Featured Audience Ratings

• Tsubaki S

  
  Jesus fucking christ, Tarantino didn't improve shit. This movie is great for it's own merits, and sadly has just ended up being refered as the "movie that inspired Tarantino". Which just adds further injury to the irony. More than a mere action filler, this is a… More
  Jesus fucking christ, Tarantino didn't improve shit. This movie is great for it's own merits, and sadly has just ended up being refered as the "movie that inspired Tarantino". Which just adds further injury to the irony. More than a mere action filler, this is a film about the characters. Back in the days when both Ringo Lam and Chow Yun Fat were the top dogs in the genre. recommended view for any serious HK movie aficionado.

• Ken S

  
  City on Fire is a solid crime flick and worth checking out if you're a fan Asian cinema, but lets get one thing straight right now... Any one who says that Reservoir Dogs stole everything from this movie is not only just plain wrong, they CLEARLY don't know anything about… More
  City on Fire is a solid crime flick and worth checking out if you're a fan Asian cinema, but lets get one thing straight right now... Any one who says that Reservoir Dogs stole everything from this movie is not only just plain wrong, they CLEARLY don't know anything about film. While there are similarities between Reservoir Dogs and City on Fire's third act, the rest of the film couldn't be more different. Reservoir Dogs is shorter, has completely different characters, a different structure, totally new dialog, and in emphasizes totally different elements of the classic bank robbery gone wrong plot. Other than the undercover cop, the jewelry heist, and the fact it all ends badly, these two films are TOTALLY different in almost every way. Reservoir Dogs is a tighter, better acted, better written and better directed film. Watch the two films back to back and you'll see the differences between the two are painfully obvious.

• xGary X

  
  An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of jewelry thieves without the knowledge of the police unit investigating causing a conflict in his loyalties. City On Fire was one of the first HK action films to try and fully develop the idea of an undercover cop becoming immersed in the… More
  An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of jewelry thieves without the knowledge of the police unit investigating causing a conflict in his loyalties. City On Fire was one of the first HK action films to try and fully develop the idea of an undercover cop becoming immersed in the criminal underworld and the psychological price he would pay for it. As such it can be seen not only as the template for Reservoir Dogs but also the forerunner to modern crime films such as Infernal Affairs and obviously therefore The Departed. It is in fact only the final half hour in which the gang pull off their heist that forms the basis of Reservoir Dogs, and this sequence has stood the test of time; unfortunately the rest of the film has not fared so well. Chow Yun Fat is as charismatic as always, but his homelife is a bit too soapy and the humour therein is barely above the level of the average Jackie Chan movie, the police station politics contain the usual HK stereotypes and the soundtrack is terrible in the way that only 80s Hong Kong movie soundtracks are. However it is still far grittier and realistic than the vast majority of its contemporaries and as such can be seen as the stepping stone between the blend of macho posturing and sentimentality of the likes of John Woo and the sophistication of the modern heist movie. It's certainly still worth a watch for that reason, especially for fans of Tarantino who can see where the seeds of Reservoir Dogs were sown.

• Stella D

  
  hmm. i can tell this is a good heist film but it's hard for me to rate fairly as i watched a dubbed version. my bad. it makes everything look cheesy. it seems tarantino worked backward by expanding on the ending and actually created a better film in res dogs

• El Hombre I

  
  Ringo Lam delivers a dark and gritty crime thriller which shows Chow Yun-Fat in a different light from the traditional John Woo duel gun waving savior. Instead Ringo Lam shows the more human side of Chow Yun-Fat, his fragile relationship with his on-screen girlfriend Carrie Ng and… More
  Ringo Lam delivers a dark and gritty crime thriller which shows Chow Yun-Fat in a different light from the traditional John Woo duel gun waving savior. Instead Ringo Lam shows the more human side of Chow Yun-Fat, his fragile relationship with his on-screen girlfriend Carrie Ng and brother like relationship with Danny Lee. Really try and do yourself a favor and put Reservoir Dogs out of your mind as to not compare the two, because City On Fire deserves to be seen on its own terms, and those terms are an amusing, thrilling gangster picture that modern Hollywood can all-too-rarely match. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=city03.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/city03.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Dean M

  
  Quite good action of a cop goes undercover as a gun-smuggler to infiltrate a gang that has staged a series of daring robberies, then has an identity crisis when he develops a friendship with one of the gangsters.

