Best friends Kong (Max Mok) and Lo Tai Keung (Dick Wei) are both police officers, with Keung working undercover for his crooked superior David Ko (Lung Fong), who is actually in cahoots with the same triad gang he's got Keung working for.
Ko's initial plan was to use the intel Keung was gathering to wipe out a rival triad gang led by Cheung Yi (Lam Wai) but, sensing Keung was getting too close to blowing the lid on a large drug deal he was setting up with local gangster, Hung (perennial scumbag, Shum Wai), Ko has Keung killed.
Looking for justice and compensation for Keung's family, as well as the truth behind who murdered his friend, Kong confronts Keung's superiors, including Ko. Seizing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Ko convinces Kong to infiltrate Cheung Yi's gang. As a form of insurance, he also erases Kong's police record and public files, effectively rendering him completely anonymous. Kong takes to triad life like a duck to water and swiftly moves up the ranks to eventually win Cheung Yi's trust and respect. But, the higher Kong climbs, the deeper he gets until there is 'No Way Back'...
If there is anything going against No Way Back, it's that we've seen this typical 'undercover cop that gets in too deep' story before (notably in Ringo Lam's City on Fire, 1987).
Still, it's a very solid and well-made heroic bloodshed film with a particularly action-packed final 20 minutes. Highlights are Dick Wei's fight with Hung's henchmen near the start of the film, and the two back-to-back action sequences in a packed airport and dimly lit police station. The fights are mainly weapons-based (machetes, metal pipes, hatchets) with one fairly vicious knifing. Shoot-outs are bloody, with a couple of nice head-shots.
Lam Wai, who rarely disappoints, is on good form here as the powerful, but calm and compassionate gang leader. His brother and partner in crime, Lung Ming-Yan, also creates a good impression. Personally, I would have liked to have seen some more scenes of camaraderie between Max Mok and Lam Wai's characters, as well as Mok's ascension to the upper echelons of the Cheung gang. This happens a little too quickly for my liking (by way of montage) and would have given the finale an extra gut-punch but, as it stands, it's still a strong effort that I would easily recommend to bloodshed fans.
3.5 out of 5
Review source: Star Entertainment, Laserdisc (Hong Kong) (Cantonese language)
(Note: USA Tai Seng and Taiwan Sunny VHS releases are English friendly)