A serial killer known as The Cross-Killer is lurking the streets of Hong Kong, castrating his male victims one by one. The catch is that the victims are clients of Kim, a local pimp (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), who decides to team up with Cuba Koo (Michael Wong Man Tak), a cop with a tragic past. Meanwhile, the pimp's stepdaughter, Cee (Astrid Chan), falls for Mao, a nerdy loser who serves lunch at the local police station. She later decides to prostitute herself in order to help her step-dad pay money-hungry loan sharks.
But the question remains: Who exactly is The Cross-Killer?
Violent Cop (2000)--not to be ever mistaken with the 1990 Takeshi Kitano action classic--is a movie that grabs your attention until midway through when the identity of the killer is then predictable.
Yes, Michael Wong speaks English and 40% Cantonese, but I do admit that he does have screen presence as an actor, and here he is believable.
Although this is not exactly his best film, Anthony Wong continues to prove he's one of Hong Kong's most versatile actors.
Both actors are Eurasian, and the main highlight of the film involves a funny scene in which the two Wongs speak in fluent English, as they try to convince a British police superior to keep them on the case.
Astrid Chan is cute, sexy and likable as Cee, but in the end she winds up being the obligatory damsel in distress.
There are more clichés, such as the cop forced to hand in his badge, the vengeful loan sharks of evil and The Talking Killer. But Violent Cop did not bore me. It's an entertaining experience. There's enough here to grab your attention, even when it explores a killer with religious beliefs.
