Hard Boiled

Hard Boiled is my number 1 favorite Hong Kong John Woo action film that I love to death! I absolutely love this movie to death I love it. It is one of my personal favorite movies. Hard Boiled (1992) is literally John Woo's best Hong Kong action film ever made of all time! The movie is a hard-core action, I have ever seen. It is actually the best Hong Kong action film for me. It belongs right up there with Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) the best action classic film of all time. Chow Yun-Fat, toothpick in mouth, a gun in each hand. That's all of the plot you need to know. In fact, this is THE best pure action epic ever filmed. This is my film, my personal favorite Hong Kong action film of all time.

"Give the guy a gun and he's superman, give him two and he's God."

Not even Jackie Chan can mess with this film or beat it. The only Jackie Chan film that is close to this film is Police Story. In my opinion Hard Boiled is John Woo's best HK action movie from the 90's and a true masterpiece along with Hard Target (1993) his first American movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the main role.

Chow Yun-Fat stars as Tequila, a cop hell-bent on bringing down the gun smugglers responsible for his partner's death. He teams up with an undercover cop Tony Leung whose secret identity as a Triad hit man hangs on thread.

Hard Boiled is my favorite John Woo's HK action movies. This action movie with twists around, The Hong Kong Cinema Hard Boiled has everything in it, no CGI, the stunts are real, the explosions are bigger and the plot of the film is amazing you can get in to the story without guessing what is going to happened and what the plot is about. The warehouse scenes and a shooting a motorcycles in an explosions from Tequila is my favorite scenes in the movie. Sometimes to me it come for this movie is similar to Miami Vice when Tony Leung was undercover cop on a boat he remind me on Sonny Crockett, but the shout outs in this film are awesome. Just Miami Vice TV series where more about drug cartels, this is arms dealer weapons about triads.

The stunts are real and very dangerous. There was a hospital siege which was actually Die Hard in a hospital. Hard Boiled is a classic action film from Hong Kong, they don't make movies like this anymore. Phillip Chan is also in this film which I forgot to mention in my review Philip Chan was also in Van Damme's Bloodsport. You have a great action sequences in the tea house, where the guns are hitting in the bird cage, he shoots a dozen guys and saves a baby, the hospital sequences are real. The first time I saw this film I had no idea that how great film it is, the greatest movie of all time in the cinema. John Woo is also as a bartender in this film. The hospital sequences for me is real, the action is real. The best Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo movie ever made.

Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film written by Barry Wong and directed by John Woo. It stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

10/10 I love this movie to death it is my favorite Hong Kong Action film and it is my second favorite film that I love. It is also my number 2 favorite action film.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. No movie has ever had this level of stylishly directed action, NOT EVEN CLOSE. This movie has the 3 best action sequences in the history of cinema, PERIOD.

The story is about a cop named Tequila who, at the beginning of the film, loses his good friend and fellow cop, in a teahouse shoot-out. He goes against all orders in trying to bring down the Triad that caused his friends death. In doing so, he inadvertantly finds out that there is an undercover cop, Tony, in the Triad he is trying to bring down, and eventually teams up with him.

This isn't your standard buddy cop fair like Lethal Weapon with tons of cheesey lines, dorky action and sappy side stories. The dialogue is insightful the action is the best ever and the side stories are well thought out, if a bit abbreviated (due to lack of time to shoot John Woo admits).

Tequila is trying to deal with a failed relationship and the death of his partner, Tony is torn against blowing his cover and defending his honor and the Lieutenant insists on playing it by the book even though it isn't fair.

John Woo said he made this film in honor of the men and women of the Hong Kong police force and the good work they do. He wanted to make a movie about the good guys winning. What he has done is made one of the most pivitol action films ever made, influencing every action movie since.

Ever since John Woo came to America he seems to have lost the ability to crack the stylish violence up to 10. Only Face/Off has really come close to the type of style that he displayed in Hong Kong - Hard Boiled being a perfect example.

Hard Boiled sees cop "Tequila" Yuen (Chow Yun Fat) lose his partner in a violent shoot out in a tea-house and aims to bring revenge on the gangs causing chaos on the streets. During the film he come across a deadly assassin Tony (Tony Leung) who may or may not be an undercover police officer.

The film's plot is pretty good considering with several double crosses, good twists and the bonding relationship of Leung and Fat. However this is all about the action scenes and these are spectacular. Full of highly stylish violence, double handed gunplay and exciting near misses. Fat and Leung are both excellent in their roles but the stars here are the action scenes.

The only problem with this is that it is very violent and may be a turn off for some. That said if you're watching a John Woo Hong Kong film then you're probably not that bothered about a bit of stylish killing.

An action film at heart. The story of gun smuggling is just a backing just big enough to support the relentless action scenes.

Motorcycles exploding in mid-air, cars blowing up, shotguns, pistols, submachine guns, bombs...it's all here.

They all make for some of the best action sequences ever filmed. A good mix of the gritty and realistic with the improbable and totally fake. Though I think that the ending is bit too much. But what can you expect from Woo aside from a molotov cocktail of intense explosive action and violence?

Action and cult movie fans are advised to watch this film, however others might be turned off by it. 7/10

Rated R: intense strong violence

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.