It’s strange really.
All those super soldier research programs seem to have been carried out during World War II.
Yeah, I suppose there a few exceptions, like those Vietnam War experiments in Universal Soldier and Creature (1998). But if you stumble into a long lost underground laboratory filled with the remnants of an old super-secret super soldier program, the odds are that it was set up by either the Nazis, or the Imperial Japanese.
Which is what we find in the Hong Kong film City Under Siege.
Poor Sunny. He dreams of being the star knife throwing act at the circus, but instead he’s the clown — and he is only tolerated because his father was the friend of the circus owner.
But the other members of the troupe, under the leadership of the circus’ real star knife thrower, Zhang, have heard that there is a treasure hidden in the old mine not far from where they are perfoming.
However, when most of the circus performers break into the mine (with Sunny tagging along without their knowledge) they do not find treasure but instead an abandoned Japanese laboratory. The open the wrong thing, it explodes, and all of them are exposed to a secret super soldier drug.
Zhang and his friends become increasingly horrible mutants within incredible strength. So, naturally, they go on a crime spree.
Sunny nearly drowns, but is rescued by a passing ship, although the experience leaves him bloated. He then falls in love with Angel, a prominent news caster (played by Shu Qi, as lovely and personable as ever), when she helps him, only to have her take advantage of him to shore up her failing career. Before long, he’s a major celebrity thanks to his newfound mutant powers and Angel is his agent.
Unfortunately, Zhang learns that there is only one thing which might turn him back to normal:
Sunny’s blood…
I suppose you might describe City Under Siege as a Hong Kong version of an X-Man film, although that would miss the fact that it is both weirder and more comic thatn you standard model Hollywood Superhero effort.
As you would expert, there’s a lot of Wire Fu and Wu Xia-style battles, only with superpowers rather than magic.
That part is done spectacularly well, with a lot of CGI thrown in during the bigger fights.
But what stands out are some of the clever little details, like the way Sunny defeats the gunman holding a woman hostage with a well-aimed piece of straw, or the police agents from a secret mutant hunting squad, who use acupuncture to subdue and immobilize their opponents.
And then there’s the bizarre and grotesque results of Sunny’s long adventure in the sea.
City Under Siege reminds me strongly of Black Mask 2: City of Masks, although Black Mask 2 is a true guilty pleasure and City Under Siege never reaches its dizzyingly absurd heights.
But, like Black Mask 2, it combines lots of high-flying Martial Arts with often absurd superheroics.
And you have to admit that some of the scenes — like one where Sunny loses control and throws two handfuls of knives at once with absurd and fantastic results — are ridiculous, manic, and, yes, lots of fun.
City Under Siege even finds just a little room at the end for touch of tenderness.
Not that it is ever allowed to get in the way of the action.
But when the action is this well done — and soars to such goofy heights — then I suspect there aren’t too many people out there who are going to complain…
rivets on the poster 
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