This movie feels like a spiritual successor, similar to how **KING OF NEW YORK** connects with **YEAR OF THE DRAGON**. Imagine taking familiar characters and relocating them to Chicago, retaining Raymond J. Barry in a comparable role—now even more obviously corrupt and involving the FBI—replacing John Lone's Thai drug lord with Tzi Ma, introducing Bruce Lee’s son into the story, and bringing in Dwight H. Little (who recently directed **MARKED FOR DEATH**) to direct. What would that produce? The outcome is a bit uneven. The action isn’t bad, but the plot doesn’t offer much we haven't seen before. The romantic subplot between Brandon and a police officer just doesn't work, and his surrogate father-son relationship with Powers Boothe seems artificial and uncomfortable. It’s also puzzling that a large shipment of drugs from China would be routed through Chicago when the West Coast would have been far more practical. There are numerous plot conveniences, plus a strange flashback to Tienamen Square, making the writing feel too silly to take seriously. However, Brandon Lee is undeniably charismatic as the lead, despite still showing some rough edges. His character feels like a very relatable outsider and his execution of the many fight scenes makes you wish his career hadn't ended so soon. Dwight’s action sequences are best at the beginning with a shootout in an art gallery that’s clearly inspired by John Woo, and reach their peak about halfway through when a group of inept Italian mobsters transform their restaurant headquarters into a fortress. Nick Mancuso, the main villain, is surprisingly enjoyable as a pathetic but somehow likable crime boss. It's disappointing he disappears before the third act, which devolves into an imitation of John Woo with a predictable and low-stakes fight in a Chinese laundromat/factory (???). Tzi Ma and Al Leong both get to showcase their martial arts skills alongside Brandon, but it’s more entertaining to watch him brawl with the large Tony Longo during that restaurant scene. Overall, **Rapid Fire** delivers plenty of action characteristic of the 80s and early 90s, placing it on par with films like **RAW DEAL** and **HARD TO KILL**. A better script that didn’t reveal its hand so quickly could have made it much stronger. It took Brandon's final film, **THE CROW**, to finally provide the action elements needed to define what was a tragically short but promising career.

Source on TMDB