Ameaça em Chamas

Filled with fire and pathos, this will ignite the interest of some viewers (yes pun intended). That doesn't mean everyone will be thrilled - that being said, the tension of the movie is high and the movie works on a few levels. If you let it that is of course.

If you are ok with Hollywood movies doing that schtick, you should be ok China going all idolizing and going full patriotism and all that. Those things should not matter or rather you should not judge them differently based on the country of origin.

"As the Light Goes Out" is not the sort of movie I'd ever expect to see from Hong Kong. After all, most of the films we get here in the States from Hong Kong and the rest of China are mostly martial arts films or violent cop films. However, in an odd departure from the usual fare that they usually send to the West is an action-packed soap opera-like film about firemen. It's not the sort of film I'd like to see a lot of, but it certainly is unique, stylish and amazingly epic in proportions— and is worth seeing.

The film begins with a prologue that is important later in the film—and this provides a lot of the dramatic tension and soap opera-like elements throughout the movie. As far as the soapy elements go, they didn't do much for me—so I really don't want to go into any detail about things like the betrayal, broken relationships, a lost child, redemption and the like—just see the film. What I do think is important is the action— something I usually dislike in films. I am just not a viewer who loves lots of explosions and stunts, though I was bowled over by this one and recommend it because of its effects. In many ways, this film looks better and more epic in scale than the sorts of movies Hollywood is doing. A typical Stallone, Willis or Schwarzenegger film pales by comparison to "As the Light Goes Out"! It is simply something to see and I hope you get a chance to see it on a big screen. And, combined with a HUGE scope is some amazingly evocative Chinese operatic music that makes the whole thing so unique and so gripping that it is a one- of-a-king experience—and I appreciate this the most about the movie.

The film is set on Christmas Eve in Hong Kong. While most folks are taking time off from work and gearing down, the fire department is ever- vigilant in case of disaster. And, a disaster is exactly what is soon about to strike—as a fire in an abandoned warehouse ends up beginning a chain of events that plunges the city into darkness and threatens many lives. And, thanks to the many selfless firemen, the city might stand a chance at survival.

The film is filled with one amazing disaster and explosion scene after another—this I grew to expect. But what surprised me is that much of the dialog was in English—mixed in with the Chinese! This also occurs in many Indian films and I assume it's a carryover from the old British Empire days. What also was a bit of a surprise was a cute little cameo from Jackie Chan…as Jackie Chan! The only parts of the film that just didn't work for me were some of the ultra-macho scenes (such as the fight at the 48 minute mark) and soapy situations—but mercifully they were not a major hindrance in the film. Overall, it's a unique and breathtaking film that is worth your time even if its plot is, at times, a bit sticky.

My first cinema-going in 2014, Hong Kong director/writer Derek Kowk's fifth film is another eulogy to gallant firemen after Pang Brothers' OUT OF INFERNO (2013), which just released in the end of September. The thematic coincidence in such a short span definitely hurts AS THE LIGHT GOES OUT's box office performance, but the film per se, is a solid action flick hinges on an innovative concept of smoke, both literally and figuratively.

After a prologue manifests three friends' (Tse, Yue and On, all firefighters) divergence on an accident during their mission, On is the silent but ambitious one, Yue is the insouciant scapegoat, and Tse denies his oath to keep his hands clean, which sets the keynote of their distinctive path in due course, the film concisely concentrates its story on Christmas Eve 2013, one of the hottest winter in Hong Kong history (introduced by a shoddy apocalyptic advertisement for fireman recruitment stars Jackie Chan) and a typhoon is brewing, a fire hazard in a desolate factory nearby a power plant's gas pipeline and obstinate judgment made by idiotic plant decision-maker precipitates a monstrous conflagration in the plant and complete power blackout in a large portion of Kowloon Peninsula.

The rescue procedure follows a standard yet trite routine, some heroic sacrifice (a hammy Simon Yam is not alone here), some family embroilment (a father must save his son who is entrapped in the plant with his friends on account of the lamest plot arrangement, who invites a gaggle of schoolchildren to visit a power plant on Christmas Eve and unwittingly leaves three of them behind? Come on writers, you can make something less embarrassing!), some casual cannon fodder, some running and jumping set pieces, all in all, culminates with a final bravado invoking a (should be) sensational awesomeness to counteract the common happy ending.

