Fire of Conscience
Encyclopedia
Fire of Conscience is a 2010 Chinese and Hong Kong action film directed by Dante Lam
and starring Leon Lai
and Richie Ren
.
that Hong Kong residents used to practice to drive off pestilence and that he believes that there is pestilence in every humans soul that must be beaten out. To prepare for the action scenes, Leon Lai
prepared for these scenes by exercising, jogging and swimming. Richie Ren stated that Dante Lam wanted him to "lose weight to add more shadiness to my character. But before making any extra effort, I found myself thinner thanks to the hot weather and so many fighting scenes to shoot." Lai suggested the both Richie Ren and him should sing as a duet for the theme song for the film. Richie stated that he "felt strange. But I liked the song instantly when Lui Cheun-Tak finished it. We hope the song can lead the audience into a deeper understanding about the movie."
on March 23, 2010. It received wide release in China and Hong Kong on April 1, 2010.
Fire of Consciences debuted at fourth place at the Hong Kong box office and charted in Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand. The film stayed in the charts for four weeks in Hong Kong. The film grossed a total of $526,017 in Hong Kong and $806,708 world-wide.
magazine writes, 'in designing and executing the action scenes, [Lam] focuses too much on firepower and body count, and too little on their potential transgressive and transformational power.' Time Out Hong Kong gave the film a rating of three out of six stars noting that it was slightly less memorable than Dante Lam's previous film Beast Stalker
.
The Montreal Gazette gave a mixed review, saying that the film is "exciting, visually stunning movie, full of action and the bright punchy colours of a Sharp Quattron commercial. Unfortunately, it’s not much more than that." IFC
gave a mixed review stating that "Lam's action is innovative and clever, but his approach to the characters is the exact opposite: predictable and obvious. We know these cops from so many previous movies. Not a single thing they do surprises us." The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "the loudest of the year" and "Any real thought about the nature of duty and the law is swept aside for action, action, and more action-which is average for Lam but still superior to most."
The Montreal Mirror called the film a disappointment of the Toronto Film Festival, noting "incoherent plotting" and that "Lam obviously has some action chops, but he doesn’t exploit them nearly enough here."
Dante Lam
Dante Lam Chiu-Yin is a Hong Kong film director, an assistant director, actor, producer, writer, and action choreographer. In 2008 he won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director for his work on Beast Stalker.-Director:* Option Zero...
and starring Leon Lai
Leon Lai
Leon Lai is a Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer. The media refer to Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings . He uses the stage name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming" which literally means "dawn."-Biography:...
and Richie Ren
Richie Ren
Richie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
.
Cast
- Leon LaiLeon LaiLeon Lai is a Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer. The media refer to Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings . He uses the stage name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming" which literally means "dawn."-Biography:...
as Detective Manfred - Richie RenRichie RenRichie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
as Inspector Kee - Wang BaoqiangWang BaoqiangWang Baoqiang is a Chinese actor. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie Blind Shaft, for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards with Megan Tzengwon...
as Xiao Yong - Vivian HsuVivian HsuVivian Hsu is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and model who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly-recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media...
as Ellen - Liu Kai-Chi as Cheung On
- Michelle YeMichelle YeMichelle Ye Xuan is a Hong Kong actress. In 1999, she won the Miss Chinese International competition. Ye then signed a contract with TVB from 1999-2005. After she left TVB, She signed with Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited to pursue a movie career.Ye is fluent in Cantonese, English,...
as May - Charles YingCharles YingCharles Ying is a Cantopop singer from Hong Kong. After singing the theme song Do I Still Love You of the film Leaving me, Loving you, he was signed by Leon Lai of East Asia Record Production and became one of the new hotly promoted new artists in 2005....
as Sam - Wilfred LauWilfred LauWilfred Lau Ho-Lung is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He is also known as "師兄" in the entertainment industry. He was the winner of the 16th annual New Talent Singing Awards International Finals in 1997. Many have made comparisons to his voice to the voice of Eason Chan.Wilfred attended St....
as Hoi
Production
Director Dante Lam explained that the title of the film originates from the traditional fire dragon danceDragon dance
Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations. Many Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s. Another...
that Hong Kong residents used to practice to drive off pestilence and that he believes that there is pestilence in every humans soul that must be beaten out. To prepare for the action scenes, Leon Lai
Leon Lai
Leon Lai is a Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer. The media refer to Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings . He uses the stage name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming" which literally means "dawn."-Biography:...
prepared for these scenes by exercising, jogging and swimming. Richie Ren stated that Dante Lam wanted him to "lose weight to add more shadiness to my character. But before making any extra effort, I found myself thinner thanks to the hot weather and so many fighting scenes to shoot." Lai suggested the both Richie Ren and him should sing as a duet for the theme song for the film. Richie stated that he "felt strange. But I liked the song instantly when Lui Cheun-Tak finished it. We hope the song can lead the audience into a deeper understanding about the movie."
Release
Fire of Conscience premiered at the Hong Kong Film FestivalHong Kong Asian Film Festival
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Hong Kong. Started in 2004 as an indie film festival, it has since grown into a large film festival known in Hong Kong....
on March 23, 2010. It received wide release in China and Hong Kong on April 1, 2010.
Fire of Consciences debuted at fourth place at the Hong Kong box office and charted in Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand. The film stayed in the charts for four weeks in Hong Kong. The film grossed a total of $526,017 in Hong Kong and $806,708 world-wide.
Reception
Perry Lam of MuseMuse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...
magazine writes, 'in designing and executing the action scenes, [Lam] focuses too much on firepower and body count, and too little on their potential transgressive and transformational power.' Time Out Hong Kong gave the film a rating of three out of six stars noting that it was slightly less memorable than Dante Lam's previous film Beast Stalker
Beast Stalker
Beast Stalker is a 2008 Hong Kong action film directed by Dante Lam and starring Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Zhang Jing-Chu, and Liu Kai-Chi.-Synopsis:A traffic accident changed their lives forever....
.
The Montreal Gazette gave a mixed review, saying that the film is "exciting, visually stunning movie, full of action and the bright punchy colours of a Sharp Quattron commercial. Unfortunately, it’s not much more than that." IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
gave a mixed review stating that "Lam's action is innovative and clever, but his approach to the characters is the exact opposite: predictable and obvious. We know these cops from so many previous movies. Not a single thing they do surprises us." The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "the loudest of the year" and "Any real thought about the nature of duty and the law is swept aside for action, action, and more action-which is average for Lam but still superior to most."
The Montreal Mirror called the film a disappointment of the Toronto Film Festival, noting "incoherent plotting" and that "Lam obviously has some action chops, but he doesn’t exploit them nearly enough here."
External links
- Fire of Conscience at the Hong Kong Movie DatabaseHong Kong Movie DatabaseThe Hong Kong Movie DataBase is a bilingual website that was created in 1995 by Ryan Law to provide a repository for information about movies originating from Hong Kong and the people that created them....
- Fire of Conscience at the Hong Kong CinemagicHong Kong CinemagicHong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people that created them. The website contains news, interviews, film reviews and a database of people,...