Those of us in America may not be aware that cop movies have become very popular in the Asian market in the last several years. Every country gets one (Italy's famous for its one in the 70s featuring Franco Nero) and China has been under the spell. This also relates to the major success of New Police Story. Benny Chan directed this new film featuring Nicholas Tse (Jackie's young partner) and Jackie's son Jaycee. How does it fare? Find out in my review of...
The film's narrative is a curious one, setting up three disparate characters who are all wronged by the same group. It is not a setup you see that often in American cinema.
*
Our first hero is a police officer who loses someone close to him. A heavily-armed group calling themselves the 'Ronin Gang'- no date for their love of car chases- attacks an armored car carrying $100 million dollars. Hey guys, maybe you should split up the deliveries a bit! I guess it's not as bad as England mixing all of their gold together into one giant bar and delivering it by train in Danger: Diabolik. Anyhow, in the ensuing fight, the nearby jewelry store is blown up, killing the policeman's fiancee. This sure isn't funny so far.
*
Our next hero is angered by a second attack by the same gang. Evidently, the $100 million went pretty quick. They have another shoot-out, leading to the death of numerous detectives. Rather than resorting to months of drinking, the squad leader also vows revenge. Around the same time, a rookie cop is suspended. Why? His brother is supposed to be undercover in a gang, but has not reported back in months. Which gang? The Ronin Gang. He too vows revenge! Ven-detta!
*
The Ronin gang comes back to town...because we would not have a movie without it. A couple of our heroes confront them and try to take them down. To say that it does not go according to plan would be to say that Waterloo was a bit one-sided. The lead villain demonstrates an amazing bit of wire-fu and actually catches a bullet. He beats up one of our heroes and makes him swallow it. Damn! The film follows up this awesome scene with...
*
...him in the hospital undergoing painful rehabilitation. Dammit movie! You were almost fun.*
I will not spoil the ending to the movie since it is so recent (2007). It ends with roughly a twenty minute fight scene involving the three lead villains and the three lead heroes. There is lot of broken glass, bruised bodies and one guy who ends up looking like a bad-ass. The final fight is between all three heroes and the lead villain. They even spend most of the time getting their asses kicked. It even ends on a bit more of a sour note than you might think.*
So, is the movie good? Yes and No. The movie is well-written, produced and generally well-acted. However, it feels a bit too long (clocking in at two hours and ten minutes). This is a trap that a lot of recent Asian cinema seems to have fallen into. As a counterpart, there is the trend of American horror films that can barely meet their 90 minute run times (*cough*FridayThe13th*cough*). If you can accept this movie as an overly-long action film that is a bit stark at times, you may just enjoy it. If you like your action simpler and more fun, look elsewhere.*
What's worse than a bad 80s sex comedy? This movie. Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment