"Organised Crime and Triad Bureau" is another modern-day cops and robbers movie from Hong Kong. It focuses on the efforts of cop Danny Lee (also seen in "The Killer") trying to catch syndicate boss Tung (Anthony Wong aka the arms dealer from "Hard Boiled").
Naturally there is a little more to the story than that, including a romantic side plot for Tung, police corruption and dishonesty, as well as the involvement of internal affairs and Lee's superiors. However, it's the cat and mouse between the two leads which takes centre stage.
OC&TB is not a perfect movie by any stretch. It does take its time getting started, there is a long sequence on an island which becomes a touch boring after a while and the romantic plot is never particularly engaging.
Despite these faults, OC&TB does have a number of points in its favour which makes it reasonably entertaining viewing. There are several decent plot twists to keep the viewer guessing (although some are rather predictable), the cast give pretty convincing performances and the occasional injection of humour into the very serious story makes for a good change of tone. The sequence at the beginning where Lee and his cops tell off internal affairs and hide the blood stains with a cup of tea is particularly memorable.
Also, OC&TB has a quite good climax which should leave most viewers satisfied. This foot chase and shoot out through the crowded streets of Hong Kong is well staged and nicely captured by director Che Kirk Wong (who has since directed the Hollywood film "The Big Hit"). Although it's not a patch on the hospital shoot-out from "Hard Boiled" (how many are?), it's still the film's greatest drawcard in my opinion.
In summary, OC&TB is an OK film which should please most HK action fans, although it's not going to rival the best works of John Woo.
6.5 / 10
