Project Gutenberg

The plot is copied from the 1995 thriller The Usual Suspects, which though I don't think is a good movie. The pace, screenplay and execution are actually worse than those in The Usual Suspects, which make the film even more problematic.

This turned out better than I expected actually. Although some reviewers had mentioned that it's a copy of 1995's "The Usual Suspects" but nevertheless it's still a great plot. Almost everything in this movie is worth complimenting. Great cinematography effects, the music, the acting, etc. Except that the movie was indeed a bit slow at some scenes. Go and watch it in cinema, the film is worth seeing.

Not being prejudiced but since I don't know many of good Chinese movies this one is for once a good action movie with an excellent cast. The story might be déjà-vu but nonetheless it's an entertaining movie with a fair amount of twists and turns, some good action scenes, and for a movie of this length never boring moments. In China they counterfeit about anything they want and watching them counterfeiting the American dollar is an interesting story to watch. Chow Yen Fa is the most famous actor of the cast, at least to us occidentals, but the rest of the cast did also a good job with their characters. For once a Hong Kong production that felt right, without any overacting like we're sometimes used to when it's an Asian movie.

If you are expecting something epic or new with this film look elsewhere. The plot is very familiar and has been used many times by other films.

Though it is entertaining throughout the 2hrs, it lacks that spark of originality which brings the film down to becoming very predictable. Chow Yun Fat leads this film with a very enjoyable performance although him alone can't prop up this entire film.

The ending of the film brings down the whole presentation with a cheap and unsatisfying way of concluding the movie. It feels as though the audience spent 2hrs for nothing, you'll know what I mean after you've watched the film. There were no clever hints that helped build up to that sort of conclusion. They can honestly do better without that specific choice of an ending.

Several dark lines and reverses are arranged quite well. Even at the beginning of the movie, you can guess the main puzzles like me, and there are still many clues to attract the audience to watch. Most of the actors' performances are in place. The gunfire and action parts, quite a bit of the romanticism of Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s, are somewhat not logical enough. Overall, in Chinese movies, it is already quite a good production.