• JY S

  
  This is the movie that Tarantino's <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> came from. With that said, if your a fan of <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> you will see many similarities here. Chow Yun-Fat does an <b>excellent</b> job in this movie as well. If you… More
  This is the movie that Tarantino's <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> came from. With that said, if your a fan of <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> you will see many similarities here. Chow Yun-Fat does an <b>excellent</b> job in this movie as well. If you haven't seen any of his earlier works you will be surprised at his acting abilities.

• Caesar M

  
  I was thrilled watching Reservoir Dogs so I decided to check out the movie that Quentin Tarantino borrowed heavily from, though not as good, I found it to be a great movie. An undercover cop, played by Chow Yun-Fat, infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store.… More
  I was thrilled watching Reservoir Dogs so I decided to check out the movie that Quentin Tarantino borrowed heavily from, though not as good, I found it to be a great movie. An undercover cop, played by Chow Yun-Fat, infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store. The story sounds familiar, but Quentin Tarantino doesn't borrow everything from this movie. For example, the bank robbery going bad is actually shown, Chou Yun-Fat character also has a love interest that wants him to commit to her, and Chow Yun-Fat character really wants to quit his job throughout the whole movie. Yet despite these differences, it's not as good as Reservoir Dogs. The story main problem is that Chow Yun-Fat character back story to wanting a marriage with his girlfriend is really not that interesting at all or adds emotional weight to this character from the audience. The good and bad things about this movie also comes from the bank robberies. The first took too long to execute and wasn't all that entertaining and fun. Though the second and last robbery was a little better. Seeing the bank robbery go bad was entertaining in it own right, but the Mexican stand off at the end didn't thrill as much as it should have. City on Fire is like Reservoir Dogs, except it shows the robberies, a marriage back story, and not as captivating performances. City on Fire is a surprisingly good movie despite not being at the same level as Reservoir Dogs as a whole. While I stilled like the movie, I feel that anyone who seen Reservoir Dogs won't be able completely enjoy it in the same level. Still worth checking if you're curious where Reservoir Dogs came from.

• Marion R

  
  I really enjoyed it, but I do have to mention that I watched the dubbed version, which was a bit strange in a couple parts. I wished I could have had the option of watching it with subtitles but the DVD only had the dubbed version. It's strange how the more films I watch the… More
  I really enjoyed it, but I do have to mention that I watched the dubbed version, which was a bit strange in a couple parts. I wished I could have had the option of watching it with subtitles but the DVD only had the dubbed version. It's strange how the more films I watch the less respect I have for what I thought were Tarantino's "original" ideas.

• Patrick D

  
  In the action department there are few movies I've seen that are more gripping and well directed. Ringo Lam uses Hong Kong New Wave aesthetics for great effect but doesn't over use them making the film too experimental. The style isn't as unique as someone like John… More
  In the action department there are few movies I've seen that are more gripping and well directed. Ringo Lam uses Hong Kong New Wave aesthetics for great effect but doesn't over use them making the film too experimental. The style isn't as unique as someone like John Woo, but doesn't stand out above what's happening on screen. The only thing really to complain about is some of the more romantic/relationship scenes, it's not that romantic scenes were out of place, they just weren't played so well, and at times brought the pace to a grinding halt, yet they do factor huge in the end so they are nessesary and, really, a little flaw. And of course, in alot of cases a movie is only as good as it's climax, and this film has an incredible final 30 minutes, borrowed heavily, of course, by Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs (as I guess is old news), yet still appears amazing, and to be corny: Edge-of-your-seat. Needless to say, I want to see more Ringo Lam, if this is the kind of thing he puts out.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings