La Voie Du Jiang Hu

In my opinion, this movie is to Chinese cinema what the likes of Scarface and Taxi Driver and The Godfather are to American cinema. They're genre pieces, and many people who don't like that genre won't like the movie. And many who do like the genre will find some problem with it, too. But they are important classics that will leave footprints on whatever comes after. Therefore everyone needs to watch them and decide for themselves. I am in no way making a direct comparison between Jiang Hu and the American movies I listed. I know of nothing from Hollywood that directly compares. However I feel its following and its importance have yet to be discovered, and therefore have not been realized. It is shot beautifully, scripted masterfully and cast perfectly. And, if you have the chance, buy the special edition. The packaging and presentation are so absolutely top-shelf that I truly have not seen anything nearly this grand from any American distributor for ANY American movie. My friends will have to come to my house if they want to watch it. I refuse to loan it out.

I was very excited about this film when it was first introduced and had been dying to see it. There was a lot of hype surrounding the film, as the last time Andy Liu and Jacky Cheung, two of the most popular figures in Hong Kong pop culture, collaborated before was sixteen years ago, and the media kept reporting the effort and time the actors put into the film. However, just as the reports were on mundane details such as the hairstyles and the time put into the hairstyles, the movie was mundane at best.

The ensemble cast was great, gathering some of the most prominent figures in Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment. In fact, the producers even convinced Wu Chien-Lien, who had not appeared in a Hong Kong produced film in a long time, to make a cameo to play Andy Liu's character's wife. However, it seemed that the movie planned to run on star power and paid little to no attention to the details. First of all, although the acting of the four main characters of the two different arcs were solid, Andy Liu and Jacky Cheung could be better, given their talents. Secondly, the supporting characters' acting were mediocre and even many were prominent names, they seemed to be misused and underutilized, thus making it feel like they were forgettable and unnecessary. For example, Eric Tsang, a very versatile actor who even won a Golden Horse Award (the equivalent to the Oscar in the Taiwan, Hong Kong and China sphere) and able to play many different characters while making them feel convincing, felt very one-dimensional here. In fact, he could be killed off and nobody would care. Next, the plot jumped from one story arc to another at what seemed to be the worst possible time, making the film feel confusing at times. Finally, the script, except the end and the restaurant scene where the mastermind of the whole plan was, was very formulaic and seemed like any other Hong Kong made crime thriller.

Still, compliments had to be given to the camera work and the ending. The camera work was excellent, giving the film a dark and mysterious aura that matched nicely with the plot and the tempo of the film. And the ending was excellent. It was very thought provoking and left the audience, if they still followed the film and did not get bored to death, something to think about. It gave the film a different perspective, which I personally appreciated, and made sense of the whole film. It was one of the best twists that I have seen in a while.

Overall, the film, until the ending, receives 5 out of 10. This maybe biased because I have seen too many films with the same kind of plots. With the ending, it is a 6 out of 10 film. Although the twist was great, it was just too late, as half of the audience probably would not care anymore. Watch it if you love Hong Kong produced crime thrillers and have the time. Otherwise, watch Infernal Affairs instead.

I find this movie to be very cleverly written and directed. IMDb has the wrong names however. Jacky Cheung's character is called Mr. Left not Left Hand and Shawn Yue's characters name is Yik. All that aside, I really liked this movie. It's not your typical triad movie with lots of fighting and no character development. Don't get me wrong there is some action in this movie but unlike most triad movies you actually care what happens to the characters. I loved the dinner scene where Hung and Lefty are talking and the room behind them seems to be moving in an odd fashion, maybe it was a play off their emotions but I thought it looked really cool.

I was a bit surprised by what this movie really was about. Because as you are watching it you think you know exactly what the movie is about and where its going, but the last 15-20 minutes gets you. You realize that you don't really know anything, everything you thought you knew is wrong.

Before getting a copy of this, I looked into the details. Gangster movie? Cool. A hit on a mob boss? Interesting. Andy Lau? Even better. Jacky Cheung, Edison Chen, Eric Tsang, Wu Chien Lien, and Shawn Yu? Awesome.

I almost thought, "What is this, Infernal Affairs all over again?"

So I had pretty high expectations. I started the movie. I was pretty impressed throughout with the camera work. There was a definite style in this movie. But the movie seemed to head nowhere. I was more eager to see what happens in each scene rather than in the movie as a whole.

So it follows two punks about to kill and a mob boss trying to find his traitor. Big Deal. For an 85 minute movie it seemed to take forever to get there. And throughout most of the movie all I could think was, "So what? What does that have to do with anything?"

Then the ending hits. If you've read any of the other reviews, you'll know that it completely changes the whole movie. I have to admit, it was genuinely cool.

But should a movie completely hinge on a single plot twist? I think not, though I admit I can't really see how they could have done it any other way.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Despite the smart twist at the end, you will probably feel a little dissatisfied. However, if you want to see some stylish film-making, great acting, and find out what the plot twist is, definitely check it out. The movie is definitely made for the experience.

Jiang Hu seems to have met with surprisingly negative reviews for a new, all-star very slick gangster movie out of Hong Kong. Not too long, most fans were complaining that HK seemed to have stopped making this type of film altogether (and swearing that if they saw another romcom with Sammi Cheng they'd kill someone) - then we get one of the most interesting gangster films for years and everybody bitches. Go figure :p

Anyway, I thought the film was very enjoyable, with buckets of style and an above-average focus on character development. It suffers in places from trying to be too clever/cool for its own good (the moving table cam near the end was just ridiculous), and there's some awful acting (Chapman To especially), but there was also a lot to like (Jacky and Andy's performances for instance) and I found it compelling and entertaining to watch.

It should be noted that the film apparently ran into some trouble with the censors, and was substantially cut prior to release. There's a bunch of deleted scenes on the 2nd disc in the Mei Ah DVD, but unfortunately without subtitles. There was one particular scene, with Edison Chen and a dog, that isn't listed in the deleted scenes menu. However, if you choose "Play All" and skip to the end, you can see the scene. It's actually very short and I don't think it needed to be cut, and it does significantly hurt the plot development.

Anyway, if you miss the stylish HK gangster films of yore, be sure to check out Jiang Hu. It may not be the best of them, but it's definitely worth your time.