2002

2002

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

A psychic cop (Nicholas Tse) who battles wayward ghosts for the Hong Kong police department is teamed with an eager rookie (Stephen Fung) destined to die and become his ghostly helper. But their plans are thwarted by a vengeful water spirit (Alex Fong), who emerges from the Other Side to destroy them both...

Long on spectacle and short on plot, Wilson Yip's half-hearted blockbuster contains a typical mixture of awkward comedy and heart-rending melodrama, assembled in piecemeal fashion by no less than four credited screenwriters (Vincent Kok, Gwok Ji-kin, Szeto Yam-kuen and Yip himself)! Fate and Destiny play an important role in the patchwork narrative, though such philosophical musings are quickly submerged beneath a tide of CGI effects and wire-fu combat sequences (choreographed by Poon Kin-gwan), including a remarkable fight between Tse and Fong in a swimming pool which rings the changes on an old formula, in no uncertain terms.

However, the film exists primarily as a vehicle for its leading men, both of whom are rendered beautiful by Poon Hang-sang's flattering camera-work and Stephen Tsang's 'Matrix'-style costumes, co-designed by Stephanie Wong. As with so many HK movies of this type, Tse and Fung are given a couple of lacklustre romantic interests (Danielle Graham and Rain Li), but Yip focuses primarily on the intense relationship between the film's male protagonists, and their mutual affection is invested with a fair degree of homoerotic pathos. Sam Lee and industry veteran Law Kar-ying are featured in supporting roles, while Yip himself cameos as a doctor.

(Cantonese dialogue)

I've been waiting to see this film and when I finally did, I loved it. It was great to see the original Gen-X Cops in the same film again. Nicholas "Jack" Tse is the human cop who teams up with Sam "Alien" Lee's ghost character. When Lee is ready to be reincarnated, enter Stephen "Match" Fung as Tse's new partner, who is scared of ghosts. Excellent debut from former Olympic swimmer Alex Fong as the Water Ghost. The finale is a total surprise and it has to be seen to be believed!!! If you liked Gen-X Cops, you'll love 2002.

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.

One of my favourite movies of all time. It's a lovely bitter-sweet story surrounded by an edgy plot and plenty of action and bits of humour.

The story tells of the ancient partnership of a ghost and a human teaming together to solve cases concerning unhappy ghosts.

But with this ancient partnership, comes a burden.

This movie does carry on a tiny bit but it's all for the sake of emotional suspense.

The plot twists and turns and just when you think you can predict it... I haven't met a single person that hasn't enjoyed it (and I've played this film to a lot of friends)

Perfect for a night in, maybe with your other half, it's neither overly violence nor over-mushy.

I can't hyper about this movie enough!

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.