MELTDOWN is one of the contemporary action thrillers that Jet Li knocked out during the 1990s. This one's written and directed by Wong Jing so you know it won't take an entirely serious approach to the material despite the violence inherent in the story. The first half is the usual cheesy comedy in which Jing hilariously takes many swipes at Jackie Chan (the two fell out after making CITY HUNTER). Jacky Cheung does a great impression of Chan, but it turns out he's a coward with Li his secret stuntman.
The second half of the film turns into a straight-up copy of DIE HARD with many similar situations and characters. The cast is very good and the humour mixes ably with the action, something that Hong Kong always pulls off very well. Li doesn't get to do much martial arts here but he runs around heroically a lot. Cheung turns into a Bruce Lee imitator late on and is both funny and very physical. Chingmy Lau is an attractive reporter, Wu Ma plays Cheung's dad, and Billy Chow is one of the very imposing villains. It all ends up with a big mix of explosive stunts, breakneck action, and bloody violence, and I loved every bit of it.
The second half of the film turns into a straight-up copy of DIE HARD with many similar situations and characters. The cast is very good and the humour mixes ably with the action, something that Hong Kong always pulls off very well. Li doesn't get to do much martial arts here but he runs around heroically a lot. Cheung turns into a Bruce Lee imitator late on and is both funny and very physical. Chingmy Lau is an attractive reporter, Wu Ma plays Cheung's dad, and Billy Chow is one of the very imposing villains. It all ends up with a big mix of explosive stunts, breakneck action, and bloody violence, and I loved every bit of it.