Release Date: 15 July 1992
Run Time: 85 minutes
Origin: USA
Mimi's Rating: 3 slices of pizza out of 5
"Get that damn pizza!"
Breathing Fire could be mistaken for your average 90s 'kid-power' martial arts film if it wasn't for all the murder. The brainchild of retired kung fu star Tao-liang Tan and featuring the imposing Bolo Yeung, this action flick has enough industry talent to deliver a high-kicking good time.
The story opens with a man inspecting a variety of fake foods. This will be important later. We then meet our protagonists Tony (Eddie Saavedra), Charlie (Ke Huy Quan), and their father Michael Moore (Jerry Trimble). The brothers are being dropped off at their kickboxing tournament, after trading some banter with their father. They jokingly say he should rob a bank to buy them a Porsche. This will be important later.
As the boys fight their tournament matches, we find out Business Dad is Gangster Dad and is missing their tournament to rob a bank with his gang. Also, he looks like Patrick Bateman's stunt double and he's wearing a hilarious fake mustache as a "disguise". What follows next is a quick and fun furniture-smashing fight in the bank lobby. Oh, and Bolo Yeung (playing the character 'Thunder') is in drag for some reason, and he gives the bank manager who was aiding the gang a swirly in a toilet full of pee which is as hilarious as it is disgusting.
The brothers win their matches and are moving on to the National Martial-arts Championships. Meanwhile, the gang is securing the gold they stole from the bank and we learn the convoluted plan Michael has cooked up. He presses the two keys into a wax pizza and explains that each gang member will receive a slice. All members must be present to open the safe, as the old keys will be destroyed. The crooked bank manager, Peter will also receive a slice, despite his cold feet over the entire endeavour.
Later Peter returns home to his wife and daughter, Annie (Laura Hamilton). Peter puts his slice of pizza into an envelope addressed to David Moore, an old friend and Vietnam vet (who also happens to be Michael's brother) and sends Annie to the postbox with it. As Annie leaves, Micheal and the gang arrive having sensed that Peter is turning against them. Peter and his wife are killed (Peter gets tossed out the window, a classic move) and Annie flees to find David. As Annie escapes, she falls on the little white dog she is carrying. I don't know why they kept that in the movie, but I'm glad they did.
Annie makes it to David's place but the gang has sent goons after her. David eventually kicks the goon's butts and the two head to Micheal's house, not knowing he is the gang leader.
Of course, the boys are instantly in competition over wooing Annie. I liked how Charlie has a bunch of inflated condoms with smiley faces drawn on them hanging from his ceiling. After the boys show off their rooms we get what can be only described as a flirt montage.
Around this time we also learn Charlie's backstory and hold on to your hats because it's a doozy. So, When Micheal and David were in Vietnam, Micheal killed Charlie's mother, an innocent civilian. Then for some hair-brained reason, David decided that Micheal should raise Charlie as some messed up repentance for his crimes. And then they named him CHARLIE. In case you are unaware, American troops referred to Vietnamese guerrillas as "Charlies" derived from the verbal shorthand for "Victor Charlie" the abbreviation for Viet Cong. They named Michael's new "son" after an ethnic slur.
Moving on from that shocking revelation, we get another attempted Annie kidnapping and a fun fight scene between the brothers and David versus three gang members including Thunder (Bolo Yeung). Breathing Fire's action sequences are entertaining even if you can sometimes see the safety pads. Or maybe that makes it even better. Either way, you can tell some real talent went into the choreography and stunts. Of course, Bolo Yeung is fantastic and adds a real sense of danger to every fight he's involved in.
After this brawl, David decides it's time to bring the fight to the gang. His attempt to confront the gang ends disastrously when a disguised Micheal cripples him. Luckily, Charlie and Tony have followed David and get him to safety. Now unable to protect Annie, David is convinced by the brothers to train them in his martial arts techniques. Que training montage (or montages). Will the boys be able to defend Annie? Will they find out that their father is the leader of a gang? Will they make it to their tournament? Find out in: Breathing Fire!
Breathing Fire will give you tonal whiplash. It jumps from 3 Ninjas-style wacky martial arts fights to dramatic dead mom revelations. Thankfully, the fights are well-executed and choreographed and the plot is perplexing enough to keep you interested. While the majority of the performances stay around the "acceptable" level, Ke Huy Quan is the standout of the film. As in his other film roles, here his charisma shines and the way the ending treats him will deeply aggravate you.
Bonus: Bolo Yeung convinced the producers to delay shooting for six months so he could grow a ponytail. They found him so intimidating they agreed.
Why you should watch:
You like martial arts films with bizarre plots and good fights.
You want to check out Ke Huy Quan in a more forgotten role.
Great early 90s style.
Why you shouldn't watch:
The plot might be too silly for adults, and too dark for younger viewers.