Mo Si Ke xing dong

A fairly well organised and well executed robbery on the Trans-Siberian railway embarrasses and infuriates the Chinese authorities and so they assemble a team of crack police investigators to work with their Russian counterparts to track down and apprehend these brutal felons. Soon, their investigations are immersing them in a Moscow underworld that is ruthless and sophisticated - and they soon encounter their quarry who now have a far bigger target in mind - one that will imperil anyone who tries to stand in their way. What's interesting here, is that we know pretty much from the start who the protagonists are and so we can follow both as one plots and schemes and the other tries to capture them. The lead acting (especially from Andy Lau) is maybe not the best, but the writing and the direction from Herman Yau deliver an action adventure film that is easily as good as the recently released "Expend4bles" effort. There are plenty of action scenarios, car chases, gun-fights and the denouement reminded me a little of "The Italian Job" meets "Mission: Impossible". Maybe a little long, but it doesn't hang about and I quite enjoyed it.

Movie was loosely based on actual series of Sino-Russian train robberies that happened between China and Moscow in 93, were at Mongol the authorities were uninterested to send officers to maintain a safe passage. The main plot was ok but the whole film was kind of rush and flimsy. The beginning was a bit messy as the description of characters were a bit shallow and undeveloped. Plenty of actions but wasn't very well choreographed, many the scenes feels rushed lacking of enough details, and a bit too neat and new for the environments at that time. The CGI was as well rather unrealistic, the compositing could be a lot better to cover the flaws while giving the picture a better mood. The shooting was mediocre lacking of impact and much of the characters were over acted that makes it unconvincing. Andy is a hardworking actor but playing villains isn't really suitable for him at all, his appearance and acting were just too tender for that type of roles. The makers should refer to the old Hong Kong movies or the previous one made at 95 where the roles and scenes were much more realistic.

This is the sort of action filled cop show that Hollywood used to excel at. The story is straightforward, nothing too clever but it all works and moves along at a good pace.

The film has some big set piece action scenes with impressive stunts and sets, although the movie does actually develop the characters and there are some nice dramatic moments it is the action that carries it.

The film does an excellent job recreating 1990s Moscow with brash Chinese people full of new found wealth and a Russia suffering from the shock of the USSR collapsing.

The cast all perform their roles efficiently and the direction is well done. Janice Man was the stand out performer for me.

Overall, it's an enjoyable robbery heist film. It won't leave you thinking about what it all means or linger in the mind but it doesn't demand much thought and is enjoyable. Take it for what is, a straightforward action movie and it works well.