Nightfall

Script is kind of ok, but directing is quite bad, that makes the movie boring and lacking of intensity. Except for Michael wong's good performance, the rest of the cast performed quite badly and unpolished, where they are stiff and lack of emotions. The silly dialogues are like book reading instead of actual conversation, which makes the movie unconvincing and damages the viewing experience. However there's one good thing about the movie, that shows how negligent and unethical the hk police are, trying to sue and pin the crimes to innocent people, which is why the become the city's most hated.

Not often do you get two of Hong Kong's best actors together on the big screen, so the pairing of Nick Cheung and Simon Yam alone should interest you in the mystery thriller 'Nightfall'. Alas if you're looking for this latest Roy Chow Hin-Yeung film to be as gritty and compelling as Dante Lam's 'Beast Stalker' or 'The Stool Pigeon', you're likely to be quite disappointed- because both actors are essentially wasted in a movie that is too caught up in its own self-seriousness for its own good.

To be fair, we probably should have kept our hopes low, knowing that Chow is once again teaming up with his directorial debut 'Murderer's' screenwriter Christine To. Anyone who's seen the latter film will know that it was quite simply one of the worst movies of that year, with an infuriating twist ending that all but turned its heavy-handed proceedings into unintentional comedy. Thankfully, To avoids that mistake this time, opting for a far more straightforward mystery that nevertheless still requires a significant suspension of disbelief on the part of her audience.

As formula would have it, the film starts off with two seemingly unrelated murder cases that grow increasingly intertwined as the story progresses. On one hand is a gruesome murder committed twenty years ago of a young teenage girl named Eva (Janice Man), whose convicted murderer was her boyfriend Wang (Nick Cheung). Shortly after Wang's release from prison, Eva's father- the acclaimed classical tenor Han Tsui (Michael Wong)- is found brutally murdered and dumped into the sea near his sprawling mansion up in the mountains.

Investigating the case is the disillusioned veteran Lam (Simon Yam), who obsesses over previously closed cases of death by suicide, convinced that- like the death of his wife five years ago- they weren't accidents. Lam sees a connection between Han Tsui's death and Wang after recognising a striking resemblance between Han's daughter Zoe (also played by Man) and Eva. Of course, we know as much from the scenes of Wang stalking Zoe in her residence, going so far as to acquire a village hut opposite Zoe's house and using a telescope to observe what goes on in the house.

Any hope that the film lives up to the promise of the trailer of an intriguing whodunit is quickly dashed when one realises that the movie only revolves around these few players as well as Eva's distressed mother. You'll probably guess right at the start that it isn't simply a crime of vengeance, though Han- as the domineering parent- had disapproved of Wang's relationship with Eva all those years back. Indeed, what transpires comes closer to a Greek tragedy, made no less subtle by blatant overacting and an overly zealous score from Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi.

Guilty of the Aaron Kwok brand of overacting in 'Murderer' this time is Michael Wong, whose violent outbursts at what he perceives as his daughter's disobedience comes off histrionic and ultimately contrived. There is too little subtlety in his over-the-top performance, and not enough motivation for us to believe in his character's propensities. The fault isn't entirely Wong's, since his character- despite being a key supporting player in the scheme of things- is thinly drawn.

The same can be said of almost all of the characters within the movie. Other than being a doppelganger for Eva, Zoe is cast too simply as the meek goody-two-shoes living in fear of her father's temperament. Yam is shortchanged with the clichéd role of a troubled veteran police officer, as To's script does little to elaborate his own traumatic past or attempt to link it to the investigation. Probably the meatiest role here is Cheung's, which the actor rewards with a searing intensity that also came with months of working out- not that his character is particularly well-drawn, but compared to the rest, at least his comes off the most rounded and realistic.

There's however too little realism in the movie, in particular Wang's amazing ability at evading an entire team of police officers several times and his just as outstanding powers of infiltrating what is supposed to be a heavily guarded residence after Han's death. Most perplexing is why Lam would confront Wang on an Ngong Ping cable car no less, other than for the fact that it must have seemed exciting to watch. Every step of the way, Chow's ham-fisted direction is all too apparent, trying too hard to emphasise the tragedy within the story and in the process draining too much momentum from what is really a standard police procedural.

Its mediocrity would have been fine if it didn't have both Simon Yam and Nick Cheung as its lead cast, both actors worthy of much less pedestrian material than what 'Nightfall' has to offer. Certainly, it is a definite step-up from the appallingly bad 'Murderer', but don't go in expecting the same kind of compelling thriller as 'Beast Stalker' or 'The Stool Pigeon'. And yes we know, this is the second time we're comparing this movie to the latter two, simply because though it aims to be of the same pedigree, 'Nightfall' simply falls short, and what is left is a plodding and generic thriller that barely raises a pulse.

• www.moviexclusive.com

Poignant and intelligent thriller. A little over acted but great storyline and some haunting scenes. The "explanation" at the end was a little over the top but I can live with it.

Certainly way better than the average Hollywood fodder. That said I have no doubt it will be remade by some lazy Hollywood studio.

It belongs to Zhang Jiahui's one-man performance. In his deep calm eyes, how many feelings are condensed in it. After the intense fragments at the beginning of the film, the plot followed with a slightly protracted rhythm. Although the lenses are changed to increase the depth of the content, the overall plot is slightly pale. I have to say that the actors in Hong Kong are really good.

(2012) Nightfall (In Chinese with English subtitles) CRIME THRILLER/ MYSTERY

Co-written and directed by Chow Hin Yeung Roy starring Simon Yam as homicide detective George Lam investigating a dead body found in the ocean near some rocks. Because it was so disfigured, they had to use DNA to uncover his identity. And as it turns out, he's supposed to be this wealthy architecture, a father of twin daughters named Han Tsui (Michael Wong) who apparently send this guy named Wong Yuen-yeung (Nick Cheng) in prison for the murder of one of his daughters. Except that not everything is what it appears to be, as more revelations are uncovered. This movie is extremely predictable, awful, overrated, and overacted. Some of the existing problems is the wife never report the husband missing, nor was there a proper burial of him either. And the fact if DNA was able to find the identity, how come it wasn't used during the killing of the daughter! And since when can someone assault a police officer without being charged? I guess in Hong Kong which is where the movie was made, citizens can assault policemen whenever they want. It is these questions and more this film is lousy movie. This movie is 'all style, no substance'