While writers and directors are well known for using other people's ideas and techniques, there is no greater flattery than direct copying. It is said that the remake of Psycho in 1998 was done shot for shot, for example; yet that effort garners barely 4.5 here at IMDb, a losing score for me to watch.
Beast Stalker is not a remake of anything, yet it takes a key ingredient from Amores Perros (2000) – an horrific car crash – that sets the scene for the subsequent action and reaction amongst and between the players. As with Amores Perros, without the crash – a visceral metaphor for the ways in which people interact and impact upon each other in daily life – there would be no plot and no movie called Beast Stalker.
That plot circles around four players, essentially: Sergeant Tong Fe (Nicholas Tse), a tough, go-getter cop who rules his team with an iron will; Ann Gao (Jingchu Zhang), a government prosecutor determined to bring a top criminal to justice for murder during an armed robbery; her daughter, Ling (Suet-yin Wong) who is kidnapped to force Ann to falsify crucial evidence against the top criminal; and Hung King (Nick Cheung), presumably the 'beast' of the story and kidnapper of cute little Ling.
The story really begins when Tong Fe, three months after the car crash, is at the school from which Ling is kidnapped and as Ann arrives to pick her up. Hung King gets away with the girl, and Tong Fe promises Ann that he will find Ling. The hunt is on...but time is of the essence: the trial of the bank robber/murderer is in 24 hours.
For reasons that are best explained in the movie, Tong Fe decides to act alone. A lucky break allows him to narrow his search to a specific set of cramped apartments which he begins to scrutinize and search in a variety of ways; and during which, he is eventually assisted by a couple of his police colleagues and a plucky Ling who is able to get location information out by cell phone to Tong Fe and her mother. As night falls, Tong Fe zeros in on an apartment brilliantly lit by a giant, red neon advertising light, and when he spots Ling through a window, he knows he'll be able to keep his promise to Ann. Or so he thinks.
The final act that brings closure for the players I'll leave you to enjoy without spoiling it. Suffice to say the suspense, action and excitement are well worth your time, and are as good as it gets. Better yet, the epilogue is, absolutely, emotional dynamite; so don't miss it.
Technically, the production is brilliant: well paced and well photographed, although it suffers from too many, repetitive zoom shots; but the editing is stunning in parts, particularly the slo-mo action in the crash. If you've seen some of the slo-mo explosions in The Hurt Locker (2008), you know what I mean. Coupled with appropriate flashbacks to fill in various back-stories, the entire filmic experience is well-structured and easy to follow.
Finally, though, a word about the title: considering the overall thematic thrust – personal redemption – the title is, I think, misleading at best. Hung King, as the main antagonist, has unselfish and even laudable motivations that drive him to commit a terrible criminal act. And likewise, none of the protagonists – Tong Fe and Ann Gao, particularly – are squeaky clean, either. Moreover, as we all know, given appropriate stimulus and context, anybody can perform a heinous crime, offensively or defensively. All of which raises an age-old question: does the end always justify the means? Think on that when you see this one and especially when you get to the epilogue.
Give this offering a good eight out of ten.
Recommended for all, except young kiddies (too much violence).
January 3, 2013
