One of the most outstanding directors in the history of Hong Kong cinema, Lee Tso-Nam has made an invaluable contribution to the industry. He boasts more than 50 movies to his credit including The Tattoo Connection, Challenge of Death, and one of my personal favorites, Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger, which brings his total directorial credits to over four decades.
Singled Out Tao-Ling Tan assumed the role of Lu Tung Chun, a Captain of the security force in a village. But before long, in the movie, Captain Lu finds himself in the grips of the ever-elusive Murphy’s Law. First came Captain Lu’s fiancée, almost raped by some known troublemaker in town, but thankfully for Lu’s fiancée, her mother intervened. Unfortunately for her mother, she died as a consequence. It is worth mentioning that the known troublemaking murderer is the son of Mayor Yuen, who also happens to be Captain Lu’s boss. So now, Captain Lu has a grieving fiancée AND he has to head to his boss’ house to do some damage control. This means an excruciatingly uncomfortable and excruciatingly awkward chat with his boss and Lu understands that the Mayor will not be of any help in this situation. Then there’s Mistress Li. She is new to the town and is seeking vengeance for her brother’s death years back, a death that she attributes to Captain Lu.
Then there is the flamboyant order cherry on the top, an ungodly killer known as Pai Yu Chang (Don Wong) who has only recently been freed from the prison shows up in town and even before he makes acquaintance with Captain Lu, they have a clash almost immediately. At this stage, the film could have been aptly called Everybody Hates Lu particularly after Mayor Yuen dismisses Lu for carrying out his responsibilities and expectations.
Double Agent The good news for Captain Lu is most bad news does eventually cease. We come to realize that Pai Yu Chang is not simply an authentic fighter Yu Ching is but a covert government agent who has come to carry out investigations into the deep involvement of Mayor Yuen in the village counterfeiting business. Pai penetrates the operation of Yuens by offering his bodyguard services to the mayor. Once Pai gets the confirmation that Captain Lu is not in any dirty business ties to the Yuen family, the two cooperate to eliminate the corrupt Mayor Yuen and his vicious, worthless son. Not only this, but Pai also persuades Li to abandon the new grievance she has against Captain Lu and allows her to finally see him as a decent and honorable man.
Triple Threat Suddenly, Mr. Lung (Tommy Lee) enters the picture. Seeing Lu and Pai joining forces, Mayor Yuen plays his trump card. Lung is Yuen’s last resort and he’s an ominous figure. His ashen face and golden hair aren’t the only thing that makes him terrifying. He is also a masterful and cold-blooded martial artist. No one has walked out alive after taking on Mr. Lung. That was the case until two men appeared instead of one. This steers us to the big climax where Lu and Pai go up against Mr. Lung and it is distinct, to say the least. It indeed is a combination of the hot, the cool, and the vicious.
This particular movie has some of the best fighting choreography along with an intriguing plot. The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious has a brilliant story to action ratio. All the characters have a development arc and there is a clear purpose behind every action they take. Now I understand Michael Worth’s fascination with this movie and why he mentions it in The Clones Cast.
One thing that I will say in every review: it is time for the Bonus Bullet Points.
Who Killed Mistress Li’s Brother? SPOILER ALERT The good mistress’s brother met his unfortunate end due to a poisonous snake during a scuffle with Lu. The truth is, that Lu was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s a flashback that these events play out in.
A Most Daring Escape Mr. Lung’s reputation got too strong for the forces of good, and they tried to scheme him into entering the old temple so they could lock the door and barricade it. But as everyone knows from Lung’s reputation, he just jumped through the roof of the building and began to demolish everyone inside. This was one of the best parts of the movie.
Push It The sabo debut album of the rap group Salt n Pepa had the name Hot, Cool, and Vicious. This was the decorated movie title in most countries and the movie’s simplified title.
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