Gong yuan 2000 AD

2000 AD (Gong Yuan 2000 AD)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

A young games designer (Aaron Kwok) goes in search of the terrorists who murdered his brother (Ray Lui), a computer expert who may - or may not - have been involved in a program designed to destabilize the world's financial markets.

Big budget action drama, directed by blockbuster specialist Gordon Chan (THUNDERBOLT, FIRST OPTION, etc.) as a vehicle for teen idol Kwok (THE STORM RIDERS), who acquits himself admirably as the carefree goof forced to grow up abruptly in the wake of Lui's untimely demise. The opening scenes provide a weak mix of 'comedy' and 'character development', all of which threaten to scupper the entire project, until Chan and veteran action director Yuen Tak cut loose with a series of high-octane confrontations between various factions on opposite sides of the law, culminating in a vertiginous fight scene between Kwok and lead terrorist Andrew Lin (THE BLACKSHEEP AFFAIR) on the roof of a high-rise hotel (don't look down!).

HEROIC DUO's Francis Ng is the no-nonsense cop who treats Kwok with open suspicion until forced to protect him from terrorist assassins, while newcomers Phyllis Quek and Gigi Choi provide the requisite eye-candy. Second-billed Daniel Wu plays Kwok's best friend, and James Lye (Lai Hing-cheung) is a hunky special agent from Singapore who becomes involved in protecting Kwok from Lin's deadly machinations. A handsome, mature-looking actor, Lye made his name in TV dramas such as "Price of Peace", "Seasons of Love" and "Millennium Bug", and was poised to become a major star following his appearance in WHEN I FALL IN LOVE... WITH BOTH (2000) and 2000 AD. However, he quit showbusiness in 2000, citing 'personal reasons', and went into the banking industry before getting married and disappearing from the scene.

(Cantonese dialogue)

2000 AD is a big HK 2000 Lunar New Year (February) movie release, made to capture as large an audience as possible with its story of a struggling video game designer (Aaron Kwok) who gets drawn into an Asian shadow world of spies, counter-intelligence and killers. An opening sequence involving the bad guy's way of delaying the arrival of some officials employs great visual effects, supplied in part by the technicians who worked on Independence Day and Gen-X Cops. Gordon Chan, the director of this action movie, does a good job choreographing the shoot-outs, fights and car chases. The story borrows some plot elements from The Net, but unlike Sandra Bullock, Aaron Kwok is the chaser, after the guys who murdered his brother in a bloody sniper attack. It is not Shakespeare, but 2000 AD moves fast, has colorful Singapore location shooting (no caning sequence here) and introduces great looking Singapore actress Phyllis Quek as key player in the action. Except for some ultra-violent sequences during the shootouts, 2000 AD is a fine, action packed movie.

This Chinese cyber thriller takes absolutely ages to get going. The entire first half of the film is filled with the machinations of a rather uninteresting cast of geeky characters, of whom there are far too many including lots of extraneous types (like the hero's girlfriend). Then, after a set-piece ambush, the story finally starts moving and it all gets rather better from that point in.

The plot, involving cyber crime at the turn of the millennium, is inevitably rather dated by today's standards, and watching people chase around and downloading data onto disk is a little cheesy. The inclusion of some ultra-low budget CGI effects, such as a plane explosion, doesn't help things. But when it comes to the action, director Gordon Chan doesn't disappoint, filling the latter half of his production with a series of hard-hitting shoot-outs that really make an impact, utilising bloody squib hits to their maximum advantage. Okay, so the ensuing martial arts fights aren't quite as well choreographed as the gunfights, but who cares? Young, dashing hero Aaron Kwok leads the proceedings, transforming from a geeky-type character into a rather unfeasibly tough, battle-scarred hero. A subdued Daniel Wu plays his friend, confidante and business associate, but doesn't have a great deal to do, although beautiful Malaysian actress Phyllis Quek is a welcome addition to the cast list. One of the best characters is an investigating cop, played by Francis Ng, who steals every scene with his layered performance of real depth. And watch out for Jackie Chan's former bodyguard, Ken Lo, playing an evil sniper.

