Rapid Fire

Directed by Dwight H. Little, Rapid Fire follows Brandon Lee’s Jake Lo as he witnesses a killing and subsequently finds himself caught between two feuding drug lords. There’s never a point at which Rapid Fire manages to come off as anything other than an entirely generic, by-the-numbers actioner, and yet the picture remains surprisingly watchable for the duration of its appropriately (and appreciatively) brisk running time – with the movie’s mild success due almost entirely to Lee’s impressively charismatic performance and the smattering of compelling, exciting violent interludes. (There is, in terms of the latter, a fantastic and electrifying set-piece set in an apartment that alone justifies the film’s very existence.) Filmmaker Little generally does an effective job of developing the (admittedly familiar) characters and offering up a series of memorably smarmy villains, with the eclectic roster of performers, which includes Powers Boothe, Nick Mancuso, and Raymond J. Barry, certainly heightening the proceedings on a palpably ongoing basis. The strong climax (and eminently enjoyable bad-guy death) ensures that the whole thing ends on a satisfying note, thus securing Rapid Fire‘s place as a watchable (yet entirely forgettable) vehicle for the gone-too-soon Lee.

**1/2 out of ****