Born to Defence (1988)

Born to Defence is a 1988 Hong Kong action film, which marked the directorial debut of Jet Li, who also stars in the film. The film features fight choreography by Tsui Siu-Ming. The film is set in China following the end of World War II and the liberation of China. Li stars as an avid athlete who encounters conflicts with American navy sailors, primarily in the boxing ring. The film was a success in China, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year.

Plot:

Jet (Jet Li) returns to his hometown of Qingdao after fighting the Japanese. He and his fellow soldiers discover that much has changed since the end of the war, and American soldiers are taking all the glory for the victory achieved, and they feel unappreciated. Jet eventually meets with his old friend Zhang (Zhao Erkang), a fellow soldier who saved Jet’s life in battle, but was seriously injured with shrapnel. Zhao makes a living as a rickshaw driver. Jet decides to stay at Zhao’s house for a while. Jet asks Zhang about his daughter. Zhang replies that she died.

One day, an American Navy Captain named Hans (Kurt Roland Petersson) is driving recklessly through Qingdao’s streets, causing a mob to become angry and surround his car. Jet and Hans fight briefly, with Hans being impressed with Jet. The angry mob proceeds to burn his car, causing a riot. Jet and his fellow band of soldiers and rickshaw-drivers retreat during the chaos to a bar, which they discover now caters primarily to foreigners with a boxing ring and is frequented by prostitutes.

Box office:

In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$11,456,731 (US$1,467,683), making it the 38th top-grossing film of the year. The film was a success in China, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year. It grossed CN¥80 million (US$21 million) in box office revenue, and sold 97 million tickets in China. This adds up to US$24,468,184 grossed in China and Hong Kong in 1988. In South Korea, the film sold 782 tickets in the capital city of Seoul.