Codename Cougar is a 1989 Chinese

Cinema of China

The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...

 thriller film. It was co-directed by Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....

 and Yang Fengliang

Yang Fengliang

Yang Fengliang is a Chinese film director. He is best known for co-directing the Oscar-nominated film Ju Dou with Zhang Yimou.-External links:...

. Unlike the bulk of Zhang's early work (ranging from 1986's Red Sorghum

Red Sorghum

Red Sorghum is a 1987 Chinese film about a young woman's life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. It is based on a novel by Mo Yan....

to 1995's Shanghai Triad

Shanghai Triad

Shanghai Triad is a 1995 Chinese film, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. The film is set in the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai, Republic of China and spans seven days...

) which were all historical pieces, Codename Cougar is a modern thriller involving a skyjacked airliner and political intrigue.

The film was made as a private investment by a friend of Zhang, but parts of their initial ideas were censored by the Chinese authorities. In the end, the film broke even but earned no profits. Zhang called it "a purely commercial gun chase film".

Plot

The film follows a commercial airliner on a routine flight between Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

 and Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 that is hijacked and taken to mainland China by the fictional Taiwan Revolutionary Army Front. Communist authorities cannot seize the plane because of the presence of an important business figure on the flight, and agree to cooperate discreetly with Taiwanese authorities to defuse an already tense situation.

Cast

• Gong Li
  Gong Li
  Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
  
  
• Ge You
  Ge You
  Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
  
  
• Liu Xiaoning
• Wang Xueqi
  Wang Xueqi
  Wang Xueqi is a Chinese film actor whose career has spanned over 25 years. He was often cast in early Fifth Generation films, such as Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth and The Big Parade , Huang Jianxin's Samsara, and Zhang Yimou's Codename Cougar...
  
  
• Tian Min
• Yang Yazhou
• Yu Rongguang
  Yu Rongguang
  Yu Rongguang is a Chinese actor and martial artist who started his career in Hong Kong. He is best known for the title role in Iron Monkey along with Donnie Yen as well as being featured in films such as The East Is Red, My Father Is a Hero, Musa.Yu is also known for appearing in roles for films...
  
  

Reception

The film is generally considered a failure or a footnote to Zhang's general oeuvre; Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

referred to the film as Zhang Yimou's last "purely frivolous work."