Tequila Yuen
Encyclopedia
Inspector "Tequila" Yuen is a fictional character who appears in the 1992 film Hard Boiled
and the 2007 video game Stranglehold
, played and voiced by Chow Yun-fat
. He is an inspector with the Hong Kong Police Force
and is extremely skilled with fire arms. He is also a heavy drinker, which led to him being nicknamed "tequila
". Empire
magazine ranked Tequila 33rd in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.
Tequila Yuen is introduced in Hard Boiled playing a clarinet
in a bar, where, it seems, is the only place he feels at home. The barman, Mr. Woo, also seems to be his closest friend. Tequila is also portrayed as a typical anti-hero and he has a total disregard for authority. Although he shows little emotion other than anger for most of the time, he proves to be a loyal friend and a romantic, with strong moral values.
in 1992. The film begins with him leading a squad of police officers into a Hong Kong
teahouse where an arms deal is taking place. A shoot-out then ensued and a number of police officers were wounded and his partner, Benny, killed. Tequila then executed the gangster who killed Benny, rather than arrest him. For this, he was ordered off the case by his Superintendent, Pang, as the gangster was a senior member of a local Triad. Despite his orders, he continued with the case and went after "Uncle" Hoi, a Triad boss. He went to a warehouse that Hoi's gang owned, but found that he and his men had been killed by a rival group led by Johnny Wong. Another gun fight broke out and Tequila killed most of the opposing gangsters. When he was face-to-face with Alan, one of Wong's main men, he was unable to kill him as he was out of bullets. Alan was then free to kill Tequila, but chose not to. Pang later revealed that Alan was an undercover
police officer, and that one of the gangsters killed earlier in the teahouse was also deep cover. Yuen then set up a meeting with Alan to sort the situation out. They met at the docks, but were attacked by the remaining members of Hoi's gang. They did, however, manage to kill their attackers.
Tequila's informant, Foxy, was badly beaten by Wong's gang and left for dead. He then found Tequila and was taken to a hospital, which is owned by Wong. There, Wong sent Alan and three other men to kill the pair. Alan and Tequila then eliminated the two of the three men. While the two bickered with each other, the third man, Mad Dog, killed Foxy. They then discovered a hidden entry to the hospital morgue where they found Wong's arsenal of guns. Mad Dog attacked them, but then escaped by locking the pair in Wong's armory. Johnny Wong saw that his arsenal was compromised proceeded to take the entire hospital hostage. Amongst the hostages were Superintendent Pang and Officer Teresa Chang (Tequila's girlfriend) who were called to the scene. Alan and Tequila eventually fought their way through the hospital and freed the hostages before going after Wong. The pair split up; Tequila began evacuating babies from the maternity ward as Wong had planted explosives all over the building, and Alan faced off against Mad Dog. When the bombs were detonating, Tequila escaped with the babies and Alan and Wong went missing in the confusion. Wong later emerged with Alan as hostage. He made Tequila humiliate himself by slapping his own face and admitting his incompetence in exchange for Alan's life. In an awkward struggle with Wong, Alan shot himself in the stomach before Tequila grabbed the gun and shot Wong in the eye. Alan survived, however, and began a new life after Pang burned his file.
. The story kicks off with a Hong Kong police officer being kidnapped, and the kidnappers phoning the police and telling them to send one officer to a Kowloon
marketplace to make a deal. The police chief, Lee, believed this to be a trap and insisted on sending in a squad, but if it was to be one man alone it would be Jerry Ying. Ying disqualified himself, however, as he was deep cover in the Dragon Claw Triad, and this could expose him as a policeman. Tequila then put himself forward for the task. When he arrived at the marketplace, he was attacked by a group of gunmen belonging to the Imperial Nines Triad. After disposing of them after a long gun battle, he discovered the missing officer's badge, with a bullet hole through the centre, and a photograph of the dead officer. Later that night, he stopped in at a local bar where the Imperial Nines were making a deal with another Triad group, the Golden Kane. One of the Golden Kane members recognised Tequila and pointed him out. The Imperial Nines then panicked and shot the Golden Kane gangsters and tried to kill Tequila. He shot them down, however. After emerging from the barroom shoot-out unscathed, he informed his superiors that he would be travelling to Tai O
, where the Imperial Nines are based, to investigate further.
