Downtown Torpedoes

Hong Kong filmmaker Teddy Chan directed this top-notch spy thriller which marked the final work of award-winning Bride With White Hair art director Eddie Ma before his premature death from cancer. The film stars the quartet of Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jordan Chan, Charlie Yeung, and Ken Wa as the top members of a group called Available Tactical Mercenaries (ATM), who are blackmailed by the Hong Kong government to prevent a counterfeiting scheme by corrupt British officials. Their objective is to raid the local M15 headquarters and steal some printing plates confiscated by the British from Iranian criminals who were printing fake American money. The quartet -- known as Jackal, Cash, Sam, and Titan -- team up with an expert female hacker named Phoenix (Theresa Lee) to pull off a daring high-tech raid reminiscent of Mission: Impossible. The plan is a success, but there is a bomb in the briefcase which contains evidence the government was using to blackmail them, and it kills one of the team when it explodes. The survivors' next task is to get the plates back and clear their names, eventually leading them on an international chase to Budapest for the rousing finale. The film is filled with exciting chases, gorgeous scenery, and impressively risky explosions, one of which unfortunately resulted in the death of a crewmember. Alex Fong co-stars.