Mu hou wan jia

A or B is a dramatic Chinese thriller that comes around with numerous surprises, twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. This breathless, clever and dynamic movie convinces with a truly amazing script, great acting performances and stunning settings and is best enjoyed at a cinema. After a concise exposition of about fifteen minutes, the rising action starts quite mysteriously, leading towards a series of surprising climaxes, transitioning to an intense falling action and coming around with a detailed resolution that will make you think about this film long after you have watched it.

The movie introduces us to an investor who has made a lot of money on the back of former associates and mentors. Wealth has corrupted this man who lives in an isolated mansion with his desperate wife who doesn't recognize the ambitious gentleman she once fell in love with anymore. When she finally decides to leave him, the investor gets drunk, has an argument with his chauffeur whom he suspects to have an eye on his wife and goes to bed in his mansion. The next day, he wakes up and realizes that he is kept captive in his mansion. An anonymous criminal contacts him and tells the investor that he must choose between two options every single day for five days that will have a serious impact on the lives of the investor and everyone who is close to him. If the investor doesn't choose either option, both will be chosen by the mysterious kidnapper and have dramatic consequences. The investor soon realizes that he must determine the things in life that really matter to him in order to protect and save them, escape his luxurious mansion that has become a death trap and find out who the mysterious assailant is in order to end his nightmare and save his reputation.

A or B is a movie that challenges you to analyze, feel and observe. It's an incredibly rewarding experience because it takes its audience seriously. If you like intellectual thrillers, this film might already be your candidate for movie of the year.

A concept that is too grand for the team to execute, even though similar topics have been done many times in other countries. The film is filled with plot holes and contradictions. Characters are so one dimensional and seldom made sense in their actions. And the biggest sin of all, especially for a film that is so predicated on its mysteriousness is that it is painfully predictable. Nothing in the film jumps out, and will be quickly forgotten by viewers. It is good to see Chinese cinema veering away from chick flicks and trying new genres, so at the end of the day it is still a worthy experiment.

This film was obviously a patch-up works by the screenplay writer who borrowed heavily from some Hollywood so-called horror action thrillers, but there were so many big holes and huge flaws that could drive through by Ford 350 diesel truck. The manipulation of the stock market scenario was absurd, even it was hinted by the ridiculous Chinese stock market, crafted up by a layman who didn't know buying and selling the stocks at all. It's just so weird.

The leading actor is a certified Chinese A-list box office sure thing, but I just felt sorry for this guy to play out the whole stupid film by following the childish and ridiculous scenarios. He played well enough but the whole scenario simply was too laughable. I also felt very uncomfortable to watch the female actor who played the wife role. Her nose and chin were just looked so fake, abnormal and so unnatural, both obviously were bad Korean plastic jobs . But fairly speaking, she's not a bad actor. The actor who played the revengeful guy was not a good one, the plan he carried out his revenge was completely ridiculous and unconvincing, a young guy from a very poor background and financial resource, impossible to single-handedly designed and carried out such big revengeful kidnapping project. You must put your I.Q. to sleep first before you decide to take the whole story for granted.

There's unspeakable weirdness about the whole script's logic, because it was missing from the very beginning to the end, nothing was possible and likely to happen.

Said a little stock market leek cutting, but only a few lines. It's a Secret Room Escape, but it's too easy to crack. Many suspension sections have been designed, but each of them has been seen through at a glance. Too many details, too many loopholes, plus the theme of the last disgusting person.