Rapid Fire

Rapid Fire (1992) is an action thriller directed by Dwight H. Little — watch it online on iFILM. It stands as one of Brandon Lee's strongest performances before his death on the set of The Crow, and remains the clearest evidence of what kind of action star he might have become.

Art student Jake Lo (Brandon Lee) witnesses an execution at a party thrown by a mob boss. He wants nothing to do with it. Federal agents want his testimony — but some of them turn out to be dirty, and before Jake can figure out who's who, both Italian and Chinese crime outfits are hunting him across Chicago. The one man he can maybe trust is cop Ryan (Powers Boothe), who offers exactly one option: go undercover and act as bait. Lee brings an athletic ease to the fight sequences that owes something to his father Bruce — the choreography is legible, never frantic, and every scene he's in has weight to it.

The film earns no points for complexity. What it delivers instead is tight, competent genre craft from the early nineties, a genuinely compelling lead, and action sequences that still hold up. Stream Rapid Fire (1992) online on iFILM.