Responsible for recent Hong Kong action gems like The Beast Stalker and The Sniper, and further back Beast Cops, Dante Lam has an outstanding track record in directing hardboiled cop movies. Looks like he's still on peak form, as in 2010, Lam is to deliver a couple of high-octane action films to fans of the genre. While it's too early to say how the upcoming The Stool Pigeon will fare, his latest crime film Fire of Conscience is one blazing inferno that easily ranks among his best works.

Leon Lai plays a widowed cop who is obsessed with finding the killer of his wife. He has zero tolerance for criminals, and like a walking volcano, he explodes his anger and grief on the bad guys he encounters. That is a demanding role for sure, and Leon shows that he is up to the challenge, giving a decidedly more convincing performance than his similar character in Bodyguards and Assassins. It is also a radical change for his usually dandy image (the pompous beard certainly helps), enabling him to disappear into his role - that alone is a sign of good acting.

Richie Jen also impresses as the cop-gone-bad, for which he was just crowned Best Actor at the 14th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. He and Leon first cross paths in the film investigating a theft case, and the two find common ground between them - they are both stuck at their current positions with their own problems, and were both born in the year of the dragon. However, friends ultimately turn into foes when fate puts them on opposite sides of the track. Between them, other characters are drawn with different shades of gray. Vivian Hsu as Richie's wife is underused, but Michelle Ye gives a glittery performance that outshines even her award-winning turn in Accident. Liu Kai Chi excels, as usual, as a flawed but pitiable cop, and Mainland actor Wang Baoqiang earns sympathy playing an honest good man forced down a tragic path.

Fire of Conscience is a fully-loaded double-barrel shotgun, hitting many targets at once with its complex characterization, intriguing drama, intense action scenes, and Lam's strong visual style - fans of Hong Kong action cinema are in for a treat. In the opening sequence, the sweeping camera over a series of static B&W images instantly brings out the suspense and draws the viewers right into the film. The finale is remarkably staged against the backdrop of the traditional Hong Kong folk custom of "fire dragon dancing" - a setting that brings out the moral of the story while also serving as an affirmation of the unique Hong Kong-ness of the film.