Upon his arrival in Tai O, he asked a local fisherman about Triad actvity in the area. The fisherman then told Tequila that Tai O is under the control of the Imperial Nines, but that the Golden Kane are muscling in. He also revealed that the leader of the boss of the Dragon Claw, James Wong, was residing on a boat nearby. Tequila then tracked Wong down and discovered that Jerry Ying was working as a henchman for him. Wong then revealed that the GK killed the officer and pinned it on the I9s, and the only reason that he hasn't retaliated is because the GK and the Zakarov crime family, a Russian Mafia
based in Chicago
, have kidnapped his daughter, Billie, and granddaughter, Teko. The Zakarovs and GK want the DC to hand over some of their turf in Hong Kong as payment for Billie and Teko's safe return. Tequila then decided to go after the kidnappers, and it is suggested that Billie is the wife of Tequila and Teko is their daughter. After the meeting, the GK attacked but Wong and Tequila both escaped unhurt. Tequila then visited the Mega Restaurant and Casino which is owned by GK boss Yung Gi. He was unable to find Gi, who escaped and flew to Chicago to meet the Zakarov brothers, but did eliminate his personal bodyguard, Ty Lok.
After his unsuccessful attempt to kill Gi in Hong Kong, Tequila flew to the US with Jerry and located Damon and Vladamir Zakarov, and Yung Gi in a Chicago penthouse. The pair then split up, and the tactic seemed to be working until Vlad's voice came over the PA system saying that Jerry had been killed. Tequila then fought his way past the Russian henchmen until he reached the top floor where he came face-to-face with Vlad. Zakarov then entered a helicopter which was shot down by Tequila. On his way to the exit of the building, he found Jerry lying wounded and helped him out. He then travelled across town to the Chicago Natural History Museum, which is owned by Damon Zakarov. Tequila arrived to find Damon and Yung Gi in a dispute over the fate of the women. This eventually led to a stand-off between both gangs, and Damon fled with Billie and Gi with Teko. Tequila hunted Damon down in another part of the museum, killed him and rescued Billie. However, just as all seemed well, Jerry entered the room and fired at the couple, hitting Billie and narrowly missing Tequila. He then shot and wounded Jerry, who fled the scene. He then turned back to find Billie dying of her wounds. With her last moments of life, she told Tequila that Yung Gi had taken Teko back to Hong Kong. Tequila then chased Jerry down and asked him who hired him to take him out. Jerry tells Tequila that it was Wong, before being shot dead after a prolonged gun battle.
Back in Hong Kong, Tequila and Yung Gi met to make a deal. Tequila wants his daughter back, but Yung refuses as he knows that he can still use her to gain some of Wong's turf. Tequila then showed Yung a text message from Wong to Jerry, confirming that the Dragon Claw plan to eliminate the Golden Kane. Yung then called a meeting with Wong in Kowloon, planning for Tequila to show up and take out Wong and his gang. Tequila did show up as speculated, but took out Yung and Wong's bodyguard, Dapang, while Wong himself escaped with Teko. Tequila then drove to Wong's large estate in the New Territories
where he was met with a large and well equipped army. Tequila, nonetheless, eliminated the army and an attack helicopter, and entered Wong's home. There, Wong had Tequila pinned down with a sniper rifle
, but just before he took the shot, Teko rushed in and pushed Wong off the balcony, killing him. Tequila is then re-handed his badge by Chief Lee, who earlier confiscated it, and re-united with his daughter.
