Runaway Blues (1989) Movie Review

“Runaway Blues” was originally released back in 1989 and was directed by David Lai, who was also responsible for the classic “Saviour of the Soul”, as well as a number of 1980s Hong Kong genre favourites such as “Spiritual Love”, “Lost Souls” and “Possessed”. The film is another of the gangster dramas that were so popular at the time, and features the immortal Andy Lau in the lead, appearing just before his acting and singing careers launched him to superstardom. Interestingly enough, film’s theme song, “Do I Really Have nothing at All”, was performed by Dave Wang rather than Lau, and became a popular hit on its release.

Here Lau plays Kwong, a Taiwanese gang member who flees to Hong Kong after killing a rival thug (a cameo appearance from popular martial arts and action star Blacky Ko, who also provided the stunt choreography) during a wild motorbike race (during which the two bikes were chained together – always a recipe for disaster), leaving behind his devoted girlfriend. Needless to say, he is soon involved in yet more triad troubles, working for the nefarious mob boss Lord Nip and with the local police leaning on him to become their informer. Foolishly, though inevitably, Kwong falls in with Lord Nip’s woman Sue (the lovely Lu Hsiu Ling, also in the exploitation classic “Devil Fetus”), and after a deal involving fake Rolexes goes bad, the two go on the run together to the Mainland and later Macau. Their troubles follow them every step of the way, and eventually Kwong heads back to Hong Kong for the expected violent confrontations.

Although the plot is predictable enough, right down to the tragic conclusion, “Runaway Blues” does have a different feel to its many peers, thanks mainly to its various locations, shifting as it does between Taiwan, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau. As well as providing a few changes in scenery and some pleasant travelogue footage, this gives the proceedings the air of a triad themed road film, even though most of Kwong’s travels result in the same thing, namely his being attacked by thugs just as he is about to share a tender moment with Sue. Still, Lai judges things well, and the story hits all the right buttons, successfully managing to work in righteousness, treachery, brotherhood and romance without ever spreading himself too thin or falling back on unnecessary comic relief (aside from the frequent scenes of the police officer who hassles Kwong complaining about his haemorrhoids and later having them operated on – his suffering apparently proving that he is not a homosexual). Similarly, whilst the role of Kwong was nothing new for Lau, having played similar motorbike riding bad boys on a number of occasions, he is on fine form here and successfully carries the film. Kwong’s relationship with Sue, although rather clichéd is effective, and things do turn more interesting once his old girlfriend shows up for some surprisingly steamy sex scenes – not least since it becomes rapidly apparent that one of them at least will be unlikely to make it to the final credits. This investment in character helps to draw the viewer into the always engaging story, and things do get reasonably tense during the final act when the bodies start to pile up.

The film is actually surprisingly brutal in places, with some shocking scenes of violence and cruelty. Although most of this comes through brawls and the usual knife fights, there are several nasty torture sequences, including one where an unfortunate squealer is gruesomely set on fire. Aside from a slight lull in the middle to make way for a little romance, the action comes thick and fast, and as a result the film makes for exciting viewing, more so than most of its more sedate peers. Blacky Ko’s stunt choreography is excellent and gives the film a real boost through some truly awesome scenes, including one where Lau takes a dive from a lighthouse, and another where a man is thrown from a window, only to land upon a moving bus and fall to the road – whereupon he simply picks himself up, straightens his jacket and walks away, bones and dignity somehow still intact. On top of this, there are some thrilling car and bike chase scenes, with several impressive crashes and pile ups.

This ensures that “Runaway Blues” stands as a highly entertaining piece of genre film making and as one of the better examples of its kind. With a great performance from Lau and plenty of violent thrills, it has aged well and indeed compares favourably with most similarly themed recent efforts.

David Lai (director)
CAST: Andy Lau … Lam Kwong
Sau-Ling Lui … Sue
Sunny Fang
Jasmine Guy
Sau Leung ‘Blacky’ Ko … Triad in Race
Ni Tien
Kelvin Wong … Wah