Gong woo

Before getting a copy of this, I looked into the details. Gangster movie? Cool. A hit on a mob boss? Interesting. Andy Lau? Even better. Jacky Cheung, Edison Chen, Eric Tsang, Wu Chien Lien, and Shawn Yu? Awesome.

I almost thought, "What is this, Infernal Affairs all over again?"

So I had pretty high expectations. I started the movie. I was pretty impressed throughout with the camera work. There was a definite style in this movie. But the movie seemed to head nowhere. I was more eager to see what happens in each scene rather than in the movie as a whole.

So it follows two punks about to kill and a mob boss trying to find his traitor. Big Deal. For an 85 minute movie it seemed to take forever to get there. And throughout most of the movie all I could think was, "So what? What does that have to do with anything?"

Then the ending hits. If you've read any of the other reviews, you'll know that it completely changes the whole movie. I have to admit, it was genuinely cool.

But should a movie completely hinge on a single plot twist? I think not, though I admit I can't really see how they could have done it any other way.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Despite the smart twist at the end, you will probably feel a little dissatisfied. However, if you want to see some stylish film-making, great acting, and find out what the plot twist is, definitely check it out. The movie is definitely made for the experience.

In my opinion, this movie is to Chinese cinema what the likes of Scarface and Taxi Driver and The Godfather are to American cinema. They're genre pieces, and many people who don't like that genre won't like the movie. And many who do like the genre will find some problem with it, too. But they are important classics that will leave footprints on whatever comes after. Therefore everyone needs to watch them and decide for themselves. I am in no way making a direct comparison between Jiang Hu and the American movies I listed. I know of nothing from Hollywood that directly compares. However I feel its following and its importance have yet to be discovered, and therefore have not been realized. It is shot beautifully, scripted masterfully and cast perfectly. And, if you have the chance, buy the special edition. The packaging and presentation are so absolutely top-shelf that I truly have not seen anything nearly this grand from any American distributor for ANY American movie. My friends will have to come to my house if they want to watch it. I refuse to loan it out.

There was much hype about the latest crime underworld movie called Jiang Hu. Sad to say it didn't do so well in the Hong Kong Box office and it was repeatedly slammed by Critics. Ironic though is that I find most non-official Critics such as fellow IMDb users, Internet users, and myself giving this film anywhere from thumbs in the middle to thumbs up. I'm probably not going to go much into the film since most reviewers have already elaborated on it. I am going to say though that it was sort of a waste to pit most of the "Infernal affairs" cast into this movie and yet you walk out not necessary caring for one of the characters. Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are the highlights of the film though. Their dinner conversations on playing "Triad-chess" ignites the fuse on this film. Edison Chen and Shawn Yue surprisingly have improved on their acting on a margin of 80%. The last thing(s) that captivated me on this movie was the Musical Score, the wonderful lady- sung ballad in the opening and closing credits, and Chapman To's rendered Jiang Hu theme. For those who are looking for an abundance of Triad fight(s), look elsewhere. Sure this movie still has some violence, greed, lust, and full-on betrayals, but it is rather jelly-filled dialogue instead. Jiang Hu isn't a terrible movie but it isn't a best I've seen either. I give it a 7/10.

I find this movie to be very cleverly written and directed. IMDb has the wrong names however. Jacky Cheung's character is called Mr. Left not Left Hand and Shawn Yue's characters name is Yik. All that aside, I really liked this movie. It's not your typical triad movie with lots of fighting and no character development. Don't get me wrong there is some action in this movie but unlike most triad movies you actually care what happens to the characters. I loved the dinner scene where Hung and Lefty are talking and the room behind them seems to be moving in an odd fashion, maybe it was a play off their emotions but I thought it looked really cool.

I was a bit surprised by what this movie really was about. Because as you are watching it you think you know exactly what the movie is about and where its going, but the last 15-20 minutes gets you. You realize that you don't really know anything, everything you thought you knew is wrong.

Style, class, intensity, mystery - loyalty?/betrayal? love for the art of film ...Jiang Hu is without a doubt a Simply TERRIFIC and ORIGINAL film! For those who have not seen this I will just say.. be Not critical of the film until you have reached the MAGNIFICENT ending!! At first the acting might seem poor from a few characters but it is the correct method to enhance the plot! You Will understand after - Promise!! Second of all this has to be one of the few rare movies to create such Depth in a single film, that will make you enjoy re-watching the film ..Straight after!! Even the credits show more depth to the film! Thirdly this shows the revival of consistency in great Hong Kong films! Like Infernal Affairs, there has not been a movie like Gong Wu (Cantonese title!) There is a SUPERB Twist at the end of this film, Andy Lau is Class! (The triads mole in Infernal Affairs!) In fact the whole cast is BRILLIANT! From the new talent to the veterans. I almost did not see this film because of the poor reviews given to it.. This is why i feel the need to have registered on this site (yes i'm a IMDb virgin) and tell the world how JIANG HU is simply another Amazing, Original/Anti Hollywood Triad film! I can Easily turn this review into a thesaurus of Compliments .... WATCH IT!