Good cops catch the bad guys

By Liu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-10 14:24

From left: Actors Wu Jing, Ni Dahong, Zhang Li and Duan Yihong play four true-to-life policemen in the film Legendary Four.

Director of the smash hit The Message (Feng Sheng) Gao Qunshu has adapted the true stories of four legendary policemen who captured 1,400 escaped criminals in seven years into a film.

Tentatively entitled Legendary Four (Xifeng Lie), the film is adapted from the real experiences of four policemen in Guizhou province. Each boasting extraordinary aptitudes, such as shooting, bomb disposal or hand-to-hand combat, they caught some of the area's most ruthless criminals and won great acclaim among locals.

Gao was determined to bring their story to the big screen after he read a news report about them several years ago.

"They are real heroes, which we direly need in today's society," Gao says, while on location in the yellow, windy desert of Dunhuang, Gansu province. "They deserve our sincerest respect."

Mainland actor Duan Yihong plays the team's leader, Leopard, an experienced commander and strategist.

The character is based on Wang Junqing, the head of the four legendary Guizhou police. Wang is a veteran commander, who sleeps with The Art of War by ancient military strategist Sun Tzu under his pillow.

Yak is a Herculean team member played by actor Zhang Li. Yak eats 20 eggs and two bowls of noodles a meal, and is an exceptional fist-fighter. Zhang tried eating 10 eggs a meal to feel connected with the character. He also ate raw meat for a month to obtain a "tiger-eye" look the plot suggests.

Yak's character is inspired by Wang's partner Zhang Meide, who once carried two criminals while climbing a 2,500-m-high mountain and eats 100 eggs a meal.

Rising kungfu star Wu Jing, expected to become the next Jet Li, plays Antelope, a former martial arts champion and rookie cop. He drives full speed along the most perilous of zigzagging mountain roads pursuing criminals. Antelope's character is based on officer Zhao Qiang.

Senior actor Ni Dahong plays Mastiff, a sharpshooter and geography expert, who can identify every rock and beast in the desert.

Ni's character is based on Chen Wenguang, who captured 13 criminals in two months with his outstanding marksmanship.

The four chase a killer-cum-tainted witness and his girlfriend through the desert, while protecting them from two mobster hitmen.

Gao has visited nearly all of China's public security bureaus since 1995 and has befriended many policemen.

His second film, Old Fish (Qianjun Yifa), starring a real policeman named Ma Guowei, won Ma a Best Actor award and Gao a Jury Prize at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival. Ma also guest stars as a public security bureau official in Legendary Four.

"If you talk to the most excellent cops in China, you will find each of them has their own strong charisma," Gao says. "I hope I can create faithful portraits of some of them."

The film is scheduled to screen next summer.