John Woo turns it up to eleven.
If you want action then this is the film for you. John Woo is at his peak before moving to Hollywood and toning things down.
Chow Yun Fat plays inspector "Tequila" Yuen of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force who is investigated gun smuggling amongst the local Triads. His partner is killed in an opening gunfight in a tea house when they interrupt a gun deal. This opening scene is just a taster of what is to come, each gun fight is bigger than the one before; the final confrontation is more of a battle than a mere gun fight as Tequila and Tony, an undercover cop, battle against the psychopathic Johnny and his henchmen.
Like most action films one has to suspend one's disbelief as people shot accurately while driving motor bikes or diving through the air, and guns don't run our of ammunition as often as they should. Unlike most western action films our heroes aren't bullet proof and the largest death toll isn't amongst evil henchmen but is instead innocent bystanders either caught in the crossfire or killed in cold blood by Johnny and his men. Another difference is that our hero seems to be an ordinary man neither a muscle-bound hulk nor a martial arts expert.
The action is all brilliantly choreographed as one would expect from a John Woo film and the acting seemed good through out, especially from Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung in the two lead roles.
This review was based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.
Chow Yun Fat plays inspector "Tequila" Yuen of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force who is investigated gun smuggling amongst the local Triads. His partner is killed in an opening gunfight in a tea house when they interrupt a gun deal. This opening scene is just a taster of what is to come, each gun fight is bigger than the one before; the final confrontation is more of a battle than a mere gun fight as Tequila and Tony, an undercover cop, battle against the psychopathic Johnny and his henchmen.
Like most action films one has to suspend one's disbelief as people shot accurately while driving motor bikes or diving through the air, and guns don't run our of ammunition as often as they should. Unlike most western action films our heroes aren't bullet proof and the largest death toll isn't amongst evil henchmen but is instead innocent bystanders either caught in the crossfire or killed in cold blood by Johnny and his men. Another difference is that our hero seems to be an ordinary man neither a muscle-bound hulk nor a martial arts expert.
The action is all brilliantly choreographed as one would expect from a John Woo film and the acting seemed good through out, especially from Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung in the two lead roles.
This review was based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.
- Tweekums
- Apr 10, 2009