Mr Six

This movie is really a cultural thing and it's for the people that grew in Beijing. Gladly, I am. Even a lot of Chinese people can't understand it since it contains a lot of Beijing dialect. As a guy born in Beijing and lived there for 15 years. I can't understand all the dialect in the movie. So it is impossible for foreigners to have a perfect experience on this movie since the dialect is the part that makes it a good movie (unless you're really good at Chinese and actually lived in Beijing for many years).

Although I admit there is some bad acting choice or bad filming, but it is a realistic represent of those Beijing "Lao Pao er". It appeals a lot to Chinese. Right now, we're losing a lot of these dialect and culture, this movie is about help us to recollect those tradition.

My advise is: Don't watch it. If you are interested in it and going to watch it, take it easy, don't have any thoughts like "this movie is gonna be amazing" before you watch it. The target consumers is Chinese (and mainly some of the Chinese). Asking foreigners to truly understand this movie is like asking a man to use a sanitary napkin.

I wanted to write a review just to let cinema goers know that this is a well made movie, with a lot to like about it - but action is not one of them - because quite simply there is none - ZERO. Now don't get me wrong, i love all sorted of Asian cinema, drama, action, martial arts and thriller, but i am sick & tired of being mislead. It shouldn't be in the category of action and whilst the trailers showed "glimpses and promises of knives, swords and a few sensational stare downs" thats where the action ends. It was actually very well paced for the first half, but there is a scene in which the movie comes to a grinding halt and never recovers. It is a movie about redemption, father & son relationships and Mr Six being a man of principle which is rarely found in today's society. It was beautifully shot and acted, but shame what started out promising so much at a decent pace ended up grinding to a halt and delivering none of the action it promises in description or in the trailer.

In "Mr Six", we see the urban life of modern day Beijing; we see how some of its older resident (Lao Bei Jing) are struggling to adjust to the rapidly changing city; we see strained father -son relationships put under even more stress by the accelerated generational transition. But most of all, we see an aging anti-hero, well past his prime and caged in by values deemed old- fashion and unsuited for the new world, trying to set himself free. The main characters are as much as Mr Six as the city of Beijing itself. And both the film's director and Mr Feng, the director-turned-actor who played the leading role, did a good job in portraying both.

I have watch this repeatedly, storyline on point, I recommend this one

Not an action movie by any means but an interesting drama concerning traditional values versus new free-market attitudes seen from the perspective of an older criminal element trying to deal with the new-money, corruption-based variety.

The movie does a nice job of showing community life in the laid back old hutongs that still exist in Beijing and while the plot is a little slow it develops well. Since this film was designed to appeal to a domestic audience a lot of the nuance will be lost on foreigners. It emphasizes relationships, loyalty and honor in contrast to the quest for individual wealth, power and exaggerated regard of face. It also reinforces the notion that you can trust the Party to do the right thing but not the police.

Some ask "what's happened to Chinese cinema?" I guess the answer is that it is booming and delivering a wide variety of product. If you want a big budget action film with lots of CG you'll find it in Mo Jin - The Lost Legend. I enjoyed Lao Pao Er more though.