Expect the Unexpected

Expect The Unexpected is one of those Hong Kong films that

switches from lightweight romantic scenes to hard-boiled details

(like the dead baby in the washing machine), then back to more

upbeat scenes. This kind of thing just isn't done in Western pics

and can be disconcerting to viewers used to one kind of story or

the other. The romantic interludes are accompanied by an amiable score

from Cacine Wong, which suits the atmosphere of those scenes. But where the film scores highly is with the series the gritty street

shoot-outs that are well-done and vicious. Parts of this film just ramble along, with conversational sequences

that are just not needed, but Yam & Ching Wan are good, and the

ending really is unexpected. Uneven but watchable.

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.

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.

Unfortunately, as it is in many Asian crime films - and not only crime - you have here a mix-up between action, romance, comedy - light hearted touches that have nothing to do here - and tragedy. So, in a way, you have some unexpected moments, especially in the second and last parts. The overall result after watching is though above average. I saw many of those crime action flicks from the Far East and I belong to those audiences for whom it is agreeable, this melt of emotion annd action; a trademark, I guess, for this kind of stuff. But it remains a culture very different from ours. Bollywood - Indian film industry - also gave us somme neraly similar crime films: tough and fun, cheesy and brutal, poignant and lousy. Terrific ending, in the line of Abel Ferrarra's KING OF NEW YORK.