tntokmenko

Personally when it comes to Johnnie To's early crime movies I find Ching Wan Lau character in "The Longest Nite" and "Running Out of Time" much more artfully crafted and intriguing. Similarly I favor Simon Yam in To's "The Mission" and "Fulltime Killer". I didn't fully accept the chemistry between Yam and Lau in this feature, which granted it is sufficient to deliver the plot, but in my opinion it just never reached the competitive potential it could have been. Regardless of where this movie ranks on To's overall filmography, it is still worth a watch as the tension is fierce and keeps the audience interested from start to finish.

It's a heist movie, and with a title like "Expect the Unexpected" it's going to have some twists. Good news, the twists do deliver. I won't mention any details about the plot because the synopsis is unbelievably simple as are the synopses for most of To's films, but the director's execution and his ability to gain strong feedback from the actors makes the viewing experience worthwhile. It does have some serious flaws though, my biggest complaint besides the chemistry between the two male leads are the amount of tonal shifts present. A romance subplot is thrown in, and the action scenes meshed with the romantic scenes don't blend very well. The movie takes the viewer through an unnecessary emotional roller coaster due to this romance subplot, and I feel it could have been handled in a more subtle manner, but that's always easier to say looking back in hindsight. -6/10

Johnnie To once again does an excellent job delivering a solid crime thriller which is still enjoyable to watch 15 years later. Didn't care for the premise but other fans might. Once again also from 1998 and by Johnnie To, I prefer "The Longest Nite" with Tony Leung and Ching Wan Lau, as I find this thriller haunting and much more effective with its twists. If you enjoy Expect the Unexpected definitely give the other a watch as they go hand in hand, and may To continue to do what he does best in the coming years. Thanks for reading.

Fortunately we have an all-star cast of Hong Kong legends working their magic here, (Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Jacky Cheung, Ka-Yan Leung) along with director Woo-ping Yuen helming this action extravaganza. The story is nothing special, straightforward with a few twists thrown in to keep the audience interested. Drug smuggling ring, betrayals, corrupt cops, and all the other usual elements of a late 80's HK crime flick. Dull in this regard however the movie wasn't intended to showcase script writing, rather we get some nice displays of martial arts fighting.

The fight choreography and shootouts are the highlights of the film, although the plot wedged in-between sequences feels painfully like filler to meet the minimum run time. In typical fashion bizarre Chinese humor is used as a device to provide character development, and as usual it feels misplaced in a serious crime movie such as this. Despite the small amount of character development it's sufficient to provoke a reaction when the protagonists end up in peril. Donnie Yen only is given a few minutes of screen time, but during his few minutes he really steals the show. The action is entertaining but not enough to deem a second watch. I would only recommend to those wanting to see Donnie Yen's early work. -6/10

Asian crime dramas about the devastation of heroin distribution seem to be all the rage now, however I applaud this film as this is only one facet to a larger story. What we have in The Man From Nowhere is essentially three types of crime movies rolled into one. Where the film succeeds is that it does not borrow too heavily from predecessors in the Korean revenge circuit, and proceeds to craft an interesting story with elements that are both unique and welcome to the genre.

The plot revolves around an isolated man's friendship with a little girl, that reminds him of a life he used to enjoy before it was taken away. Well the little girl ends up being taken away, and a cat & mouse game ensues to get her back. He will stop at nothing to redeem himself for the life he once lost, and cannot bear losing it a second time. This story has been done many times, however there are further developments in the plot that completely changes the structure of the movie making it another beast altogether. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, with Seoul being presented in many perspectives which you can feel like modern, corrupt, beautiful, destructive, etc. The acting is all top- notch, and not for one moment did any performance or dialogue take me out of the atmosphere of the movie. The only issue that bothered me was the way certain characters were introduced and how they were connected to others. It becomes hard to decipher the ties between the many baddies that appear in this film, and while this may be intentional to keep the audience in the dark, revealing the characters to the audience later on still came across as convoluted. There are multiple bad guys which do multiple functions for multiple organizations which becomes a mess for the audience to figure out. A minor complaint but less screen time should have been spent for certain disposable baddies.

Now the action is presented in explosive bursts. It is genuinely gritty and intense which is seen in few action movies today. The film is not an action movie by any stretch, however the few sequences that are in here are worth the price of admission alone. They are built up and they do deliver. The drama is exaggerated but reasonable for the subject matter, although one or two "evil acts" the bad guys do are just stupid and darkly comical. Regardless The Man From Nowhere is a very entertaining revenge film, and I wholeheartedly recommend to those seeking a fresh twist on bare- knuckle bloodshed. -8/10