Ging tin 12 siu see

Has none of the look, style or panache of Hard Boiled, so don't be rushing to the video store counter with glee if you loved the first one. However, if you appreciate the sort of crazy, unbelievable choreography that John Woo made his name with - this is pretty close. It just won't have the quality of plot, characterisation or even, damn me for saying it, script. Funny subtitles, too.

This one is no sequel, since it was shot a year before John Woo's breath-taking "tour de force", it just ends in an hospital ; but believe your Phaithful Phrog, it's one of Hong Kong's best, with all the incredible action and beautiful ideas you expect from them - but one or two notches better. The plot's idea - trying to fond a blood donor against a bunch of terrorists - is simple but well-heeded and gives out some brains as well. This ain't got the brains of a Tsui Hark movies or the guts of John Woo, but comes very, very close.

Like in every HK action franchise you can never know whether movies are actually connected.As I reckon this movie`s only tie to famed `Hard Boiled` is the title given by money-lovin` producers. Anyway,two ideas keep Woo`s movie connected with this feature.First of all,main characters are a detective and the `golden hearted` mobster.Second similarity is that plots and final showdowns of both movies have something to do with hospitals. Each movie contains energetic and rampaging shootouts. While Woo`s original had all main landmarks of his opus (Scorsesian and Melivillian influence),the sequel shows that it was made by eminent HK director Wong Jing.His landmarks are `Looney Tunes` pacing,speeded up action and plotting derived from 1980s Hollywood action fare.The difference is quite obvious. This movie works remarkably well and it doesn`t disgrace the `Hard Boiled` franchise.Of course it works well on its own since Woo`s and Wong Jing`s styles are barely comparable. If you overrule the input of dumb HK comedy `Hard Boiled 2` is highly enjoyable.Wong Jing provides us with enough razzle-dazzle that makes this movie a must not just for HK action afficionados but even for weekend fans of the genre that look for recognizable HK fare.If you like high-calibre gunplay,high bodycounts and Eastern Heroes this feature may scratch your itches. Interesting aspect of the movie is its explicit anti-communist orientation because characters joke a lot with the Red China.

Watching a Hong-Kong thriller is always a good experience, there's always hope of find a movie that will stick to your memory like did many movies of John Woo or Tsui Hark. The Last Blood is not only a surprising piece of Hong Kong action is also an under seen movie. It is a good time to discover this hidden jewel that could surprise many viewers. Old racks of movie-stores have many unexpected good movies to be found.

This movie has a frenetic but clear editing that put it in the same league of classics of John Woo. But anyway, Woo is the master and Wong Jing would be a talented disciple. Jing managed to make The Last Blood is an amazing piece of entertainment with a budget that is far from the standards of Hollywood, something that must be studied by filmmakers who want to shot but don't have the money of a mega-millionaire producer.

The level of violence and gore is high, this turn outs to be some of the highlights in the film. The plot is just what one expects from this kind of production. The situations hang between the exaggeration and realism. There's authentic drama (or well focused melodrama), some laughs, interesting characters and enough adrenaline to boost the viewer out of his seat. The relationship between both cops and the common guy who becomes target of the terrorist is handled in a magnificent way. There's space for some reflection in the middle of all the action to focus on important moral matters. All this is quintessential in the good exponents of this genre. Also the characters don't try to be sympathetic to the point of been insufferable. Final notes: Jing tian shi er xiao shi (The Last Blood) was released in the early nineties, a crucial period for HK cinema when it was discovered massively by audiences. This audiences were tired of movies of eighties decadents stars, whose reputations were going down with really lame movies that were mere vehicles for the exploitation of their profiles.

No pun intended - this has a few titles. One of them (in the UK) is Hard Boiled 2 (in Germany apparently it was Hard Boiled 3!) ... even though it originally was released before the original Hard Boiled movie by John Woo. Now someone asked the distributor in the UK why they would do something like that ... well apart from this being an action movie and having a climax at a hospital ... they told him that they asked John Woo if it would be ok to use the title ... and he gave them his blessings.

Not sure if that actually is true (I believe the guy who told the story, that he asked and got the answer) ... I mean if they told the truth. Whatever the case, the movie is filled with action and comedy ... and as they say: you couldn't do a movie like this nowadays in China (Hong Kong) ... the Daka Lama is clearly the Dalai Lama ... blasphemous and apparently not something the government would let anyone get away with.

Andy Lau is always a treat - the supporting cast is also really good. I still prefer the original and only Hard Boiled ... but this is a great action movie too (stunt and otherwise)