The Longest Nite

Pic probably tops all Hongkong films in presenting triad warfare intrigue, and the horror and intricacy of a well-oiled set-up. The scripter and director weave a clever interlocking plot complete with tense and heart-stopping atmospherics. Tony Leung's bad cop performance is a class on its own, particularly when he finds out that he's been set up and is now in an untenable situation. But pic's originality is in the end let down by the final shoot out in a dilapidated warehouse, which is both shop-worn and pretentious.

At the expense of sounding a bit cliché, it wasn't on par with the best of the genre (Such as John Woo's better films), and in my opinion it wasn't quite on par with a more closely related title, The Big Heat. Why? The constant music was nothing special, and at it's worst, slightly annoying.

There are a few somewhat wooden performances. Tony Leung Chiu Wai was far better in Hard Boiled. I don't think Tat-Chi Yau knew how to wring all of the potential Tony has out of him for this film, and it shows.

There was a certain dynamic that's almost a staple of the HK action/crime genre missing... The power of the weapons wasn't conveyed as I've seen it numerous films over the years. What I mean is that the guns didn't truly seem as powerful as they should of. The shots, underpowered, and it's a bit underwhelming when I'm used to even pistols coming across as these loud, near deafening, definitive things. Small thing but it ran through the entire film and I think it's worth mentioning.

Could of been about 20 minutes longer, with more characters being fleshed out a bit more. Film could of benefited a lot from that.

Bad subtitles. Quite a few misspelled words and I'm sure I missed the gist of multiple things because of the poor subs. Ah well.

Those are all relatively small issues I had with though, and on the flip side it's got a lot more positive things going for it. A great build-up of suspense at multiple times through the film, a pretty complex interweaving plot, two very interesting, I might dare say original action scenes which made me grin...

To boot, it was brutal and uncompromising. No humor (Though the random, unexplained vomiting kind of teetered on it) A few nice, brutal for this kind of film scenes that pleased the inner gore hound in me. The coloring throughout the film, as mentioned by others, was nice and added a nice dynamic to the film.

Hehhehehee, the movie also stars, without a doubt, the most unrelentingly sweaty character in the history of film. Tony Leung literally wipes his face down with a towel every few moments for almost the entire film. Hey, it's the little things that I get a kick out of. He kept washing his hands and what not too. I think he had some kind of sanitation issue.

Overall, a 7.5 out of 10 in my very personal opinion. Well worth hunting down and adding to your collection, as it's a very solid entry in a sadly still declining genre.

Of all the great Johnny To / Lau Ching Wan collaborations this is my favourite. Reason: Patrick Yau directs and Tony Leung Chiu Wai co-stars with a performance that gives many academy award winners a run for the money. Think of "The Usual Suspects" set in Macao and you get an impression of the tense atmosphere in this film. It's a violent world where nobody can be sure to survive the next day. Although Leung's character is quite clever and unscrupulous for a cop he's just not clever enough for the intricate set-up that he is pushed into by a mysterious man in the background. The plot-twist at the end is even more surprising IMO than the end of "Expect The Unexpected", Yau's other great film.

A must see for all fans of hardboiled crime stories (and for all people with good eyes, because the Milkyway- subtitles are tiny!)

The Longest Nite follows Tony Leung as a corrupt detective struggling to keep his head above water when he ends up caught in a crossfire between two gang rivalries. Meanwhile a mystery begins to unravel where Leung faces some serious career-ending dangers in which he must take specific actions to avoid. Lau Ching Wan plays a riddle in an enigma who hides in the shadows to conduct and puppeteer the actions of many other characters. Leung is consequently one of many mice who must compete to stay alive through what might possibly be "the longest night" of his life. This is a very strongly written thriller with moody cinematography throughout the nighttime streets of Hong Kong, an excellent film of Johnnie To's one of his best. The performances by Leung and Lau are great as well they really make great adversaries like you'd expect from the cover. Although the reason I don't rate this thriller higher are some erratic moments of absurd bloodshed which are almost comical in execution. "R-rated Looney Tunes styled death sequences". They only last but seconds, regardless they were enough to take me out of the film. Another detractor is the sense of limited closure on specific characters which I would have liked to see more development on in the conclusion. Besides a few minor complaints I still love this movie, and will enjoy watching it again. -8/10

Two Triad Leaders, Mr. K and Mr. Lung, control the underground of Macau .. The Old Triad Lord, Mr. Hung, is upset he's been left out .. He orders for both groups to pay dues but instead , they decide to join forces to maximize business ..

Overnight , a rumor spreads Mr. K has ordered a hit on Mr. Lung for over 50 grand .. Negotiators from both sides have 24 hours to get to the bottom of this before things get ugly ..... Simultaneously a mysterious character arrives in town and is stirring up trouble everywhere he goes ..