Outlaw Brothers (1990) - A Review

 

Outlaw Brothers is a solid 90s Hong Kong action movie!

Outlaw Brothers is an action/martial arts comedy movie released in Hong Kong in 1990. It stars Frankie Chan, Yukari Oshima, Max Mok, Michiko Nishiwaki, Michael Miu, Sheila Chan, Sharon Kwok, Mark Houghton, Vincent Lyn, and Jeffrey Falcon. Outlaw Brothers was directed by Frankie Chan; with Fung Hak-On,  Yuen Shun-Yi, and Cheng Chi-Ho as martial arts directors.

In Outlaw Brothers, Frankie Chan plays James, who along with his best friend Bond (played by Max Mok) steal expensive cars for their very rich boss. James and Bond live the high life with the money they get paid for stealing cars. Bond wants to marry his girlfriend (played by Sharon Kwok), but it seems James and her had a previous relationship. James also has a younger sister (played by Sheila Chan), whose boyfriend is in a criminal group and regularly physically abuses her.

The heroes: from left- Max Mok, Frankie Chan, and Yukari Oshima.

Trouble starts when Sergeant Tai Hwa Wang (played by Michael Miu) uses his superior officer's car to catch some car thieves in action. Unfortunately for him, James and Bond steal the car in a moment of distraction. Later on, a rival gang wants James and Bond to steal a car for them, which Bond is forced to agree to. James and Bond decide to 'steal' James' car and report it to the police so the gang will get arrested. This is where Detective Tequila (played by Yukari Oshima) comes into the picture. She sneaks into the garage full of stolen cars, beats everyone up, including the gang boss, and gets the car back.

When James goes to get his car, Tequila goes undercover to find out more about him and his line of work. James is immediately smitten by Tequila. They go on a car ride, flirt a little, dance a little, break into a house, fight off gang members, you know the usual. At first their relationship is very shaky, but as Tequila sees what a good man James is, she begins to soften her stance on him. Throughout this courtship, Wang is frustrated that his crush Tequila is interested in the suspicious James!

Eventually, James' sister reveals that she is pregnant, and that she doesn't want her boyfriend to participate in an upcoming race (involving criminals). She asks James to steal his race car so he can't race. James and Bond steal the car, but are caught red-handed by Tequila and the police squad. She lets them go, much to the frustration of Wang. James and Bond find a certain something hidden in the car's gas tank, and this stolen car is very important to Miego (played by Michiko Nishiwaki), a coked up crime boss who is the mortal enemy of Tequila. All of this leads to Tequila, James, and Bond confronting Miego and her criminal gang in a final battle!

Michiko Nishiwaki and Jeffrey Falcon have a serious conversation while Sheila Chan enjoys the heck out of her champagne.

Outlaw Brothers is a somewhat underrated 90s martial arts action movie. The fighting is really good in this, but a lot of people don't really like the plot or the comedy. I'm okay with it. The comedy is decent. There are some funny lines said between James and Tequila during their first meeting. Some good physical comedy as well. The incredible Sheila Chan is in this, but she doesn't play a comedic character. Her character is actually quite tragic. There is one funny scene with her, though the scene is supposed to be serious. There are some messed up jokes in this about AIDS (City Hunter also had a horrible AIDS joke, but it has been 'translated' into something else in the most recent releases), and this movie shows real chickens getting needlessly killed... so this movie may not be for everyone.

Frankie Chan plays James as a goodhearted, humble, elegant thief. He's a criminal, but you can't help but like him. Yukari Oshima plays a tough, no nonsense cop as Tequila, who begins to soften a little as she gets to know James better. I will say, it is nice to see her play a hero. The movies I've seen her in, she usually plays a villain or a more neutral character. Yukari Oshima is awesome in Outlaw Brothers! Michiko Nishiwaki plays the main villain Miego, and man is she ruthless. It is disconcerting seeing her snort cocaine as well. Michiko is great in this, though! Michael Miu as Wang is hilarious as the jealous partner of Tequila. That guy just never wins in this movie!

Yukari Oshima is a fighting machine in this movie. This is one woman you do not want to mess with!

What this movie may supposedly lacks in an original story, it makes up for in awesome fight scenes! Frankie Chan and, especially, Yukari Oshima really get to show off their skills in this one! At the beginning of the movie, Frankie Chan has to fight off a bunch of security guards in a parking garage, and ends up using a broom to hold them off! Frankie even gets to fight the head security guard, played by the legendary Fung Hak-On. Yukari Oshima's introductory scene has her sneaking into a garage that houses stolen cars, and a bunch of thugs as well. Yukari proceeds to destroy those thugs with no remorse, causing damage to the stolen cars in the process! She kicks the boss through a window, and he lands on a car a level below. That guy had what was coming to him, though. The final fight scene has the best fights, with Frankie Chan & Yukari Oshima facing off against Mark Houghton, Jeffrey Falcon, Vincent Lyn, and others in a storage facility. These fights are hard-hitting, fast, and intricate. It is also cool to see traditional kung fu styles used in the fight scenes. Good stuff, and Jackie Chan had a hand in some of the choreography in it.

So, should you see Outlaw Brothers? I would say yes if you love Hong Kong style action. Once again, there is a cruel joke and needless animal cruelty in this, so you may want to avoid. Overall, Frankie Chan did a good job with this movie. He really let Yukari Oshima shine as the butt kicker she truly is. It is really unfortunate she never became a huge star on the level of Michelle Yeoh or Cynthia Rothrock, because she had the skills and the screen presence. Watch this movie for the fights and for Yukari Oshima!

Cover of the DVD I watched for this review. That is not an accurate representation of what Yukari Oshima looks like in this movie (or in general)!

Back cover of the Dragon Dynasty DVD release of Outlaw Brothers.

The DVD disc art. Pretty cool, eh?

Reviewed by David Williams