Dak ging san yan lui

One problem with recent HK action films is that it seems to be impossible to find male leads that aren't also teenybopper pop stars. Imagine a police thriller starring N-sync and you'll start to get the idea of how bad this film is. Basically the plot follows a cop who is the laughing stock of the force (a stupendously awful performance from Eric Tsang) who recruits three police academy dropouts (Nic Tse, Stephen Fung and Sam Lee) to infiltrate a group of hip ‘n' trendy young Triads. The big question must be how the trio ever got into the academy in the first place since they act like 11-year old schoolboys after their first beer. By the end of the movie they've got in with the Triads, had some fights and saved the day, but by that point nobody really cares. The only reason to watch right to the end is (a) a big explosion from the Independence Day effects team and (b) a Jackie Chan cameo.

Really this movie sums up the problem with many modern HK films. It's too American-style, and puts too much emphasis on pretty-boy hair-farmers with the acting talent and martial arts ability of Mariah Carey. The performances are pitiful. The action scenes are a joke. Only Francis Ng, a criminally underused Daniel Wu and Toru Nakamura as the Triad gang leaders come off with any dignity. And if you think this sounds bad, the sequel, Gen-Y Cops, is a million times worse.

3/10