Nicholas Tse anchors a more average Joe impersonation into the role (unlike the usual action hero staple, such as in the most recent THE VIRAL FACTOR 2012), battles against the "smoke" - his deep-rooted guilt, whose ultimate detonating slo-motion shots are sublimated with dashing aesthetic impact to swank the glamor of self-sacrifice. As I mentioned earlier, the smoke element penetrates the film relentlessly, its horror-flick intrusion and murky aura should be credited to the CGI teamwork from Post Production Office Limited (which was founded by Tse in 2003).

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is plain serviceable, an amalgam of actors from both Hong Kong and mainland China doesn't mirror the awkward incompatibility as in the usual cringe-worthy outputs. Derek Kwok did a decent job superintending a sizable production work under his own belt (his previous wondrous dark horse triumph with GALLANTS 2010 is co-directed with Clement Sze-Kit Cheng, which won BEST PICTURE in Hong Kong Film Award in 2011) and he is positively on the horizon in the HK cinema showbiz.

Director Derek Kwok, the same man who brought us the wonderful Gallants, and co-directed with Chow Sing Chi the fantastic Journey To The West: Conquering the Demons - brings us a tight (if not, slightly overly-long), character-driven-disaster-film set around a team of firemen in Hong Kong, on the night of Christmas Eve. In between the melodrama and arguments between comrades, the worst of the worst happens when the gas line to a power-plant catches fire and explodes resulting in a total blackout across the city!

As The Light Goes Out features a top cast with Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Simon Yam, Andy On, Hu Jun and many more, all who give stellar performances as the men in uniform. While the first part of the film builds up their relationships, in between some rescues and education on how deadly fires can be, things really kick-off on the half-way mark as the team set out to tackle the blazing inferno at the plant. On top of that, Shawn Yue finds out his son might be in the building, left behind with a couple of friends, from a school trip earlier in the day.

Clichés and heavy drama aside, As The Light Goes Out is actually quite gripping at times, with the thick black smoke often portrayed as a slow moving demonic force, creeping in on its victims who are trapped in its sanctum. While the majority of this is done with pretty decent CGI smoke, it still offers enough tension and fear, along with some stunning visuals and great cinematography - that makes this bitter-sweet Christmas disaster movie (about firemen), quite exciting to watch.

There's plenty of impressive stunt work from Jack Wong Wai Leung, a veteran of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and the guy behind some work on New Police Story, Hero, SPL, and more. And talking of Mr. Chan - the legend gets a great cameo near the beginning as a recruiting fire-fighter in a TV commercial for the force, dodging asteroids on his motorbike to the theme from Police Story...

Brief, but brilliant!

Not without its flaws, and odd moments of cheesiness, As The Light Goes Out manages to be, for the most part, thrilling and entertaining, with a gripping and intense second half that leads to a big, nail-biting and explosive ending...

Overall: Worth the watch, and something a little different, As The Light Goes Out is an impressive and entertaining piece of Hong Kong cinema!

I was given the chance to watch "Gau foh ying hung" (aka "As the Light Goes Out"). I knew it was a Hong Kong movie, that was essentially all I needed to know to be interested in watching it. I didn't know, however, what the movie was about or who starred in it.

Given the title of the movie, I must admit that I had expected to be in for a horror movie. But it turns out that "As the Light Goes Out" was an action drama about firefighters, for better or worse.

That being said, then I will continue on to saying that "As the Light Goes Out" was actually a surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable movie. And I can't really claim to find firefighting movies all that impressive. However, there was also an overshadowing element of the movie being cartoonish, at an unfortunate level, given the nature of the mainland Chinese firefighter Ocean (played by Jun Hu). That character was just a bit out of place and he seemed to caricature of a heroic firefighter.

"As the Light Goes Out" does have some nice acting talents on the cast list, which includes the like of Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Simon Yam, Andy On and Bing Bai. And it gets better, there is a hilarious appearance by none other than Jackie Chan himself. When he does make an appearance, I must admit that the movie had turned from realistic to being a bit too much. But then it turns out to be a nice surprise instead and the movie does revert to its normal course of action.

The action sequences in the movie with all the fire and firefighting was actually quite good, and it definitely felt very real and realistic, and that added a great level of enjoyment to the movie. Actually, I will say that director Chi-kin Kwok manages to make the movie very intense and thrilling, because it feels like you are right there alongside the firefighters in the blaze.

But overly this was a watchable, thrilling and entertaining movie for sure. If you enjoy Hong Kong cinema, then "As the Light Goes Out" is definitely well worth taking the time to sit down and watch.