Fung bou

I saw this last fall, 2014, when it was first released on DVD and I revisited it again, now, in the fall of 2015. I rarely do that. Basically a classical crime action flick with really smart bad guys against somewhat smart cops. Yes, it's just another armored car heist (well, a couple of them) with lots of firepower. Normally I would say it was all a bit excessive, over-the-top firepower, destruction and killing, but the pace, cinematography, exceptional CGI scenes of downtown Hong Kong with unexpected and creative twists made me stay involved and, always a good sign, not much dead time (ha) so it went quickly.

What makes it a little more special than other films in this genre is that the good people may not make it in the end. But, then too, neither do the not-so-good people.

Potential is the one word that comes to mind after watching this.

This is one of those films that really has some gems in it, but is sadly buried by issues. It's a film that is plagued by the issues that most cheesy Hong Kong action films have. Melodrama to the max, CGI all over the place, unbelievable turns of events and convoluted plot. The only thing that makes this movie different from other poorly made action films is... it's not that poorly made at all. In fact, lot's of moments are superb.

Starting with the plot, it's certainly something thats been done before. Cops VS Bank Robbers. The good side of it is that it has some interesting elements towards the end in regards to the morality of the main cop. The bad side... there's too much going on. We side plots all over the place. An overly dramatic plot with one of the criminal and his wife, who is of course friends with the main cop who has a friend who is undercover and has a young daughter and... you get the point, there's just too much. It's not that I don't think these elements could have worked... but they needed to choose only a few and make them way less dramatic. They try to make you feel for these characters by putting them in terrible or dramatic situations, but you end up laughing because it all seems so forced. It will sometimes leave you scratching your head in that way that a lot of Hong Kong films do. I often find myself confused by certain plot elements in these films, and I don't really know why. It seems exclusive to these Hong Kong films. And let me just say, the way they end this is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. I don't want to spoil it, but lets just say the "magically appearing truck" that kills a character got a massive "WHAT THE F***!?" from me and is a cheap and terrible deus ex machina.

One of the best elements is the action sequences, which can be gritty and hard hitting... until the GCI and ridiculousness kicks in. You find yourself really getting into it, only to be taken out when the obviously fake explosions send Andy Lau flying up and down and left and right and into cars and out of cars and on cars and blah blah blah. It's cheesy to the max and it blows my mind that they expect us to believe that he could survive all these explosions. It's frustrating beyond belief when you take into account just how gritty the gunfights would have been without this element. I'm pretty sure this was released in 3D in Hong Kong, which explains this element, but doesn't excuse it. Thanks for ruining some good stuff with a gimmick, guys.

There's also some nice directing and cinematography going on here as well. Certain shots are really gorgeous and nice to look at. Even the action scenes are directed well, minus the crappy explosions and stuff. It shows there is some talent going on here.

At the end of the day, I certainly didn't hate this movie. But it frustrates me more than anything, because I see the MASSIVE potential this movie had to be a classic Hong Kong film, but it misses the mark. I'm sure it won't be forgotten, as there are much blander films like this out there, but still.

Poor plot and acting from Andy Lau and crew. Trying so hard to make the bunch of criminals so tough when in reality its not that easy. Also trying so hard to evoke audience emotion and too obvious about it.

First of all, don't get fooled by the title or the description of the press release. There is no storm in this movie. I was expecting action sequences in the key of Korean movies like the drama-thriller ''Tidal Wave'' which takes place during a mega tsunami or the spy thriller ''Typhoon'' but ''Firestorm'' turns out to be a more conventional thriller. This movie may not be very unique but it's a quite entertaining two hours for fans of the action-thriller genre.

The story where a veteran police officer and his assistants face a notorious thief and his cruel gang is nothing new either but the movie includes a couple of side stories. Some people may say that these side stories are only hiding the weak main plot and rather distracting but I thought they were what made this movie a little bit better than just average. The relationship between a naive criminal who wants to leave his past behind and start all over again with his proud but sad girlfriend is really touching. This side story adds some emotional depth to the movie. The story of an undercover agent and his autistic daughter is also quite intense as it turns from a passionate story to the grisliest element of the entire movie which I found hard to digest but absolutely intriguing. The acting from the secondary actors is very good while the main actors Andy Lau and Hu Jun are not as outstanding.

An important element of this movie is obviously the fast-paced action sequences. Some of them are well filmed and really breathtaking. One can really see that these scenes were filmed by experts and that there is a solid budget behind the movie. I'm not a fan of CGI effects but the special and visual effects are bearable to well done in this movie. On the other side, some of these sequences are overused, repetitive and feel artificially stretched towards the end of the movie. Some of them are simply over the top even though these scenes are at least never becoming ridiculous slapstick elements as it's the case in several contemporary Hollywood blockbusters like ''A Good Day To Die Hard'' or ''Fast & Furious 6''. One really gets the impression that the action sequences and side stories try to hide the ordinary main plot which fails to come around with true surprises.

If you are feeling for a fast-paced and professionally shot action- thriller, you can't go wrong with this movie. Anybody who's expecting something more like a great plot, outstanding acting or revolutionary effects should watch another movie.

Too much drama as in whiney music and over the top special effects and too many pointless shots of Hong Kong. The editing was elementary. I laughed and sighed several times but stuck it out to the end. About the only good thing is the hottie chick that mesmerized me. If you wanna see a good heist film with great plot and action, watch HEAT. Stay away from this Chinese noodle film. It's limp and needs some ginseng.