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.
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. 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 was not necessary. Later that night, Karla invites Jake to her apartment and shows him his father's confidential file. After an intimate discussion, they realize their feelings for each other and have sex. Meanwhile 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.
Cast
Brandon Lee as Jake Lo
Powers Boothe as Lieutenant Mace Ryan
Nick Mancuso as Antonio Serrano
Raymond J. Barry as Agent Frank Stewart
Kate Hodge as Detective Karla Withers
Tzi Ma as Kinman Tau
Tony Longo as Brunner
Michael Paul Chan as Carl Chang
Dustin Nguyen as Paul Yang
Brigitta Stenberg as Rosalyn
Basil Wallace as Agent Wesley
Al Leong as Minh
François Chau as Farris
Quentin O'Brien as Agent Daniels
Roy Abramsohn as Agent Klein
C'Esca Lawrence as Lisa Stewart
Michael Chong as John Lo
Jeff McCarthy as Agent Anderson
Production
Dwight H. Little's work had attracted the attention of Steven Seagal, but his usual studio partner Warner Bros. was reticent to hire the director of Halloween 4, a horror film. Seagal used a clause in his contract that enabled him to make one film for a different company, and set up Marked for Death at Fox, where Little was approved by studio boss Joe Roth. Marked for Death was a hit and established Little as an action director.
Interested in building up an action star of their own, Fox retained Little's services for a new vehicle starring Brandon Lee, whose name held great marketing upside, although Little found him to be a commandable actor as well. Director of photography Ric Waite and stage actor Basil Wallace, who played the main bad guy "Screwface" in Marked for Death, also returned.
The film's impetus came from producer Robert Lawrence, who had come across Lee's early Hong Kong feature Legacy of Rage. Its working title was Moving Target. Before Little was hired by Fox, John Woo was in talks to direct. According to Lee, the script was tailored for him, and he had access to screenwriter Alan B. McElroy from the get-go. Cindy Cirile, the wife and frequent collaborator of executive producer John Fasano, also contributed to the story. Paul Attanasio performed some uncredited rewrites. Nonetheless, Little was dissatisfied with the way the second antagonist was reintroduced later into the story, which he felt was anticlimactic and hampered the picture's reception.