Undeclared War (1990) - Ringo Lam

An intriguing confluence of American and Hong Kong action sensibilities where Ringo Lam's remarkable penchant for abject brutality and precise action set-piece staging provides a lot to appreciate. Undeclared War is a film riddled with collective anxiety in which the hero's journey of a CIA operative and an HK Chief police Inspector mirrors the anxiety felt by their respective communities. Similar to many films of this era to come out of Hong Kong, anxiety and uncertainty related to the Handover is a major thematic component but how Undeclared War marries this with the American collective anxieties related to the Cold War and "communism" really makes this a fascinating exercise, though it is far from being among Lam's best films I've seen. This film isn't outright nihilistic, it's more imbued with uncertainty, where the future whether positive or negative is yet to be seen, yet the anxiety of such uncertainty offers its own form of cutting ennui. Visually, Lam exhibits Hong Kong through a bottom-up lens. Much of the film's aesthetic is piss-stained, grimy, and from the surface streets of Hong Kong which effectively elicits this underlying theme of apprehension. The neon lights pronounce and project with force, they illuminate the squalor below but they do not directly impact it. Two worlds in contrast with the future path uncertain ahead.