Her sister's death brings Mew Mew into Cher's life dramatically. Their relationship is at first contentious as he suspects her and her father of complicity in the dead sister's arms dealing. The relationship begins to transform as Mew Mew aids Cher in tracking down the father of her 4 year old niece. A man who turns out to be the kingpin of the arms smuggling operation.

Thrown into each others company, facing adversity and danger, these two wounded souls begin to blossom. A tentative, tender relationship grows and is tested time and again: through Mew Mew's suspension from the force (a result of threatening the powerful, rich arms kingpin); a domestic drama within Cher's family concerning her young niece and her father: the complication of Cher's ex-husband returning, determined to win his wife back; and Mew Mew's shooting by Cher's sister's murderer.

To be sure, these are restrained performances. Yet one only has to watch Cherie Chung as Cher as she sits at the bedside of the wounded Mew Mew, not knowing if he will live or die, her worry, longing and love playing over her features, to appreciate her work in this film. Chow's Mew Mew may lack the flash and dazzle of some of his bullet ballet roles, but the transformation from grief stricken widower to a man being brought back

Another theme of the film worth commenting on is the tension between the generations, the pull of the old ways against the new, country against city. Representing the elder generation, the widowed Lee "Ba" is a grim, unbending man, still in pain from the loss of his wife, and disapproving of the choices his children have made.

Elaine Lee, the arms dealer eldest daughter left home for the city, fell in with the criminal element of Hong Kong and had a child out of wedlock with a gang leader; The elder Lee can not forgive her child, the precocious Ka Ka for the stain upon her birth, creating tension that touches the third generation.

Although seeming to want the love of his granddaughter as evidenced by sidelong expectant looks cast at the child, Ka Ka is threatened by his curmudgeonly personality, and his general disinterest and disapproval of her.

Cher has divorced and returned home, escaping the heartbreak of betrayal and disinterest of her former husband. Lee Ba is of the generation which looks upon divorce as something to be ashamed of, the status of a divorced woman being something less than honorable. She lives with him, cooks, cleans and cares for him with all the filial piety to be expected, but finds herself frustrated and confused by his outwardly hostile reactions not just to her but to the world in general. He enjoys a much more congenial relationship with Cher's ex-husband than he enjoys with his own daughter. His reaction to Mew Mew Lau is one of outrage and distrust as the police storm his house searching for accomplices in the arms dealing business his elder daughter was involved in.

For much of the film, he holds a grudge against Lau. He disapproves of the growing relationship between Cher and Sgt. Lau, believes that Cher, as the plot moves along, should try to reconcile with her husband. He views Mew Mew as a bad influence on his daughter. It is not until Mew Mew intervenes in a family crisis that his position seems to undergo a change. Seeing the police sergeant with his young granddaughter, he seems to warm to Mew Mew as the crisis simultaneously evokes a sea change in his relationship with young KaKa.

The tension between younger/elder is not restricted to the character of Mr. Lee however. One especially evocative scene involves Cher and Mew Mew buying herbal medicinals and pots in downtown Hong Kong, following the brutal beating of Lau by thugs in the employ of Ka Ka's father, the arms gang leader. Where the physicallity between the pair is understated, sweetly circumspect--they walk side by side in pleasant accord as Cher extracts promises from Mew to follow the instructions of the herbalist and mind his health as he recuperates--it soon comes into conflict--with unshamedly affectionate representatives of the next generation--a young couple who embrace, and kiss in forward manner on the public sidewalks and crosswalks.

The couple, billling and cooing, move in between Mew and Cher as they wait for a traffic signal to change. Mew is quietly irritated and disapproving of the affectionate display of the young couple, while intrigued at the same time. Cher is nervous, perhaps a bit embarrassed by the openly affection display of the pair, and atttempts to appear nonchalant. After spending a few moments studying the couple, Mew Mew moves around them, resuming his position at Cher's side. He takes her hand, and with a final dismissive glance at the young couple, leads her across the street.

The next time we see the pair together, Mew attempts to be more physically affectionate, slipping his arms around Cher's waist as she exits their broken down vehicle and attempts to clear the sand ostensibly blown into his eye by a passing car.

While discouraging the advance and removing his roving hands, Cher is far from angry, reacting with a shy amusement. It seems the younger generation does have a little something to teach their elders.

If Wild Search can claim any flaws, it could be said that the denouement of the film risks going over the top in its display of violence, as Cher's husband and then the sister's murderer go after Mew Mew almost simultaneously after he is released from the hospital following his shooting and has come to the Lee's village to ask for Cher's hand. Yet, considering that this is a Ringo Lam directed film, the violence is far more subdued, and the realistic element maintained by the fact that Mew Mew fights less out of vengeance than self preservation.

His survival alone makes him the winner of the conflict. The film ends on a further subdued note that hints at a happy ending for Cher and Mew, without lapsing into sentimentality.