Executioners

As a sequel to Heroic Trio, this movie far surpassed my expectations. I for one only liked Heroic Trio as a novelty, though it was good - it just lacked something...that something was a devastated future where everyone is being oppressed.

Since it is set in the future after an atomic blast, the Heroic Trio has gone their separate ways and is now under the thumb of a cruel mastermind that controls the clean water supply. However, this mastermind wishes for absolute control and seeks to destroy the ruling military government. It is up to the Heroic Trio to unite once more to stop his evil ambitions before he can complete his coup and rule the entire country.

That is where the fun really starts and never lets up. This one has much more action and plot than the first one could have ever hoped to achieve. The Heroic Trio is no longer a one dimensional force of fighting women, but they all have new lives...they have roles to fill other than fighting crime now...and most of all, they all have better things to do than play super hero. When one of them finally decides to step up, she is soon imprisoned for her efforts. Though this spawns her former comrades into action, it is not without heavy loss. That too was lacking in the original, nobody cool seemed to die. This one has death galore, everyone from new supporting cast to one of the heroes eventually meets a violent and untimely end. When you factor in the harsh reality of a world affected by military rule and radiation, it just boils over into a delightful affair.

This movie is a great kung-fu epic, and a worthy successor to the beloved Heroic Trio. I could not ask for anything more...if you like high flying mayhem, conspiracy, and a generally fun story then I would get this movie at any cost.

Johnny To's action/fantasy classic The Heroic Trio wasn't exactly helped by its convoluted plot and cloying over-sentimentality, but was made watchable thanks to its many bonkers action sequences; the sequel, Executioners, shares the first film's weaknesses, but lacks its exuberance and wackiness, making for a much less enjoyable experience overall.

The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where evil genius Mr. Kim (Anthony Wong) controls the city's only supply of uncontaminated water. Together with the help of a corrupt general, power hungry Kim leads a coup d'etat against the President, but his plans for total domination of the city are thwarted by The Heroic Trio (Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh and Anita Mui), who come out of retirement to battle the would-be despot.

With much of Executioners' running time dedicated to establishing its politically unstable environment and detailing Kim's scheme to seize power, the film doesn't leave much time for action, meaning that those who enjoyed the first film purely for its energetic lunacy will find themselves less than satisfied with this effort; even when the action does eventually kick off in the final act, it doesn't come anywhere near to the sheer craziness of The Heroic Trio.

The film's leading ladies are still worth watching, of course, with Cheung looking particularly sexy in her fishnet stocking and suspenders, but even with the appeal of three high-kicking Hong Kong hotties, Executioners isn't anywhere near as good as its predecessor.

The story about the sharp-shooting-vigilante-chicks continues in a much more serious context. Set in a post atomic near-future Hong Kong´s fresh water supply has been contaminated by radiation and is on the brink of open rebellion. All available fresh water is controlled by the "Fresh Water Company" owned by the power-mad genius Mr.Kim. He plans to induce a rebellion (by raising prices and cutting water-rations)and with the aid of a corrupt army colonel and a devout religious leader restore order and take over the crumbling Metropolis.

The three friends have separated since the first movie; Wonder Woman is married with a daughter (of course), Thief Catcher is a Water Smuggler and a Rouge (as always) and Invisible Woman works with the allieviating of the peoples suffering. They are brought together in order to find a rumored new source of fresh water, but Wonder W. and Thief C. lacks the motivation to break up with their new lives. Of course momentous events forces the trio together and the villains are in for a major beating.

The settings and moods are much darker and has a strange gothic 1960:s air to it. It focuses on the motivations and fears of the main characters, their hopes to rebuild the future, hopes of escaping to a safer place, their hopes to rescue loved ones etc. Worries of the Chinese takeover are quite everpresent.

When the first one was whacky rough-and-tumble this movie is more slow paced and thougtful and beautifully shot. (I just LOVE the train-station scene with it´s slo mo cartridges and yellow lighting). It has a more desperate theme where the villains succeed and the heroes fail and despair.

Although the story contains a few glitches (like sudden and unmotivated slapstick in the midst of tragedy or the never seen before or again car-wrecker villain) the fan of the HK-cinema has learned to overlook (and enjoy) such anomalies. I highly recommend this beautiful and action-packed gothic drama.

I have caught the first film of this two movie series always near the end, but from what I see it is totally cool and engaging. This one came on after one of those times I caught the end of the first movie and I was so going to watch this movie because it just had to be super cool and have a lot of awesome kung fu. It does not, in fact it is a bit of a bore and a very serious letdown in every way. The plot at times was incomprehensible, the action for the most part was absent from the film, and the final villain a far cry from what ever the heck it was they fought at the end of the first movie. That thing was a demon are something so it made sense that it was super strong, here I have no idea why dude in a mask was so powerful. The movie also does not have enough energy compared to the last one. The ending credits alone were more full of energy than this nearly lifeless movie. It did have some nice action here and there and the ending fight while no where near as good as the first movie is still entertaining enough, but the overall impression this movie leaves you with is that of a rather bleak and bland movie.

Watchable for Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui, but a big step down from the first film, The Heroic Trio. The post-apocalyptic plot is a muddled mess, the action too often centers around big shootouts instead of martial arts, and the three leads aren't together enough on-screen, an early scene in the tub and a few battle moments notwithstanding. There is also a dark, dingy aspect to the cheap sets that makes it visually unappealing, which is pretty tough to do given the cast.

The story progression for Mui's character is less than satisfying, as it uses the device of her being separated from her screaming child several times, we get syrupy scenes after disagreements with her husband the mayor, and then she ends up in prison for too long. Meanwhile, Cheung's character goes off searching for water in the dystopian hellscape, but it's with a rival (Ching Wan Lau) and (inexplicably) the child, leading to further overwrought moments. The little girl was adorable and all, but her character was a liability, all the way up through the final battle.

As in the first film, there are some bonkers bits, like the gunning down of some nuns who've administered medical aid, or the squeezing of a rat to drink its blood in prison. Yeoh's character also uses a whistle to control a man who's turned into half-animal, presumably from the radiation, though his fate set to swelling music was overly melodramatic. It wasn't that I wanted more of these over-the-top moments, but at least when they were on the screen the film had a little edge.

Still, despite all my complaints, the three leads have such screen presence that the film held my interest. I just wish it had been a better vehicle for them.