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
and the 2007 video game Stranglehold
Stranglehold (video game)
Stranglehold, or John Woo Presents Stranglehold, is a third-person shooter developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio, released in late for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
, played and voiced by Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
. He is an inspector with the Hong Kong Police Force
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
and is extremely skilled with fire arms. He is also a heavy drinker, which led to him being nicknamed "tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
". Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine ranked Tequila 33rd in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.
Tequila Yuen is introduced in Hard Boiled playing a clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
in a bar, where, it seems, is the only place he feels at home. The barman, Mr. Woo, also seems to be his closest friend. Tequila is also portrayed as a typical anti-hero and he has a total disregard for authority. Although he shows little emotion other than anger for most of the time, he proves to be a loyal friend and a romantic, with strong moral values.
Hard Boiled
Yuen first appeared in Hard BoiledHard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
in 1992. The film begins with him leading a squad of police officers into a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
teahouse where an arms deal is taking place. A shoot-out then ensued and a number of police officers were wounded and his partner, Benny, killed. Tequila then executed the gangster who killed Benny, rather than arrest him. For this, he was ordered off the case by his Superintendent, Pang, as the gangster was a senior member of a local Triad. Despite his orders, he continued with the case and went after "Uncle" Hoi, a Triad boss. He went to a warehouse that Hoi's gang owned, but found that he and his men had been killed by a rival group led by Johnny Wong. Another gun fight broke out and Tequila killed most of the opposing gangsters. When he was face-to-face with Alan, one of Wong's main men, he was unable to kill him as he was out of bullets. Alan was then free to kill Tequila, but chose not to. Pang later revealed that Alan was an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
police officer, and that one of the gangsters killed earlier in the teahouse was also deep cover. Yuen then set up a meeting with Alan to sort the situation out. They met at the docks, but were attacked by the remaining members of Hoi's gang. They did, however, manage to kill their attackers.
Tequila's informant, Foxy, was badly beaten by Wong's gang and left for dead. He then found Tequila and was taken to a hospital, which is owned by Wong. There, Wong sent Alan and three other men to kill the pair. Alan and Tequila then eliminated the two of the three men. While the two bickered with each other, the third man, Mad Dog, killed Foxy. They then discovered a hidden entry to the hospital morgue where they found Wong's arsenal of guns. Mad Dog attacked them, but then escaped by locking the pair in Wong's armory. Johnny Wong saw that his arsenal was compromised proceeded to take the entire hospital hostage. Amongst the hostages were Superintendent Pang and Officer Teresa Chang (Tequila's girlfriend) who were called to the scene. Alan and Tequila eventually fought their way through the hospital and freed the hostages before going after Wong. The pair split up; Tequila began evacuating babies from the maternity ward as Wong had planted explosives all over the building, and Alan faced off against Mad Dog. When the bombs were detonating, Tequila escaped with the babies and Alan and Wong went missing in the confusion. Wong later emerged with Alan as hostage. He made Tequila humiliate himself by slapping his own face and admitting his incompetence in exchange for Alan's life. In an awkward struggle with Wong, Alan shot himself in the stomach before Tequila grabbed the gun and shot Wong in the eye. Alan survived, however, and began a new life after Pang burned his file.
Stranglehold
Tequila Yuen then made his second appearance fifteen years later in the 2007 video game, StrangleholdStranglehold (video game)
Stranglehold, or John Woo Presents Stranglehold, is a third-person shooter developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio, released in late for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
. The story kicks off with a Hong Kong police officer being kidnapped, and the kidnappers phoning the police and telling them to send one officer to a Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
marketplace to make a deal. The police chief, Lee, believed this to be a trap and insisted on sending in a squad, but if it was to be one man alone it would be Jerry Ying. Ying disqualified himself, however, as he was deep cover in the Dragon Claw Triad, and this could expose him as a policeman. Tequila then put himself forward for the task. When he arrived at the marketplace, he was attacked by a group of gunmen belonging to the Imperial Nines Triad. After disposing of them after a long gun battle, he discovered the missing officer's badge, with a bullet hole through the centre, and a photograph of the dead officer. Later that night, he stopped in at a local bar where the Imperial Nines were making a deal with another Triad group, the Golden Kane. One of the Golden Kane members recognised Tequila and pointed him out. The Imperial Nines then panicked and shot the Golden Kane gangsters and tried to kill Tequila. He shot them down, however. After emerging from the barroom shoot-out unscathed, he informed his superiors that he would be travelling to Tai O
Tai O
Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong.-Geography:On the main part of Lantau Island, a river splits to the north and west and at this fork lies the island referred to as Tai O. Two pedestrian bridges cross the river...
