Expect the unexpected

Expect the Unexpected(1998) is a supurb police thriller that reminded me a little bit of Dennis Hopper's Colors(1987). It is good at looking at the friendship and working angle of a police unit. The movie deals with a crime unit who are after two sets of jewel thieves. The ending is one of the most surprising ones that I've seen. Expect the Unexpected's finale is something you will never see in a Hollywood action or buddy film anytime soon or in the near future.

This flick starts off as a typical Hong Kong cop movie, with a dream team of post-unification stars as the good guys: Patrick Yau (who also directs), Lau Ching-Wan and Eric Tsang. There are all the staples -- nasty villains, a beautiful love interest, lots of gats blazing. But you know what? The predictable plot falls apart and leaves you agape, wondering what will happen next -- and the ending... well, I'll let you see the end for yourself.

Personally when it comes to Johnnie To's early crime movies I find Ching Wan Lau character in "The Longest Nite" and "Running Out of Time" much more artfully crafted and intriguing. Similarly I favor Simon Yam in To's "The Mission" and "Fulltime Killer". I didn't fully accept the chemistry between Yam and Lau in this feature, which granted it is sufficient to deliver the plot, but in my opinion it just never reached the competitive potential it could have been. Regardless of where this movie ranks on To's overall filmography, it is still worth a watch as the tension is fierce and keeps the audience interested from start to finish.

It's a heist movie, and with a title like "Expect the Unexpected" it's going to have some twists. Good news, the twists do deliver. I won't mention any details about the plot because the synopsis is unbelievably simple as are the synopses for most of To's films, but the director's execution and his ability to gain strong feedback from the actors makes the viewing experience worthwhile. It does have some serious flaws though, my biggest complaint besides the chemistry between the two male leads are the amount of tonal shifts present. A romance subplot is thrown in, and the action scenes meshed with the romantic scenes don't blend very well. The movie takes the viewer through an unnecessary emotional roller coaster due to this romance subplot, and I feel it could have been handled in a more subtle manner, but that's always easier to say looking back in hindsight. -6/10

Johnnie To once again does an excellent job delivering a solid crime thriller which is still enjoyable to watch 15 years later. Didn't care for the premise but other fans might. Once again also from 1998 and by Johnnie To, I prefer "The Longest Nite" with Tony Leung and Ching Wan Lau, as I find this thriller haunting and much more effective with its twists. If you enjoy Expect the Unexpected definitely give the other a watch as they go hand in hand, and may To continue to do what he does best in the coming years. Thanks for reading.

Some people get it, some people don't. This movie is about the unexpected side of life. In this movie, from beginning to ending, everything are unexpected and every plans failed, there are humour and tragedy in these coincidence, it tells you life is fragile. The style of the gunfights are masterful, comparable to John Woo and Luc Besson. The plot is ambitious as it tries to capture the more realistic side of policing, I think it is quite successful from beginning to end. Moreover, it is not heavyhanded, it just tells you that bright things and bad things happen in life, hence it is not too pessimistic.

Finally, I just want to say, don't treat it like a conventional cop movie, otherwise all the comedy and romantic courting would be pointless, it is in fact a movie about life.

Great hidden gem.

Although most of Hong Kong's top talent has left for Hollywood, there has been a wave of interesting films from new directors like Patrick Yau who directed this sombering drama. The tune of the film shifts from drama to comedy to action back to comedy and finally to tragedy. The top performances were given by Simon Yam and Lau Ching-Wan as Police officers who are in love with the same woman. Expect The Unexpected along with The Longest Nite(1997) and The Odd One Dies(1997) show the emergence of another great director from Hong Kong. Expect The Unexpected(1998) is one of the best films in Hong Kong in the last ten years.

What makes this movie different from other Police dramas is it focuses more on the relationship the members of the Crime Unit have with each other and less with action scenes. Expect The Unexpected reminded me of the films of Takeshi Kitano in that like in his films the violence is sudden and tragic. The ending took me by surprise, but also impressed me because of the courage Patrick Yau had in filming this scene. The ending of Expect The Unexpected makes the finale of John Woo's The Killer(1989) look like a happy ending{This was the second time that Patrick Yau ended a film in irony(The Longest Nite(1997) was the other time)}. A good moment in the movie is when the waitress at the end is waiting for Lau Ching-Wan as she watches the news to learn of the Fate of the Hong Kong Crime Unit.