Ye shou xing jing

A gritty and beautifully shot Hong Kong action film, one that announces all is not lost in the post-Woo/Hark/Lam Hong Kong action genre. Anthony Wong gives an astonishing performance as a cop who walks the line between police officer and triad. Michael Wong is for once not completely bland, and even has a couple of wonderful comic moments. And the violence in this film is remarkably startling, which is not something I find too much in Hong Kong cinema. In most films, even in masterpieces like The Killer or City on Fire, the violence is relatively unsurprising. Here, perhaps because it's mostly committed with crude machetes, the violence is brutal and tough. And the way it's cut and edited makes it all the more effective. For fans of Hong Kong cinema, it's not to be missed. And even for people who aren't usual fans of that genre, this is an interesting film to check out. From me, this is easily a 9/10.

Interestingly, half of the comments listed here state this film is a complete disaster and the other half call it an action masterpiece. The film is neither of these extremes and its quality really is a compromise of both stances.

The begin with, the story it tells is rather straight forward with a typical flow of narrative we have seen in several other Asian thrillers. The story, however, is not a complete carbon copy of these other films and does have its own unique flavor, but the similarities can not be ignored.

What does set it apart from these other Asian thriller is the way it is told. The film is disclosed in a terrific and unique visual flair. The film features some savvy cinematography and flashy lighting to really add a wonderful ambiance and atmosphere to the proceedings which does help elevate its otherwise mundane plot.

The narrative also is infused with a good amount of comedy, causing the film to operate more as an action comedy rather than a straight action thriller. However, this is both to its advantage and disadvantage. The comedy does add a refreshing spin on the genre, making the film feel fresher than others of its ilk; but the comedy and serious violence is presented too unevenly making the film have a crisis in identity. At one moment the audience is expected to laugh and the next we are to cringe at the intensity and brutality of the action. This leads us to assume the film wasn't quite sure which direction to embrace.

However, the acting really is a key point that aids in its overall success. Anthony Wong is on hand to give another terrific performance. Many critics cite this as one of his best roles, if not the best one he ever had. The reasons are quite clear as Wong can both exemplify a tender heart in softer scenes and a determined, vengeful soul in harder scenes. On account of his performance, some of the uneven issues in tones are brought to an equilibrium, but are unfortunately not entirely resolved.

The acting form the supporting cast are adequate but nothing noteworthy. Some of the performances are rather over the top but that seems to be often the case in Asian thrillers, The rest are fortunately competent.

Overall, if the script had greater focus and didn't conform to several conventional elements, then this film would have been one of the better thrillers to come out of Hong Kong. As it is, the film is a rather typical action thriller told in an invigorating manor. Recommended for anyone interested in thriller genre, but if you are a causal film viewer or if the genre isn't your forte, then there are better examples out there.

Anyone who didn't like this film must've come to the table with expectations. It does not cascade from one tightly-choreographed action scene to the next like the John Woo classics, which as good as they are to watch, are still played more for bullets and explosions than for story or characters. This is a totally different kind of film, with casual, believable dialogue, some great acting, and its "cowboys" and "indians" not so clearly defined.

Not that it isn't high on stylish shot-framing, editing and dynamite costume design; this is, after all, still a Hong Kong production. But I saw flashes of Cassavettes and Pedro Almodovar-less homage to Ringo Lam or Ronny Yu. Anthony Wong's character, "Brother Tung" still gets to go crazy at the end and spill a lot of blood, in a gritty hand-to-hand fight scene. What more could one ask? I've seen more than my share of slow-motion shootouts. This film is something more: a drama, at times a comedy, with cops and triads as its milieu, rather than its reason for being. An easy five stars.

The cover of the BEAST COPS DVD makes it look like a cracking Hong Kong thriller with a dark edge; the involvement of Dante Lam led me to hope that it shared more than a few qualities with his excellent kidnapping story, BEAST STALKER.

Sadly, BEAST COPS turns out to be nothing like that movie; instead, it's a plot less film that flounders its way through an overlong running time while boring the viewer in the process. Don't get me wrong: the production values are faultless, the look and feel of the movie is right, and the characters are well drawn…it's just that everything exists apart from a storyline.

Anthony Wong and Michael Wong, playing a pair of tough cops, aimlessly wander from one scene to the next while the film struggles to find verve or momentum. There are a couple of decent sequences, with a chase about halfway through and a really killer ending, but these aren't enough to sit through the rest of the film for.

There's no faulting the performances – Anthony Wong has always delivered strong turns, and unlike many people, I don't have a problem with Michael Wong either; Sam Lee's comic supporting role is effective, too. But this film is just downright boring; it isn't about anything, and as an arty character study it lacks impetus and incident.

A cops-n-robbers movie, but not at all typical. An interesting departure from the stylized violence of classic HK movies, such as those directed by John Woo. Despite the chaos of those movies, there was always something "neat" and organized about the action, a choreography. Kind of like a fireworks display. As exuberant and fun as that style is, Beast Cops is an example of a new sort of HK cinema.

And it's a bit messy. Even the characters are somewhat sloppy; spitting on sidewalks, flinging beer cans in the backseat, etc. No one in this movie looks particularly dashing.

Even the violence is messy. For some reason, guns are seldom used, and most of the damage is caused by beating people with sticks or stabbing them with knives. And the knives aren't even cool-looking, they look like kitchen cleavers. So there's a more "hands-on" and labored feeling about the violence as opposed to the more effortless killing accomplished by guns.

But the slapdash feel and somewhat primitive action actually amounts to a very purposeful sophistication and insight about the characters. All the characters are realistically flawed, and the emotions feel genuine. The usual conflicts of loyalty/betrayal and the notion of brotherhood are all addressed, but the outcome is not formulaic or predictable.

Over all, this is a very well-made movie. The acting is first-rate, with Anthony Wong (as Tung) being especially good, as his character spans a confident wise-ass, a dejected lover, a ballsy hero, to a full-on psycho. Instead of a fireworks display, this movie is more like abstract art - a whole different kind of pleasure.