Ever since John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ringo Lam left Hong Kong for Hollywood, there's been other directors trying to fill their shoes (even though Hark and Lam came back to Hong Kong recently). Gordon Chan is one of the directors to fill in the shoes along with Wong Kar Wai to make Hong Kong films just as good as their predecessors.

I read an interesting article about Gordon Chan. It talked about the shooting a movie in Hong Kong is really quick and fast. A lot of the action movies would be heavy in action sequences but lacking in character development and story. For example Tsui Hark's "Time and Tide" and Benny Chan's "Gen X Cops". Chan wanted to bring back the slower approach of filmmaking that was done by John Woo. John Woo would take months compared to the other directors who would take a few weeks to direct a film. With the slower approach, there would be more depth in the story and the action scenes. This film is a good example of that.

The action scenes are incredible! The shootouts remind me of the shootout in Michael Mann's "Heat". The characters were very intriguing like Aaron Kwok's character Peter, who is introduced as a guy who doesn't seem to have direction in his life. Peter's computer company is failing, but doesn't seem to care because he spends his time playing video games and wasting his money. His older brother, Greg would look after him and from time to time give him money so Peter can get back on his feet again. Later in the story, Greg gets killed and you see the transition that Peter makes. He quickly grows up and becomes more responsible. What drives him is to found out who killed his brother and why. The other character I found intriguing was Francis Ng's character as a GSU agent. He's a cop with morals and has a lot of experience. The score really sets the mood of the movie and it reminds me a bit of "Heat". Overall very good performances by everyone.

The only flaws was the realism. I know it's a Hong Kong action flick but why does everyone seem to know Martial Arts in this movie? Peter who is suppose to be a computer programmer and how the hell does he know Kung Fu? The other thing that bugged me was it seem to be too many characters sometimes. It was a bit hard to follow what's going on but not as bad as "Time and Tide".

I really enjoyed "2000 AD" and I'm looking forward to watching Gordon Chan's "Beast Cops". I heard that it was better than this one. So I really can't wait. So if you wanna enjoy a solid Hong Kong action flick go watch this one.

When 2000 AD first came out I was quite excited for it! Starring the gorgeous Aaron Kwok and directed by Gordon Chan - who had impressed with some great titles previously - it was bound to be pretty damn good! The trailer had me hooked with its fast editing that showed non-stop action and some pretty cool shots. Then finally, it got its release in the UK via Hong Kong Legends...

And it certainly didn't disappoint!

While its first 5 minutes features some impressive jet flying which leads right to the attack of a passenger plane over the city - the following 30 minutes is definitely a slow burner as it introduces the characters, mostly in scenes without any music or atmospheric sound that starts to get boring as the story rolls along, but stick with it.

Because right after that, we are treated to a fantastic chase sequence as the yummy Kwok chases down sniper Ken Lo who has just attacked his brothers car (played by Ray Lui) with some close calls, fantastic shots and nice choreography courtesy of Yuen Tak. This change of pace thankfully shakes things up as gamer-geek Aaron starts to lose his cool in trying to find his brothers killer, all while trying to avoid the police team led by the great Francis Ng (who for once isn't playing a nut job)...

I really like 2000 AD. While it may annoy some viewers by taking its time here and there, it equally surprises with sudden outbursts of violence and action, delivered in style via some inventive gunplay and martial arts along with some very nice cinematography and editing that enhances the tension!

The music and sound editing itself did annoy me somewhat. While not terrible, it just seemed less polished than the rest of the film which really stood out to me - that, and a few odd editing choices during the more dramatic stuff and cut scenes that just looked out of place compared to the rest of the film. The wonderful Daniel Wu (Into The Badlands) plays Aaron's closest friend and gets to throw a few moves but ultimately, this is all about Kwok being the action hero. I do like Andrew Lin as the villain of the show. He looks and move well and comes across as a toned down version of his role in The Black Sheep Affair...

Yes the script and story may not be the greatest, and some co-stars and roles may seem oddly miscast and out of place, but I do think 2000 AD holds up as a great Hong Kong action thriller that (to me) is Gordon Chan's last great film as a director!

Overall: Although dated in some respect, 2000 AD is stylishly made with some incredible action and a lot of fun!!