, where the Imperial Nines are based, to investigate further.
Upon his arrival in Tai O, he asked a local fisherman about Triad actvity in the area. The fisherman then told Tequila that Tai O is under the control of the Imperial Nines, but that the Golden Kane are muscling in. He also revealed that the leader of the boss of the Dragon Claw, James Wong, was residing on a boat nearby. Tequila then tracked Wong down and discovered that Jerry Ying was working as a henchman for him. Wong then revealed that the GK killed the officer and pinned it on the I9s, and the only reason that he hasn't retaliated is because the GK and the Zakarov crime family, a Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, have kidnapped his daughter, Billie, and granddaughter, Teko. The Zakarovs and GK want the DC to hand over some of their turf in Hong Kong as payment for Billie and Teko's safe return. Tequila then decided to go after the kidnappers, and it is suggested that Billie is the wife of Tequila and Teko is their daughter. After the meeting, the GK attacked but Wong and Tequila both escaped unhurt. Tequila then visited the Mega Restaurant and Casino which is owned by GK boss Yung Gi. He was unable to find Gi, who escaped and flew to Chicago to meet the Zakarov brothers, but did eliminate his personal bodyguard, Ty Lok.
After his unsuccessful attempt to kill Gi in Hong Kong, Tequila flew to the US with Jerry and located Damon and Vladamir Zakarov, and Yung Gi in a Chicago penthouse. The pair then split up, and the tactic seemed to be working until Vlad's voice came over the PA system saying that Jerry had been killed. Tequila then fought his way past the Russian henchmen until he reached the top floor where he came face-to-face with Vlad. Zakarov then entered a helicopter which was shot down by Tequila. On his way to the exit of the building, he found Jerry lying wounded and helped him out. He then travelled across town to the Chicago Natural History Museum, which is owned by Damon Zakarov. Tequila arrived to find Damon and Yung Gi in a dispute over the fate of the women. This eventually led to a stand-off between both gangs, and Damon fled with Billie and Gi with Teko. Tequila hunted Damon down in another part of the museum, killed him and rescued Billie. However, just as all seemed well, Jerry entered the room and fired at the couple, hitting Billie and narrowly missing Tequila. He then shot and wounded Jerry, who fled the scene. He then turned back to find Billie dying of her wounds. With her last moments of life, she told Tequila that Yung Gi had taken Teko back to Hong Kong. Tequila then chased Jerry down and asked him who hired him to take him out. Jerry tells Tequila that it was Wong, before being shot dead after a prolonged gun battle.
Back in Hong Kong, Tequila and Yung Gi met to make a deal. Tequila wants his daughter back, but Yung refuses as he knows that he can still use her to gain some of Wong's turf. Tequila then showed Yung a text message from Wong to Jerry, confirming that the Dragon Claw plan to eliminate the Golden Kane. Yung then called a meeting with Wong in Kowloon, planning for Tequila to show up and take out Wong and his gang. Tequila did show up as speculated, but took out Yung and Wong's bodyguard, Dapang, while Wong himself escaped with Teko. Tequila then drove to Wong's large estate in the New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
where he was met with a large and well equipped army. Tequila, nonetheless, eliminated the army and an attack helicopter, and entered Wong's home. There, Wong had Tequila pinned down with a sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
, but just before he took the shot, Teko rushed in and pushed Wong off the balcony, killing him. Tequila is then re-handed his badge by Chief Lee, who earlier confiscated it, and re-united with his daughter.