The Gold Connection (1979)
Reviewed by: mpongpun on 2004-05-29
A lot of refugees from Vietnam are trying to get into Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government has been denying these folks entrance, but nevertheless, there are many unscrupulous folks who are trying to take advantage of the situation by smuggling in the refugees in exchange for some gold. The HK Government has cracked down on these smugglers, but you know very well that you can’t stop all crime. One day on a deep sea diving trip, Ah Wai (Bruce Li) and his gang of buddies discover a chest of gold on the ocean floor. They jump for joy and entertain thoughts of an easier life. After inspecting the gold, they realize it has Vietnamese writing on them, and in light of the current Vietnamese refugee situation, Ah Wai determines that the gold may belong to some smugglers who have intentionally hidden the gold on the ocean floor. Messing with this gold may be bad news. Nevertheless, the group puts back the gold where they got it from and decides that after 3 days, if the gold is still unclaimed, they will take it for their keeping. The next day, one of the guys in the gang, a debt ridden Ah Keung (Hon Kwok Choi), decides to take the gold all for himself without telling the other members. Ah Keung pawns the gold off for some cash and spends it like a madman never realizing that he is leaving a trail of hurt and death as the owners of the gold are trying to reclaim their gold that Ah Keung is hocking away for hard cash. This is a pretty good, underrated flick that is uncharacteristic of a Bruce Li flick. Bruce isn’t kicking the bad guy’s asses with ease; he actually has a hard time fighting the thugs! Almost realistic! The thugs in this flick are downright unrelenting and cruel. They don’t beat you up, they actually kill you! Overall, the flick has a lot of stuff to offer: fights, a good story, good acting, clever use of objects (hint: camera), suspense (who’s that killer?), and an ending that comes out of nowhere.