Peace Hotel

Chow Yun-Fat in the wild west? Why not?

Known as "The Killer" yet again, Chow commits mass murder in a blind rage, and then vanishes from the murder scene to build the "Peace Hotel," a supposedly sacred place for crooks and degenerates to run to if they're on the run from the law or any criminal element, and have nowhere else to go.

That all changes when a woman played by Cecilia Yip arrives claiming to be Chow's long-lost wife. I tell you, I've never heard more lies spewed forth from a movie character in such a short amount of time until I saw this movie. It's just lie after lie with this one, and she's persistent, too. Chow never falls for these sob stories of hers, and quickly debunks them as the myths they are, usually following up with a smack upside the head with a paper fan or a broom or something.

Then a gang arrives, apparently after her for killing one of their bosses, but Chow's code won't allow her to be killed by them. No matter. It's obvious and inevitable that he'll take up the sword once again.

As a comedy-drama, Peace Hotel works in a few ways, but not many. It makes for an unconvincing romance story. And as an action story, it's abysmal. The swordfights are some of the worst-edited sequences I've ever seen. Imagine Paul Greengrass filming a man swinging a flaming torch (and later, a sword) through countless bad guys. Now imagine Olivier Megaton, fresh from Taken 3, editing that footage. Now imagine that footage sped up. Yeah. It's bad.

The single shootout sequence, however, is fantastic, and a major contrast to the editing style applied to the swordfights. I suspect John Woo, who helped produce this film, took over the director's chair for this sequence, because I can't see how the same director who did such poor swordfight sequences could have done such a grand shootout like the one on display here. It's the only plausible explanation.

Overall, the acting is corny and not all that great, although Chow seems to really give it his all and seems to be the only one really trying to churn out a decent performance. The comedy works, sometimes, but often falls flat. The plot twists are silly. The music is distractingly poor sometimes. I think the second half, with the exception of the shootout, is where things really started to fall apart. Unfortunate, because this could have been better had it been handled with more care.

First time director Ka-Fai Wai, a seasoned TV writer, and producer John Woo team up to create a very interesting vehicle for Chow Yun Fat. Styled like a spaghetti western, the film is set in the chaotic times after the fall of the last emperor and start of the Chinese republic.

Chow Yun Fat plays the Killer, a gang leader with a tragic past. During a fight with a gang, his wife is killed. The Killer goes nuts and kills everyone including his own gang. Years later he opens the "Peace Hotel", a place for criminals on the run to find refuge and reform. In enters a woman claiming to be his dead wife. The residents of the Hotel are fooled but of course the Killer isn't and is very angry at her deception. His anger is compounded when she steals his belongings. He is about to throw her out when a huge gang shows up on horseback. They are after her for killing their beloved leader. The Killer changes his mind and shelters the woman. Despite his kindness, the woman continues her deceptive ways. The gang demands that the woman be delivered to them in 21 days or else they are going to storm the hotel.

A very well made production, the sets are great, the acting overall very good and Ka-Fai Wai's direction is very assured for a first time effort. There is a good sense of humor throughout. Chow Yun Fat is great and carries the film from start to finish. The music is good, very reminiscent of Morricone or the great chambara themes although the obvious use of synthesizers for all the instruments lowers the quality a little. The biggest problem for me was a couple of very big plot holes (at least that's how I saw it) which is sad since the film is very good. The action is not central to the movie and those looking for elaborate martial arts will likely be disappointed. The big action scenes are shot in blurry close-ups with lots of dust and shaky camera work. Celia Yip's character gets beaten and slapped around a lot in this film (the character repeatedly provokes most of the abuse) so you might think twice before watching this with a girlfriend.

A good film for Chow Yun Fat fans and anyone looking for unique examples of HK film making.

There are 2 essential things wrong with this movie.

First, the 'girl always lying joke' that gets repeated over and over again in the first half of the film. The first couple of times it vaguely amusing, after that its just monotonous.

Second, its no secret Chow Yun Fat cannot fight. He is not a martial artist. Now by the time Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is released they come up with a work-around for this problem. In Peace Hotel they don't. So they set CYF as this great fighting hero who slays many but when we see evidence of this it is simply awful. Jet Li for example would have been a much better choice for this particular role.

The idea for the story is a good one but it fails to get the job done.

This movie is very unique. Just the idea of a Chinese Spaghetti Western is mind-boggling. In this movie, Chow Yun-Fat plays "The Killer." He sets up a hotel as a refuge for people on the run. Their safety within the confines of the hotel is guaranteed. When a mysterious girl, played by Cecilia Yip, comes to hotel, his ideals and the sanctity of the hotel becomes threatened as her enemies wish to violate the rules of the hotel.

There are very good performances in this film. Chow Yun-Fat does an excellent job as "The Killer." Cecilia Yip is a very strong and bold female character. As the relationship of the two develop, I actually sympathised and liked the two characters.

The action scenes are well done, for the most part. The machine gun attack and the final sword fight were very well done. The other sword fights were somewhat blurry. Ching Siu-Tung should have been on hand to choreograph those scenes.

I also thought that the end was very powerful and emotional. It even rivals the ending of The Killer. In the end, this movie is worth seeing not only for its action sequences, but for the great performances by the two leads. This movie is not as good as his Woo films, but it is still a powerful movie.

When people hear the name Chow yan fat, they associate him with John Woo, of course this is not bad thing. Chow yan fat certainly is the master of heroic bloodshed. But he is foremost a very charismatic and good actor. In Peace Hotel you get an example of very good acting by him. He really carries the movie. The story plays in the wild west of China ( an eastern instead of western, this gives the whole story a very original approach)in which several gangs are at war with each other and where there is one neutral place where everyone is welcome, and where no one will dare to use their weapons. This is because they respect the owner of this " Peace Hotel " (Chow Yan Fat). Everyone believes he is a very notorius killer (the rumour in the movie goes that Chow Yan Fat came to that hotel and killed everyone in sight without remorse and since that event he stayed in the hotel, to maintain the piece. It is a delight to see and find out why Chow Yan Fat did all this and why he stays at this hotel! At first Chow Yan Fat is very sympethatic, but later on you can see that Chow Yan Fat can be a bad motherf###. There is also some very interesting character development from the other actors. The action is brutal and fierce, like it is in real life, so do not expect beautiful filmed action sequences. But do not fear them also, because they fit the story very well.So go watch this movie, if you are ready for a very different HK action movie.