[yasr_overall_rating]
A security guard becomes embroiled in a battle to protect stem cell research, which can potentially cure cancer, from falling into the wrong hands.
I don’t know much about Ringo Lam’s earlier works, but I surmise from what I’ve read that they were not only badass but “good,” structurally speaking. There is no mistaking that “Sky on Fire” is definitely not “good.” But that’s not to say that it isn’t enjoyable. The plot is a scrambling mess and the melodrama is close to gag-worthy. “Sky on Fire” comes off as the love child of a Daytime Soap Opera and an “off-brand” action flick only a step and a half above a straight to DVD made for T.V. movie. It’s terrible. But, it’s also unendingly amusing, and I think any movie that can make you laugh or bring forth a nickel of joy, gets pity points.
There are lots of people introduced and lots of side plots, and you even get what seems like a false ending via “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” style. You breathe that sigh of relief when the screen goes black for longer than a second, but just as you start to stir the film returns, and you quietly laugh to yourself knowing they got you good, just when you were ready to accept that you were fine with the remaining scores to remain unsettled. But no, that wouldn’t be fair, it is pertinent that all the scores must be tidied up leading to a most spectacular end. Fate accepted.
Our main man is Tingbo (Daniel Wu) who is chief of security for the SkyOne Clinic, which is a looming CGI skyscraper with all the extra frills. Tingbo is the strong silent type, who tackles his job with the ferocity and loyalty of a German Shepherd. While he may be strong, it is made clear that he is also suffering inside, mourning the loss of his wife who died from cancer. Tingbo’s unwavering dedication to his boss Tang (Fan Guang-yao) is tied to the fact that Tang has cured his father’s cancer in the SkyClinic. While Tang may have helped in curing some cancer for some lucky individuals, he’s really a whole other bag entirely. His first entrance on screen, stepping off a helicopter in an expertly tailored pin-striped suit and a slick grin slapped across his face, clues you in immediately that this is no Mother Theresa.
Here are some other main players: Jane and Jia (Kuo Tsai Chieh & Chang Hsiao Chuan) an adoptive brother-sister duo who are encouraged to meet with certain doctors who may be able to cure Jane’s cancer with Ex-Stem Cells. Jia will stop at nothing to heal his sister. Theirs is a special bond indeed. Jia’s determination gets them involved in a scuffle between Tang and Tang’s former mentor Professor Lee’s (Jim Chim) son Ziwan (Zhang Ruo Yun), who suspects Tang is responsible for his father’s death, and will do anything to prevent Tang from acquiring the Ex-StemCells (aka Cancer Cure) ultimately preventing him from becoming filthy rich and deciding the fate of those who can and cannot pay for a miracle cure. Ziwan has his gang of buddies, Tang has his chief of security, Tingbo, as well as another underground crew headed by a dastardly dude named Wolf (Li Haitao), and Jane and Jia are caught in the middle, bouncing from Ziwan and Tingbo. Also in the picture is Tang’s wife, the doctor and also former student of Professor Lee’s, Ko Yu (Zhang Yingchu), a woman who carries her own secret and emanates sorrow in her every movement.
All of these characters are introduced in practically the first 10 minutes of the film in a flurry of explosions, car crashes, and very well choreographed fighting. And you pretty much don’t know what the hell is going on for the next half hour. Aside from Tang and Wolf, it’s hard to decipher whose alliances lay where, and you kind of don’t care. You get a sad backstory on most of the characters and still don’t care. Eventually, you realize the linchpin of the film is Daniel Wu’s Tingbo and feel bad for not realizing that sooner. And after the “false” ending, there are more explosions on a grand CGI scale, vindication is victory, and then there may or may not be some ridiculous parachuting against the backdrop of a fiery sky. As I said before, amusement gets pity points.
Now available on Blu-ray & DVD
