Paul Magne Haakonsen "Island of Fire" is a fairly average prison-type of movie in regards to the story, but there is just something captivating about it.Andy (played by Tony Leung Ka Fai) goes undercover to infiltrate a rough prison run by corrupt officers using the prisoners to run fights and do their dirty work.As a prison movie, of course you have all the standard stereotypical characters here; the mafia-type overhead in charge of the inmates, the ruffians serving the overhead, the innocent prisoners rising up when cornered, the prisoners fueled by a fight for righteous. There is nothing grand or new to the characters, and truth be told, there is very little room for character development in the movie, and you hardly get to sympathize for any of them or dig into their stories.The movie is driven by the story and the raw action, though. And I must admit that it was nice to see Andy Lau actually play a bad guy for a change. And even more of a surprise towards the end to see both Steve (played by Jackie Chan) and Boss Lee (played by Andy Lau) getting gunned down and presumably die. And another plus is that you actually see Jackie Chan in a violent role and is killing people!There are some pretty heavyweight Hong Kong movie stars in "Island of Fire". You have Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and of course Jackie Chan.I bought the Hong Kong Legends release of the movie and it has Jackie Chan on the cover, so I was under the impression that it was a regular Chan movie. But it turned out not to be the case, and he actually only have a minor role in the movie. But of course, his name and face sells, so why not put him on the cover? Although names like Sammo Hung, Andy Lau or Tony Leung Ka Fai would sell equally well (perhaps not to the Western market, though).And whatever you do, do not watch this movie with the English dubbed soundtrack, it is just awful. Watch it with the original Mandarin language, I switched to that upon hearing the first English being uttered. I just hate dubbed versions, especially badly dubbed versions."Island of Fire" is a great movie, despite it being from 1990. It is driven by a captivating story and some good acting performances actually. And if for nothing else, watch it because of the Hong Kong heavyweight stars that are in it.

joellibee2006 One of the greatest movie of Jackie! I recommend this movie to all of you that like karate movies.I really like movies like this one.I also like Jackie Chan Adventures: The Shadow of Shendu features three episodes of the animated series The Jackie Chan Adventures. The show finds the star's animated alter ego teaming up with his niece, Jade, to keep magical talismans that allow a person to have superhuman powers from falling into the wrong hands. Episodes include "Bullies," "Tough Jackie Chan has become known for doing the dangerous stunts his characters perform in the films. This documentary, hosted by the actor, shows how some of those stunts were rehearsed and what happens when some of the stunts go wrong.good! www.free-game-downloads.mow.com/

wendy-knottcomer First, let me state that Jackie Chan is NOT the star of this film. Nor are Andy Lau, or Sammo Hung.Tony Leung Kar Fai IS the star and plays a policeman who is put in prison to find out why a vicious gangster was freed to wreak havoc on the world. In prison he finds a rats' nest of corruption and violence.He is soon thinking of ways to avoid and/or alter the volatile atmosphere he finds there by befriending one of the Kingpins, and by becoming a "cheerleader" for more wholesome ways to let off steam (i.e. a race to see who can finish building a road first).Jackie Chan has a tiny role as a man who accidentally kills the brother of mobster, Andy Lau, and is seen in sporadic bursts throughout the remainder of the film, trying to avoid death. In general, a forgettable role...and I'm such a Jackie fan that I even own most of the "dogs" he has done. I include this film in that category.Andy Lau is seen so seldom, you almost forget he is in the film.All of this is just fine with me as I watch the film for Tony Leung who is a real babe! He is a terrific and versatile actor who shines even in losers like this film. He is kind of like an Asian, male Bette Davis. His performance does not disappoint.Nor does Sammo Hung, who is touching in his performance of a man who will do and risk anything to visit his young son.The end of this film is a confusing gore fest which will thrill some and disgust others.All in all, I gave the film a 5. It was worth seeing, but I may not revisit for some time.

winslowcotton I saw the dubbed-into-English version of this. My recommendation is, don't bother. It's a stretch to call this a Jackie Chan movie, since he's involved in less than one-third of the movie.The fight scenes are not nearly as well choreographed as thoes in most other Chan movies, and the filmmakers try to make up for this through tight editing. Much of the time, it's impossible to see what the moves are.The plot is confusing, and the script is horrible. There are times when it takes on some qualities of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" when it blends incoherence with bad acting.The surround sound is technically well done, though.