7. City on Fire
The clear inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, City on Fire is a tough, intense action movie with plenty of character developing exposition. Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee who would be partnered again in The Killer but in reverse roles, Ringo Lam's script allows both men to enjoy the scintillating action whilst also giving them license to show off their acting talent. Criminality never looked cooler than it does in City on Fire as Lee, a gangster is decked out in the coolest shades and seemed to inspire a whole generation of American directors in the process. Bares some similarities to Infernal Affairs in the way that it depicts an undercover cop under incredible pressure. The cop, played by Yun-Fat is committed to his job, but loathes the way he has to betray the men who have become his friends, even if they are killers and drug dealers, posing complex questions about identity that aren't often mentioned when discussing City on Fire. Tarantino 'borrowed' a great deal from the film for his debut. One scene, the Mexican standoff looks almost identical and some of the dialogue is very similar, which in turn diminishes Reservoir Dogs quite a great deal. It's also the film that helped catapult Chow Yun-Fat to stardom, at least in Asia anyway, as he would have to wait for The Killer and Hard Boiled before getting worldwide recognition. An incredibly stylish picture that is as fun as it is gritty - and proof that Hong Kong is the home of action cinema.