Rapid Fire is a 1992 American action film directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe and Nick Mancuso. The film was released in the United States on August 21, 1992. Lee was reportedly in talks with 20th Century Fox about making Rapid Fire 2, prior to his death.
Plot
The film opens in Thailand, with Antonio Serrano, a mafia drug distributor visiting long-time associate Kinman Tau, a drug kingpin. Serrano is having troubles and wants them to work together, but his request is not reciprocated. Turned off from politics after witnessing the death of his father at Tiananmen Square in China, Los Angeles art student Jake Lo is lured to a party of Chinese pro-democracy activists. While there, he witnesses Serrano killing party sponsor Carl Chang, who was an associate of Tau. When Serrano and his men attempt to kill Jake, he swiftly disarms them using martial arts techniques. Jake is placed under protective custody by federal agents, who coerce him into coming to Chicago and testifying against Serrano. When the agents at the safe house are revealed to be corrupt, Jake escapes through the window and encounters a young police detective named Karla Withers, with whom he develops an immediate bond. Withers' partner, Lieutenant Mace Ryan, helps Jake evade his pursuers and reveals that he had been pursuing Tau for 10 years. Jake is persuaded by Ryan to help him exploit Serrano's FBI ties and obtain information about Tau's next shipment. Though the sting operation is successful, Jake is nearly killed in a barrage of gunfire and assaults Ryan after he reveals his involvement wasn't necessary. Later that night, Jake and Karla begin a romance and have sex in her apartment, while Ryan and his team lead a raid at the revealed location of the next shipment: Tau's laundry factory. Both the lovemaking and the events of the raid are shown alternately as they occur in actual time, culminating with Serrano being murdered in his cell by one of Tau's henchman. Jake, Ryan and Withers subsequently team up to bring down Tau once more. Though Ryan and Withers are captured by Tau's men, Jake rescues them and eventually kills Tau at a train platform. He and Karla then evacuate Ryan from the burning factory and ride to the hospital together in an ambulance.
Stephen Hunter of the Baltimore Sun wrote that the film's fast pace, which he compared to video games, leaves Lee unable to show his charisma. Although he called the film a "disaster", Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel called Lee likable and appealing. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas described the film as "better than Enter the Dragon" and a star-making role for Lee. Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film exploits the death of Lee's father, martial arts actorBruce Lee, to make his character seem more sympathetic. On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator that includes both contemporary and modern reviews, it has an approval rating of 43% based on 21 reviews; the average rating is 4.79/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
