution when it comes to HIGH RISK. Personally, I think it is an abysmal film, full of lame humor and horrible, phony looking fight scenes. Li is totally wasted in his role and Jackie Cheung is quite possibly the most annoying screen actor ever. His take on Bruce Lee is brainless and never the least bit funny. Then again, what do you expect from a film where the guy recreates the renowned Lee scream when he hits his ass on a chair?
Reviewed by William.