2002 - Exterminadores do Além

From director Wilson Yip - famed for his work on the Ip Man movies - comes a film that is nothing like those modern classics, although entertains on a different level altogether. Starring 3 of the Gen-X Cops (Tse, Fung and Lee), this action-horror-comedy has some funny moments that come courtesy of its tongue-in-cheek melodrama, comed situations, and over-the-top action. Its like Men In Black (where they chase ghosts instead of aliens) blended with a Stephen Chow Sing Chi film (albeit a weaker one), with action scenes that reminded me of the classic Saviour Of The Soul...

The comedy element of course was no doubt influenced more so by producer and co-writer Vincent Kok who directed Chow in the hilarious Forbidden City Cop, and helped write the equally hilarious God Of Cookery! This film is no where near as funny as those previous efforts, but it does bring some laughs to the table!

Action choreographer Tony Poon Kin Kwan has been in the business from the early 80's and is behind the action on some absolute crackers from Hong Kong's golden years. In 2002, with the supernatural influence his action is a mix of wire-fu, over-cranking and under-cranking, as well as special effect battles with fire and water. So don't be expecting any martial arts gold, but it still entertains.

While Sam Lee really only has a small part as Tse's ghost friend, its really Nicholas and Stephen who carry the film. As much as I enjoy them (most of the time), they seem almost too young for these roles with their boyish looks and giggles making it unconvincing when it comes to their job. If this had been made in the late 80's or early 90's, the team up of characters played by Tse and Fung would have easily been played by Andy Lau and Chow Sing Chi, respectively. In fact - I'm only sorry it wasn't as I would love to have seen that!

Look, I really enjoy 2002. Its nicely shot and promotes that awesome palette of Hong Kong film night-lighting that I love. It has comedy, it has action, it has fantasy - but it just never seems to reach that wow factor that makes me want to love it... There's nothing really bad about it, but it just seems to keep the same level of entertainment throughout (or less) - gently shifting gears a tad for the final showdown of course.

Overall: Hardly a classic, but 2002 wants to be loved and passes the time in a fun way!

In Hong Kong, the special force of the police known as 2002 is composed of the twenty-two year-old cop Chiu (Nicholas Tse) and his ghost partner and they fight against supernatural phenomena under the guidance of the mystic Paper Chan (Kar-Ying Law). When his partner reincarnates, the rookie policeman Fung (Stephen Fung) applies for the position; but Paper Chan explains Chiu that the team is to be formed by a man and a spirit, and Chiu has a death star on his hand that dooms his friends to die. Meanwhile, Chiu falls in love for Nurse Danielle (Danielle Graham), but he avoids her to protect her life against the fate of the death star. When the fiend Water Ghost (Alex Fong) possesses Fung seeking revenge against Chiu, he has to battle against the evil spirit trying to protect also his friend.

The melodramatic "2002" blends action, sci-fi, fantasy, fight scenes, drama, romance, comedy, free merchandise of a bank and an ice-cream brand and cheap philosophy; the result is an enjoyable, but very confused movie, with weird rules and no explanation for the ghosts and fiends in Hong Kong. The special effects work very well and in the end this film is a good entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "2002 – Exterminadores do Além" ("2002 – Terminators from Beyond")

the latest batch of hong kong movies that i have viewed cant compare to the old 80's/early 90's HK movies. take 2002 for example. there is an infinetly better movie in the genre called "Magic Cop" which was made in the eighties. it shat all over this average movie. the action was awesome, the comedy was spot on, and the characters were likeable, none of these new breed of long haired, pretty boy actors that are all dark and introspective. one of the most pathetic things about this movie was its attempts to imitate/brazenly rip off the style of the matrix, with its clothing and action scenes. there were so many huge gaps in the plot and the romance elements just slowed the whole movie down to a snail's pace, and they seemed like filler, especially fung's "friendship" with the coma chick. the whole film felt rushed, with little attention paid to the details of the plot, and many basic questions gone unanswered. all in all, a fairly stylish, yet unsatisfying entry into the HK horror/action genre. 5 out of 10.

I sat down in 2022 to watch the 2001 Hong Kong fantasy action movie "2002" for the second time since it was released. I recall having seen the movie shortly after it was initially released, but I just couldn't recall the storyline. So I opted to watch it for a second time.

And while the concept of the storyline in "2002" is interesting, and writers Vincent Kok, Chi-Kin Kwok and Kam-Yuen Szeto were on to something, then directors Wilson Yip and William Darvill just failed to bring something outstanding to the screen.

Sure, I will say that "2002" is certainly watchable, but the movie is just lacking something to spice it up, because it is a fairly bland and generic flavored dish.

"2002" does have a fairly adequate cast ensemble, with the likes of Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung and also Sam Lee.

Visually then "2002" was adequate back in the day when it was released, and while the effects still are passable today, they are showing signs of aging.

There are far better movies of the same type available, even from the Hong Kong cinema. And "2002" just didn't manage to stand out, so I fear that it will slowly fade back into the mists and become a distant memory of a movie having already been seen.

My rating of "2002" lands on a four out of ten stars.

2002 is the ghostbusting department of the Hong Kong Police. The hero is fated to cause the death of anyone he gets close to, which cramps his love-life somewhat. He gets through partners rather quickly too, since they die, become super-powered ghost partners and then get re-incarnated. His mentor sells paper offerings for the hero to burn for their ghost friends.

The script is always intelligent and witty. The action sequences are just right - they move the plot along without dominating it and are great fun. The acting and directing are both excellent and the main characters are likeable and sexy - strong, but vulnerable.

We laughed out-loud, especially at the comments that brought the characters down to earth. We didn't actually cry at the pathos but it was there.

This review relates to the English subtitled version shown on TV.