Chek dou

Well made with good production values and a stellar cast from all over SE Asia. One or two action scenes worth watching but the rest of the movie is almost like a Tourist guide to HK and Macau. The plotline is shambolic - at one point some very valid political points are made about HK (movie was made in 2015) almost predicting the future. Ending is even worse. All eye candy - don't waste your time unless you are looking for a travelogue about HK.

I hadn't heard about the 2015 movie "Helios" (aka "Chek dou") before sitting down to watch it in 2021. And let me just say right away that this was definitely an enjoyable movie.

Now, normally I am not one overly keen on crime movies, but I will admit that writers Dean Kole, Lok Man Leung, Kim-Ching Luk and Robert Stein definitely managed to put together an interesting storyline here, and it was one that proved entertaining and captivating from the beginning and right up to the end.

"Helios" has the type of story that grabs the audience in an iron grip and doesn't let you go before the end credits starts rolling. And although running close to two hours, the movie didn't feel prolonged or slow. There was a great pacing to the storyline, and there was always something happening to further the story and keep the audience enthralled. So thumbs up to directors Lok Man Leung and Kim-Ching Luk for that achievement. Plus, the storyline is not a linear one, there are some nice plot turns and twists along the way, which makes for a non-predictable movie.

If you are a fan of Asian cinema, then you will find yourself in for a treat here, given the casted performers, with the likes of Shawn Yue, Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung and Jin-hee Ji.

Visually then "Helios" was a good movie, because it often felt like you were right there in the movie, amidst the chaos, gunfights and drama. Definitely a good appeal to the movie. And the action sequences are nicely choreographed and executed in a very realistic and believable manner.

My rating of the 2015 movie "Helios" lands on a seven out of ten stars. For an action crime movie then "Helios" definitely proved to be enjoyable and entertaining. And it is a movie that I can warmly recommend you sitting down to watch if you have the chance and if you enjoy crime movies.

Despite the star-studded cast from different countries, this movie was really boring. There are many cliched scenes, the acting flat most of the time, and the story is very convoluted. It became extremely boring at the halfway mark because you stop caring about what will happen to the characters and the Helios device.

Skippable...

First things first: The surface aspects of Helios are outrageously good. The production value rivals Hollywood films with convincing large scale sets, international location shooting, subtle photo-real CGI, gorgeous cinematography, and rip-roaring action scenes. Speaking of action scenes, Helios' gun battles are firmly in the new wave of Hong Kong gun play: Hard-hitting machine gun battles with a dash of real-world tactical flare. They resemble more the thrilling shootout in Michael Mann's Heat rather than John Woo's elegant work. This action style works well for thrillers and HK cinema have gotten damn good at it in recent years.

Sadly, Helios' plotting and narrative are also notably Hollywood- esque with shallow characters, contrived emotions, and ludicrous plot all held together by tightly paced editing and actors that demand you look at them due to their great acting or great looks. It all still manages to be compelling, but none of it holds up on reflection. Despite its flaws, Helios could normally be recommended as a fun "turn off your brain" action thriller and that would be that. Alas, the ending makes the recommendation much harder. Without going into specifics, just know that there is no satisfaction to be had in any way. No closure, no justice, no explanation. Viewers will have to decide for themselves if it's worth watching a movie that entertains mightily then reverses all of that good will in the last 10 minutes.

Yes the movie and its "story" is all over the place - but the action this delivers (sporadically but sufficient) makes up for that. You may also feel that the ending is a letdown, but hopefully this all will not take away the fun you can have with this. And I use fun lightly here, since this is a serious matter we are talking about (terrorism and all that).

It could have been shorter and I'm not sure if there will be a sequel in the future. Maybe that would change the view for some, maybe if there wouldn't be one it would change their view on this also. For now we can only judge what we have in front of us and it's a decent effort in the thriller/terror genre