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Review
by Kozo: |
Hong Kong’s answer to Mission: Impossible is a slight
action-thriller that’s carried out professionally and commercially.
Jackal (Takeshi Kaneshiro), Cash (Jordan Chan) and Sam (Charlie
Young) form the core of ATM (Available Tactical Mercenaries),
an industrial espionage unit that utilizes high-tech gadgetry
to steal technology and fence it on the black market. However,
they're blackmailed by the Hong Kong government (led by Alex
Fong Chung-Sun) to snatch some counterfeit plates called SN2
from the British MI5. Naturally stuff goes wrong, our heroes
are framed for SN2’s disappearance, and then they must set
about clearing their names with whatever hi-tech gadgets they
have leftover.
Directed in glossy fashion by Teddy
Chan, the film works thanks to Stephen Tung’s action sequences,
which possess a flair and energy sorely lacking in recent
Hong Kong films. However, the storytelling is virtually soulless.
Almost no character exists, which is both a positive and a
negative: the film never pauses for any soul-reaching angst,
thus quickening the plot’s pace. On the other hand, lack of
character means that the little touches (Kaneshiro and Young's
budding romance, and the friendship between the two male leads)
don’t hit home. The result is almost mechanical, but it’s
a well-oiled machine that glosses over its own faults as effortlessly
as it entertains.
Of all the actors, Jordan Chan fares
best. Takeshi Kaneshiro holds his own, but he operates best
when his characters are quirky, which the underwritten Jackal
most definitely is not. As usual, Charlie Young is likeable,
but uncompelling. Theresa Lee does too little, which is a
shame because her usual promise is left untapped. You can't
really fault any of the actors as they had very little to
work with originally. Teddy Chan and Stephen Tung shore up
whatever rough edges (and there are a lot of them) are left,
and they do a nice job of it. This is easily the most polished-looking
Hong Kong film in recent memory. As a commercial film, this
is a solid actioner, but it could have been a lot better. (Kozo
1997) |
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