Beast Cops

A cops-n-robbers movie, but not at all typical. An interesting departure from the stylized violence of classic HK movies, such as those directed by John Woo. Despite the chaos of those movies, there was always something "neat" and organized about the action, a choreography. Kind of like a fireworks display. As exuberant and fun as that style is, Beast Cops is an example of a new sort of HK cinema.

And it's a bit messy. Even the characters are somewhat sloppy; spitting on sidewalks, flinging beer cans in the backseat, etc. No one in this movie looks particularly dashing.

Even the violence is messy. For some reason, guns are seldom used, and most of the damage is caused by beating people with sticks or stabbing them with knives. And the knives aren't even cool-looking, they look like kitchen cleavers. So there's a more "hands-on" and labored feeling about the violence as opposed to the more effortless killing accomplished by guns.

But the slapdash feel and somewhat primitive action actually amounts to a very purposeful sophistication and insight about the characters. All the characters are realistically flawed, and the emotions feel genuine. The usual conflicts of loyalty/betrayal and the notion of brotherhood are all addressed, but the outcome is not formulaic or predictable.

Over all, this is a very well-made movie. The acting is first-rate, with Anthony Wong (as Tung) being especially good, as his character spans a confident wise-ass, a dejected lover, a ballsy hero, to a full-on psycho. Instead of a fireworks display, this movie is more like abstract art - a whole different kind of pleasure.

The cover of the BEAST COPS DVD makes it look like a cracking Hong Kong thriller with a dark edge; the involvement of Dante Lam led me to hope that it shared more than a few qualities with his excellent kidnapping story, BEAST STALKER.

Sadly, BEAST COPS turns out to be nothing like that movie; instead, it's a plot less film that flounders its way through an overlong running time while boring the viewer in the process. Don't get me wrong: the production values are faultless, the look and feel of the movie is right, and the characters are well drawn…it's just that everything exists apart from a storyline.

Anthony Wong and Michael Wong, playing a pair of tough cops, aimlessly wander from one scene to the next while the film struggles to find verve or momentum. There are a couple of decent sequences, with a chase about halfway through and a really killer ending, but these aren't enough to sit through the rest of the film for.

There's no faulting the performances – Anthony Wong has always delivered strong turns, and unlike many people, I don't have a problem with Michael Wong either; Sam Lee's comic supporting role is effective, too. But this film is just downright boring; it isn't about anything, and as an arty character study it lacks impetus and incident.

Anyone who didn't like this film must've come to the table with expectations. It does not cascade from one tightly-choreographed action scene to the next like the John Woo classics, which as good as they are to watch, are still played more for bullets and explosions than for story or characters. This is a totally different kind of film, with casual, believable dialogue, some great acting, and its "cowboys" and "indians" not so clearly defined.

Not that it isn't high on stylish shot-framing, editing and dynamite costume design; this is, after all, still a Hong Kong production. But I saw flashes of Cassavettes and Pedro Almodovar-less homage to Ringo Lam or Ronny Yu. Anthony Wong's character, "Brother Tung" still gets to go crazy at the end and spill a lot of blood, in a gritty hand-to-hand fight scene. What more could one ask? I've seen more than my share of slow-motion shootouts. This film is something more: a drama, at times a comedy, with cops and triads as its milieu, rather than its reason for being. An easy five stars.

This one is currently in the running for Best Movie Ever. Anthony Wong gives what is probably his best performance; Michael Wong isn't annoying at all for once, and the supporting cast is generally good. There basically isn't a boring scene in the whole movie. While it's not really an action movie, there are a fair number of chaotic violent scenes... Sometimes the camerawork is a little TOO chaotic. It might seem pretentious in other movies, but this one has a such a "what the hell" attitude I'm inclined to overlook some erratic storytelling and pointlessly strange cinematography. It's hard to explain just what's so great about this movie, but I've seen it three times and liked it more each time... That should say something.

This movie is a pretentious excuse to exploit the two lead actors and their fans. The script makes little sense, which is a bad filmmakers device to make you watch till the end so that you figure out eventually what's going on while this is definitely not the kind of a film that needs it. Acting is really uninspired from everybody, mainly because most of the time there's little to play with. Action is non-existent, people spend more time loitering, clubbing, eating out and in bed, than racing, shooting, fighting and chopping each other. When the action comes it is shot in a "can't see a thing it shakes so much"-vision and presented very badly to you, often employing speed-ups and various stylish editing techniques...badly! The trailer probably looked worthy of all the awards this movie got. Does it mean that there were no better films that year?