pat00139
Joined May 2002
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Reviews4
pat00139's rating
This movie a lot of fun, and all the actors have great chemistry together. It's a very sweet and charming movie. The plot has Zhan (Andy Lau), a well known court officer, going on vacation, where he meets Bai (Cecilia Cheung), and where he finds out about an assassination plot against Judge Bao (Anthony Wong), who's an important person. There are a few more plot elements that come around but that's the basic setup for the movie.
This movie has very good people behind it. The co-writer is Felix Chong, who won a Hong Kong Film Award for his work on Infernal Affairs. The producer/co-cinematographer (odd combination, but, yes, that's what it is) is Andrew Lau (The Storm Riders, The Wesley's Mysterious File) and luckily he's on the spiky ball this time (he's done some bad movies before). You also have Gordon Chan as director (Fist of Legend anyone?). Then you have the three actors mentioned above and a great supporting cast. So all around, people know what they're doing. Nobody messes up either, and that helps a lot.
The only real problem I have with this movie is the speech at the end. This was either put in to pacify the government or asked to be put in by the government. It's basically a brief communist speech given by the Emperor to the people. It shouldn't have been put in there. There's really no setup for it during the movie and it sort of comes out of nowhere (...sort of...). Considering where the movie came from, I guess I can let it go.
This is nothing very heavy. It's light and funny and entertaining. The leads are very good and have great chemistry together. Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung are very charming whenever they're on screen. Anthony Wong and the rest of the cast seem to be having so much fun doing this movie as well. The movie doesn't break new ground but that doesn't matter, it doesn't try to. It just wants to entertain, and that's what it does very well. 4/5
This movie has very good people behind it. The co-writer is Felix Chong, who won a Hong Kong Film Award for his work on Infernal Affairs. The producer/co-cinematographer (odd combination, but, yes, that's what it is) is Andrew Lau (The Storm Riders, The Wesley's Mysterious File) and luckily he's on the spiky ball this time (he's done some bad movies before). You also have Gordon Chan as director (Fist of Legend anyone?). Then you have the three actors mentioned above and a great supporting cast. So all around, people know what they're doing. Nobody messes up either, and that helps a lot.
The only real problem I have with this movie is the speech at the end. This was either put in to pacify the government or asked to be put in by the government. It's basically a brief communist speech given by the Emperor to the people. It shouldn't have been put in there. There's really no setup for it during the movie and it sort of comes out of nowhere (...sort of...). Considering where the movie came from, I guess I can let it go.
This is nothing very heavy. It's light and funny and entertaining. The leads are very good and have great chemistry together. Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung are very charming whenever they're on screen. Anthony Wong and the rest of the cast seem to be having so much fun doing this movie as well. The movie doesn't break new ground but that doesn't matter, it doesn't try to. It just wants to entertain, and that's what it does very well. 4/5
This movie has undercover cop Stephen Chow trying to catch the bad guy by joining his gang. It's ultimately a forgettable movie. It's nice while you watch it - there are a few jokes that are pure Stephen Chow - but those are the only parts worth remembering.
The typical relationship fights and friendships are inevitable, so that takes away some of the fun. You're waiting for these two people to argue or these two people to become friends, so that that the movie can move on to other things. Otherwise the movie moves along nicely.
It's not as funny or as entertaining as many of his other movies but it's still enjoyable. There's more drama in this movie than many of his other movies, so if you see this be aware of that fact. Relationships are strong in here, as are loyalty and the other usual cop/triad values. Nice watch, but I'd say only if you're a Stephen Chow fan (or a HUGE Danny Lee fan).
The typical relationship fights and friendships are inevitable, so that takes away some of the fun. You're waiting for these two people to argue or these two people to become friends, so that that the movie can move on to other things. Otherwise the movie moves along nicely.
It's not as funny or as entertaining as many of his other movies but it's still enjoyable. There's more drama in this movie than many of his other movies, so if you see this be aware of that fact. Relationships are strong in here, as are loyalty and the other usual cop/triad values. Nice watch, but I'd say only if you're a Stephen Chow fan (or a HUGE Danny Lee fan).
