Gong yuan 2000 AD

This Chinese cyber thriller takes absolutely ages to get going. The entire first half of the film is filled with the machinations of a rather uninteresting cast of geeky characters, of whom there are far too many including lots of extraneous types (like the hero's girlfriend). Then, after a set-piece ambush, the story finally starts moving and it all gets rather better from that point in.

The plot, involving cyber crime at the turn of the millennium, is inevitably rather dated by today's standards, and watching people chase around and downloading data onto disk is a little cheesy. The inclusion of some ultra-low budget CGI effects, such as a plane explosion, doesn't help things. But when it comes to the action, director Gordon Chan doesn't disappoint, filling the latter half of his production with a series of hard-hitting shoot-outs that really make an impact, utilising bloody squib hits to their maximum advantage. Okay, so the ensuing martial arts fights aren't quite as well choreographed as the gunfights, but who cares? Young, dashing hero Aaron Kwok leads the proceedings, transforming from a geeky-type character into a rather unfeasibly tough, battle-scarred hero. A subdued Daniel Wu plays his friend, confidante and business associate, but doesn't have a great deal to do, although beautiful Malaysian actress Phyllis Quek is a welcome addition to the cast list. One of the best characters is an investigating cop, played by Francis Ng, who steals every scene with his layered performance of real depth. And watch out for Jackie Chan's former bodyguard, Ken Lo, playing an evil sniper.

2000 AD (Gong Yuan 2000 AD)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

A young games designer (Aaron Kwok) goes in search of the terrorists who murdered his brother (Ray Lui), a computer expert who may - or may not - have been involved in a program designed to destabilize the world's financial markets.

Big budget action drama, directed by blockbuster specialist Gordon Chan (THUNDERBOLT, FIRST OPTION, etc.) as a vehicle for teen idol Kwok (THE STORM RIDERS), who acquits himself admirably as the carefree goof forced to grow up abruptly in the wake of Lui's untimely demise. The opening scenes provide a weak mix of 'comedy' and 'character development', all of which threaten to scupper the entire project, until Chan and veteran action director Yuen Tak cut loose with a series of high-octane confrontations between various factions on opposite sides of the law, culminating in a vertiginous fight scene between Kwok and lead terrorist Andrew Lin (THE BLACKSHEEP AFFAIR) on the roof of a high-rise hotel (don't look down!).

HEROIC DUO's Francis Ng is the no-nonsense cop who treats Kwok with open suspicion until forced to protect him from terrorist assassins, while newcomers Phyllis Quek and Gigi Choi provide the requisite eye-candy. Second-billed Daniel Wu plays Kwok's best friend, and James Lye (Lai Hing-cheung) is a hunky special agent from Singapore who becomes involved in protecting Kwok from Lin's deadly machinations. A handsome, mature-looking actor, Lye made his name in TV dramas such as "Price of Peace", "Seasons of Love" and "Millennium Bug", and was poised to become a major star following his appearance in WHEN I FALL IN LOVE... WITH BOTH (2000) and 2000 AD. However, he quit showbusiness in 2000, citing 'personal reasons', and went into the banking industry before getting married and disappearing from the scene.

(Cantonese dialogue)

"2000 AD" was actually better than I had expected it to be. So why wasn't I expecting much from it? Well because I am not really much fan of neither Aaron Kwok or Daniel Wu. But I will admit that Aaron Kwok actually did a good job in this movie.

The story is a cat and mouse chase type of movie with double-crossing and deceit, leaving you unable to know whom to trust or not. Peter Li (played by Aaron Kwok) and Benny (played by Daniel Wu) are two young gamers who end up in over their head in a web of conspiracies, lies and treason, as Peter' brother is dead, leaving behind a key that leads to a safe deposit box.

There is a good amount of action in "2000 AD", and it was nicely executed and filmed, so that was good and entertaining. Sure, the storyline was plagued by parts being predictable, but still, it turned out to be a good movie that was fun and entertaining to watch.

And appearing to light up the movie is a great appearance by Hong Kong heavy-weighter actor Francis Ng, and as always he did a good job, despite having only a small role in the movie. Phyllis Quek (playing Salina) did a fairly good job as well, although I don't think I've seen her in other movies aside from this.

For a Hong Kong action movie, then "2000 AD" was adequate, unfortunately it didn't really bring anything new to the genre or really stand out from many other action movies. But still, it is well worth a watch if you like Hong Kong cinema. And if for nothing else, Francis Ng makes it worth to sit through the movie.

I've never been a big fan of Aaron Kwok, but he's actually really good in this movie. Much better than in China Strike Force or Storm Riders.

Gordon Chan is one of the best Hong Kong -action directors, and he really knows how to combine drama and fastpaced action. The gunfights in this movie are very good and the kung fu scenes are pretty well made too. The fighting is mostly quite realistic (at least compared to movies like New Dragon Gate Inn, Iron Monkey or other high-flying action flicks) and all the characters aren't great kung fu masters.

Recommended for... anyone who likes GOOD action movies.

Ever since John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ringo Lam left Hong Kong for Hollywood, there's been other directors trying to fill their shoes (even though Hark and Lam came back to Hong Kong recently). Gordon Chan is one of the directors to fill in the shoes along with Wong Kar Wai to make Hong Kong films just as good as their predecessors.

I read an interesting article about Gordon Chan. It talked about the shooting a movie in Hong Kong is really quick and fast. A lot of the action movies would be heavy in action sequences but lacking in character development and story. For example Tsui Hark's "Time and Tide" and Benny Chan's "Gen X Cops". Chan wanted to bring back the slower approach of filmmaking that was done by John Woo. John Woo would take months compared to the other directors who would take a few weeks to direct a film. With the slower approach, there would be more depth in the story and the action scenes. This film is a good example of that.

The action scenes are incredible! The shootouts remind me of the shootout in Michael Mann's "Heat". The characters were very intriguing like Aaron Kwok's character Peter, who is introduced as a guy who doesn't seem to have direction in his life. Peter's computer company is failing, but doesn't seem to care because he spends his time playing video games and wasting his money. His older brother, Greg would look after him and from time to time give him money so Peter can get back on his feet again. Later in the story, Greg gets killed and you see the transition that Peter makes. He quickly grows up and becomes more responsible. What drives him is to found out who killed his brother and why. The other character I found intriguing was Francis Ng's character as a GSU agent. He's a cop with morals and has a lot of experience. The score really sets the mood of the movie and it reminds me a bit of "Heat". Overall very good performances by everyone.

The only flaws was the realism. I know it's a Hong Kong action flick but why does everyone seem to know Martial Arts in this movie? Peter who is suppose to be a computer programmer and how the hell does he know Kung Fu? The other thing that bugged me was it seem to be too many characters sometimes. It was a bit hard to follow what's going on but not as bad as "Time and Tide".

I really enjoyed "2000 AD" and I'm looking forward to watching Gordon Chan's "Beast Cops". I heard that it was better than this one. So I really can't wait. So if you wanna enjoy a solid Hong Kong action flick go watch this one.