Gik do chung faan

Ambitious, overwrought and sometimes incoherent, this film co- written and directed by Ringo Lam caves in under the weight of mistaken identities and double crosses. Though Lam is the more conventional film maker within the Hong Kong school of Hark and Woo, his style can be serviceable. The performances that Lam extracts from his actors are of notable realism, apparent even in the badly dubbed version I was saddled with, and Lam knows how to place a camera unobtrusively but intelligently within a drama. Most of "The Suspect" is of craftsman like quality, and while Lam struggles with the budgetary limits most Hong Kong directors face, his past work for Hollywood (Maximum Risk) has allowed him to give the film a photographic sheen and clarity not found in a lot of Hong Kong productions.

The main problem, however, is a convoluted script that doesn't connect the dots. Within the story of shifting alliances, and told in a more classical form of film making, a certain amount of narrative clarity is needed. The plot becomes ludicrous at times, only further emphasized by Lam's straight faced and sober approach to the material. With a helicopter squad of mercenaries appearing out of nowhere to rescue the lead from a high speed police chase, the burning intensity of Woo or the giddy audaciousness of Hark is needed to pull the scene off. Unfortunately, Lam's middle of the road approach results in a competent but unremarkable action / drama film.

Ringo Lam goes over the top in this movie, similar to Heat. The beginning of the movie is slow paced but picks up at high speed by the end of the movie. I highly recommend it to action fans who love John Woo. I find myself confused by the plot during the last stage but that's a minor problem.

Ringo Lam has made a decent drama here, not an action film. The only real action sequence comes at the end of the movie, and while it is very strong, the rest of the film deals with the ideas of loyalty, friendship, and morality. The main character is trying to start a new life after just being released from prison, he was convicted of murder at a young age, but after some strings were pulled (without his knowledge) he is free after 12 years. But before he can start this new life, the triad pulls him back in, and wants him to commit another murder, or face the consequences. What ensues is an "on the run", fugitive type story, that has our main character fleeing from the triad, the cops, and his best friend. A pretty solid film that tests the themes that are present in many Hong Kong stories. A tough, gritty film with a great "action" ending, and of course, a strong performance from Simon Yam.

Not since Ringo Lam´s Full Alert,have i been so thrilled about an H.K movie that really delivers it goods, Simon Yam is a bad guy we havn´t seen the caliber off in any recent other film lately,he´s totally ruthless. If you expect an ultra violent flick,like Hard boiled or The Killer this is nothing for you. This is just solid,damned fine acting and a good script,eventhough most of it is taken from Richard Donners Assasins with Stallone and Banderas,but this one´s far off better. A must see for H.K movies fans. I gave it a 9 of 10 Other movies in the same genre: Full alert Big bullet(but this one´s ultra violent) Hard boiled The killer Bullet in the head Rape trap(A great drama Thriller) Portland Street blues

This film is worth seeing solely due to Simon Yam's performance. While I picked it up on DVD because Ringo Lam directed it...it's a very minor film with little story, average action scenes and cheap special effects. Simon Yam doesn't have a lot of dialogue but he does get to play a very complex character. While he is ostensibly the bad guy, his basic humanity is omnipresent. His final scene in the film is especially memorable. It's too bad he's never achieved the worldwide success that other Ringo Lam actors have. He certainly acts circles around Mr. Koo. If the lead role of the suspect were played by someone else, such as Tony Leung or the late Leslie Cheung, then maybe the film would be more effective. Stick with City on Fire or the Prison on Fire films for vintage Ringo Lam. Even his first Van Damme film is better.