Breaking News

Kelly Chen (Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs 3) is an incredibly beautiful actress and she can sing, too (Lavender, Lost and Found, Heavenly Music Floating in the Air). Here, she plays a Police Commissioner that has the sense to know that, "if it bleeds, it leads," and makes sure that she manages the press to the advantage of the Hong Kong Police and shows them in the best light possible to convince the residents that they are doing the job.

When a bank is robbed and Inspector Cheung's (Nick Cheung) unit is hot on the trail, the Commissioner thwarts their efforts to get maximum coverage of the police department.

An interesting film, directed by Johnny To, a major Asian director, with robbers who have honor, and massive amounts of shootouts between the cops and robbers.

After a shoot out goes wrong and the police are made to look like fools the brass resolve to catch the bandits while using the media to fix their busted reputation. However things don't go quite as expected for anyone and what was a simple manhunt becomes a hostage situation with all of Hong Kong watching.

This is an odd film. The plot is a bit too complex for its 90 minute running time, with gunfire exploding often when you least expect it. It starts off with a huge shoot out and then changes feels and tones several times as it goes. And there are a couple of moments where I swear I missed some plot point or other, but found I was simply carried along with the momentum and didn't care for long..

It clearly wants to make a commentary on the use of media by organizations to look good, and it mostly succeeds. (I'm also certain that the parallels to how the US Government is doing a similar thing in Iraq was probably unintentional even if it does make you think.)

This is a very good, and very off beat film that moves to its own beat. Definitely worth seeing, especially if you like action.

8 out of 10

Have I missed something here? From the title I thought this would be a film full of suspense and a story that would engage me but in my opinion it has nothing new to offer. I wonder what director To wanted to express through this film. There have been so many movies made on similar subjects. The only difference is that here To tries to portray the media as more involved in the plot but hardly anything stands out. The pace is very slow. The performances are miserable particularly that of Kelly Chen. Cinematography is alright. Even though the long shot in the beginning is somewhat impressive, it's nothing new. well, maybe for a movie like this, it is but that hardly make the experience of 'Breaking News' worthwhile. Anyway, I don't want to waste my time on commenting about this so I'll just end it by saying that I found it boring.

BREAKING NEWS is yet another JOHNNY TO film exploring the theme of honour among thieves. Earlier successes included THE MISSION and FULL TIME KILLER; others would certainly come to mind if I were to peruse his filmography but you can do that yourself on www.IMDb.com!

Mr TO and the CREATIVE WRITING TEAM of MILKWAY have a habit of not giving the viewer a lot of information, and letting the visual elements that define cinema take precedence.

The opening sequence is very tightly and cleverly shot and edited, so much so that it is a pleasure to sit back and play it over again.

That first sequence introduces most of the protagonists, at least those who will do battle; the subsequent act introduces the upper levels of policedom, who decide to stage a publicity coup.

The need for more effective policing to ensure the safety of citizens should be paramount, but the woman in charge (KELLY CHEN) is every bit as ruthless as the gunmen in her sights.

Caught in the middle is DETECTIVE CHEUNG, the police officer in charge of the initial, disastrous stakeout that sets the story in motion.

Every one seems to want to save face: the thieves refuse to surrender even when the odds seem insurmountable; DETECTIVE CHEUNG becomes more an avenger or a vigilante than a lawman, and refuses to back down, even when ordered to desist and give over to SDI, while CHEN in the safety of her control vehicle, uses technology and superior firepower to prove her worth to her superiors.

JOHNNY TO and his team must take pride in making films where the viewer must EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED (a superior policier starring the wonderful LAU CHING WAN). BREAKING NEWS is no exception: there are several twists; scenes of quiet humour, which manage to humanize the villains of the piece, and of course, those nice touches that ensure some memorable characterizations.

By the time the credits roll, everything has come together, and the muddle of the various conflicts is resolved, quite eloquently.

I cannot quite fathom the wide variety of music chosen for this film but it all seems to work.

BREAKING NEWS is an entertaining 90 minutes, and certainly does not wear out its welcome. Now that the anamorphically enhanced DVD is out, you can watch it more than once, to savour all its nuances.

The script is twisted and not exactly what you consider state-of-the-art in terms of European or American cinema. But it's Johnny To, so you know what you'll get. The cinematography is brilliant, the acting unfortunately mediocre, it isn't as intense as in Johnny To's last movie "Throwdown". But still I like this one better, for the Honk Kong pictures and the astonishing opening scene which was filmed uninterrupted for just about five minutes including camera elevations, camera entering appartments, a decent shoot out and a lot of 180° turns without any single cut. The staging of the action in the giant apartment building is tense and gives a disorientation that prepares you for any surprise. Gangsters on floor 9/C. Police on floor 8/B. But they need minutes to clash and one never knows what comes next. After short shootings everyone spreads in another direction and the situation is anything but clear. This is big cinema and gives a new idea how action and tension can be staged besides boring Hollywood standards. This movie owes greatly to the atmosphere of Hong Kong. Crowded streets, huge apartment blocks with the air conditions sticking out like giant bee hives, big limos... and not to forget all the different branches of HK police that always seem to quarrel with each other rather than fighting criminals. If anyone could explain the different branches of HK police and how they interact, feel free to send me an e-mail. There is no good and bad in this movie as the gangsters reveal sympathetic traits of character while cooking for the family taken hostage - they would have become rather cooks and own a restaurant than being "uncle killer" and "uncle bandit". The police appears to be completely disoriented and rather eager to get publicity than fighting the "bad" guys who are especially clever to use the media in their favor. The movie is probably ment as a satire on public organs such as the police and the manipulation of today's mass media to influence public opinion. As I'm no big philosopher I'm gonna stop evaluating right here. For all HK fans and everyone that enjoys a nice camera work including some shoot outs - you definitely have to watch this movie. I had the honor to attend a screening of this movie during the VIENNALE in Vienna on the giant "Gartenbau Kino" Screen.