I didn't really know what this movie was about when I started it. I wasn't disappointed. The movie takes place in an alternate timeline where Japan owns Seoul and the rest of Korea. Korean terrorists wreak havoc in a fancy building for some as-yet unclear reason, and it's the job of two cops (one Japanese, the other Korean) to find out what's going on. What follows is one hell of a ride. Make sure you're resting while watching this movie, because you wouldn't want to get hurt.
The first action sequence at the beginning of the movie sets the tone for the rest of the flick. The shoot-out has this incredible intensity and never lets up. The rest of the movie follows suit. You don't really know what's going on at first, but you know it's going to be explained, and that it's going to be worth it. The shoot-outs that follow only top one another, which, after seeing the first 15 minutes, is quite hard to believe. They're so incredible. They might not have the scale as 'Heat' or the budget of 'The Rock' but they sure as hell are as intense (if not more), and as good, if not better, than whatever comes out of Hollywood.
As with 'Shiri', the action in this movie rests on one great story. Throughout the movie, the characters become more and more like real people. No one is a hero, no one is Superman here. The characters are thrust into improbably situations, but they always stay rather believable. When they're not shooting guns, the drama part of the story takes over, and you're actually as impressed with what happens. You feel for the characters, and you're actually kind of glad you don't have to make the decisions they have to make. I could kind of see where some of the relationships were going, and I didn't really want them to go there, but I suppose they had to. The story, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. I never knew where it was going.
This movie actually says something, as well. Just like in 'Shiri', it's not action for the sake of action - it's action for the sake of actually saying something. It's slightly on the nationalistic side, but that doesn't really bother me, the message that the movie portrays is definitely worth the moments spent nationalism. It's really not as bad as some other movies I've seen. The movie is insanely political, I was actually very surprised. No Hollywood studio would have the guts to do something like this. I suppose the implications of the movie are universal, but they chose to have Japan control Korea. It's quite refreshing to see a movie, an action movie no less, with a thoughtful story.
The cinematography is gorgeous. I've seen all of 3 Korean movies and they all had this incredible visual style. This one is obviously included. Most of the movie is shot with a lot of blues and grays. It creates this nice, calm atmosphere among the instances of carnage. Add to that some great, invigorating music (which also reminded of the music in 'Shiri', but that's probably due to the fact that the same composer scored both movies), and the entire mood is perfectly set.
An amazing movie with brains and brawn, everybody should enjoy this movie.
The first action sequence at the beginning of the movie sets the tone for the rest of the flick. The shoot-out has this incredible intensity and never lets up. The rest of the movie follows suit. You don't really know what's going on at first, but you know it's going to be explained, and that it's going to be worth it. The shoot-outs that follow only top one another, which, after seeing the first 15 minutes, is quite hard to believe. They're so incredible. They might not have the scale as 'Heat' or the budget of 'The Rock' but they sure as hell are as intense (if not more), and as good, if not better, than whatever comes out of Hollywood.
As with 'Shiri', the action in this movie rests on one great story. Throughout the movie, the characters become more and more like real people. No one is a hero, no one is Superman here. The characters are thrust into improbably situations, but they always stay rather believable. When they're not shooting guns, the drama part of the story takes over, and you're actually as impressed with what happens. You feel for the characters, and you're actually kind of glad you don't have to make the decisions they have to make. I could kind of see where some of the relationships were going, and I didn't really want them to go there, but I suppose they had to. The story, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. I never knew where it was going.
This movie actually says something, as well. Just like in 'Shiri', it's not action for the sake of action - it's action for the sake of actually saying something. It's slightly on the nationalistic side, but that doesn't really bother me, the message that the movie portrays is definitely worth the moments spent nationalism. It's really not as bad as some other movies I've seen. The movie is insanely political, I was actually very surprised. No Hollywood studio would have the guts to do something like this. I suppose the implications of the movie are universal, but they chose to have Japan control Korea. It's quite refreshing to see a movie, an action movie no less, with a thoughtful story.
The cinematography is gorgeous. I've seen all of 3 Korean movies and they all had this incredible visual style. This one is obviously included. Most of the movie is shot with a lot of blues and grays. It creates this nice, calm atmosphere among the instances of carnage. Add to that some great, invigorating music (which also reminded of the music in 'Shiri', but that's probably due to the fact that the same composer scored both movies), and the entire mood is perfectly set.
An amazing movie with brains and brawn, everybody should enjoy this movie.