Revenge: A Love Story

It was a surprise form me. If you change the language and the names of actors / director, this is a japan movie. HK movie (i don't like the word industry) is not as it was before in past century, so this was a very pleasant (what a word for this movie) surprise.

Revenge: A Love Story puts its best foot forward from the get go, drawing the viewer in with early scenes of remarkable cruelty that are shot with a clarity of vision one would expect from a veteran filmmaker. Unfortunately, the film stumbles and eventually falls flat.

The film is divided into 'chapters'. For fear of spoiling anything at all, I will refrain from discussing them in depth. I will say though - the first three play out over the first hour of the movie. These three, and the third especially, are strong, with a few setbacks. After that first hour, I was expecting to be rewarding this movie with 7 or even 8 stars.

I may be jumping to conclusions by saying this, but I am of the belief that this movie was simply watered-down too many times pre-production. There was most certainly something great beneath it all. In the lead role, Jun Mak showed off his acting chops and I can't say, by any means, that he was bad in the role. There wasn't enough dialogue. I felt like the movie was tailored for pop stars and took away any opportunity for them to appear to be poor actors, subsequently preventing any semblance of a strong performance. Solo Aoi almost never spoke. It was briefly alluded to that her character was 'retarded' or 'mildly retarded'. Her role in the movie felt too much like 'smile and be beautiful'.

Buried somewhere deep within Revenge: A Love Story is a truly brilliant film, comparable to prominent films in the revenge sub-genre. The recent I Saw The Devil comes to mind. In fact, there are even parallels to be drawn between the two, as Revenge too invokes the notion of pure evil when the title of chapter 5 refers to the devil. By that time, the film had already begun it's self-destruction, and we're subjected to the third installment of Jun Mak running, shirtless, in slow-motion, with his panting the only audible sound.

I would recommend this to revenge-movie geeks. You'll likely enjoy the movie (as I did). You might even be enthralled through the first hour (as I was). But be warned: If you are expecting a good, intelligent thriller, this is not it.

This is a grotesque exploitation movie that tries to be more than what it is. Still it got my attention most of the way through since I wanted to see how it would end. It did a good job of making the audiences hate the ones behind the corruption. The story is about a meat bun guy falling for a pretty handicapped high school girls. But things get sour when corrupt police officers do things they shouldn't be doing. The movie has plot-holes that doesn't make sense sometimes. But it doesn't try to make a believable story but heads more towards the hard hitting elements and exploitation. It's basically a B-movie that tries to be something more but when it comes down to it. Although it tries to show a deep message the intentions of this movie is quite clear and what direction and things they wanted to show. Which is exploitation and violence. It's also not clear if the meat bun guy is doing all the things he does for the one he loves or for himself because of the circumstances in this movie. Sora Aoi is in this and her scenes might be predictable which takes away from the shock factors. But it's still comes off as hard-hitting and brutal.

6.9

From the opening scenes of slow-motion choke killing, and the first 20 minutes, I was expecting another gory slasher Asian movie. But than, everything goes upside down. Explained via flashbacks this movie is 100% connected with the title; Add in brackets ( ultimate ) revenge; a love story. Director Ching Po Wong beautifully draw's you into the story. There are slow-motion scenes, there is repetition and than there are difficult gory scenes to watch. But believe me this is one of those movies that if you pass the first 20-25 minutes you will drop the popcorn's, forget about the love squeeze and just watch the movie. The main character Kit ( Juno Mak ) is exceptional as a mean-clean-killing machine. But what is his motive? Why all the brutalities? One of the flashbacks starts with "ultimate revenge is in forgiveness". Obviously Kit bypassed that section in his life and he will not stop until his revenge is complete. Sola Aoi in the role of the girl for who Kit falls in love is quietly perfect. Acting, direction and the script is excellent and this is one of those movies that will be difficult to shake off, it's not a date movie and it's not a movie to watch after getting a parking ticket for example. But it is one of those hidden gems that will stay with you for a while. Check it out as soon as you can! Andreja K.

Flicks from Hong Kong sure can be gory, as Dream Home had proved to be true. This movie clearly confirms that statement. The movie opens up with a sequence in which two pregnant women and their husbands get attacked inside of their home.

The story is told in a non-chronological order, with each new chapter featuring a black tile and a quote written on it, similar to the Ju-on movies. As the title clearly states, the story is all about revenge. The story takes turns as it progresses, as shown by the opening sequence. At first one would expect that the one who seeks revenge would be somebody who avenges the four people hurt in the opening sequences. And then we are proved wrong.

Revolving around a tragic story, revealed through flashbacks, we come to realize that our antagonist is actually our dear protagonist. This movie is nothing short of brutally violent, but not merely for the sake of it. This is not a blatant exploitation flick. There is an underlying message that is revealed at the end, one that anyone who holds a grudge could learn a thing from.

Beware, this flick is definitely not for the squeamish. There's gore, there's gut-wrenching brutality, but there is also sadness. You feel pity. This movie does it jobs by reeling you in and rooting for the protagonist. While the gore isn't over-the-top, there is one scene that involves skin that made me grab my head. For somebody who has seen a lot of over-the-top gore movies; that shouldn't have happened. But I did simply because I could relate to it through bad habits. One that I fortunately got rid of.

Go see this movie, it's criminally underrated and it deserves more attention. If you like revenge-themed movies, this one is for you. I immediately thought of Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and I Saw the Devil.