No, really.
I've tracked down movies on their squib quality alone, and I've got to honestly say that Requital takes the cake.
But besides quarts of blood flying as every bullet successfully lands, there's a lot of other things going on in Requital as well. Too many things in my opinion. There's an excessive amount of characters, many that don't contribute much of anything but certainly win in confusing the viewer. The film could of lost a lot of these fodder types and tightened the entire affair up a bit. I think quite a few characters, especially Tung (I forget his real name) are just a little bit bland. Where are the little touches like Tony Leung Chiu Wai making paper cranes in Hard Boiled, or the snoopies in Fulltime Killers? Little things like that make or break movies, and quite a few characters in Requital aren't much more than cookie cutter seen it a thousand times before types.
The movie does have a lot going for it though. It's brutal, for starters. The shoot outs and fight scenes are sure to make you wince, as every time a bullet or punch connects, it usually sounds like someone's getting smashed with a hammer. Pretty visceral. And those squibs... My god... Hehehhee.
Very solid music throughout, and some beautiful scenery shots. It doesn't have dozens of great things going for it, but it also has very few things wrong with it. It rises above mediocrity for sure, but doesn't creep into classic territory either.
A very solid 7.5 out of 10. I did view this one on VCD, to note, so the quality was VHS'ish, maybe even a bit below it. But, VCD works for me, as this film is extremely rare, and that's the only way I found to view it, period. And, like I and the other reviewer said, the movie's confusing. Maybe further viewings would push the rating up a bit. I definitely can see that.
