Mr. Chou[1] is a mob boss who hired four thieves to steal a missile computer chip.
Biography[]
Based in the then-British colony of Hong Kong, the mob boss hired Petr Beaupre, Alice Ribbons, Earl Unger, and Burton Jernigan to steal a US$10 million missile cloaking computer chip. They successfully steal it and hid it in a remote control toy car so they could pass airport security. Greta Hess accidentally took the bag that carried the car and the thieves followed her to Chicago. When the thieves realized that Hess' neighbor Alex Pruitt had the car, the mob boss called Beaupre and told him if he didn't have the chip in 24 hours, the mission would be terminated.[2]
Trivia[]
- The mob boss is the only character to hire thieves to steal something.
- As Petr Beaupre is the main antagonist, the mob boss serves as the overarching antagonist.
- Not much is known of him such as the date of his birth or citizenship, but it is implied that he hails from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea) or the People's Republic of China by the following reasons:
- The FBI and other authorities state in the film claim the four thieves were hired by a North Korean terrorist organization to steal the microchip. Thus, it is implied that the mob boss is from North Korea and is a high-ranking member of the organization, disguised as a Hong Kong-based South Korean businessman.
- The film's end credits and IMDb profile credit him as "Chinese Mob Boss".
- He is given the name name Mr. Chou in Todd Strasser's novelization. Chou is a Chinese name, despite the character being implied to be North Korean.
- Although the character is implied to be a North Korean, he was portrayed by James Saito, who is of Japanese descent. Saito is well known for his portrayal of The Shredder in the 1990 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Beaupre and his team's arrest by the police can be viewed as a lesser punishment, as the mob boss had previously threatened Petr that if the chip is not in his possession within 24 hours, he would abort the mission and tie up all the loose ends - in other words, send someone (possibly even a team of mercenaries or assassins) to kill them for their failure.