Island of Greed (1997)


	Island of Greed		Return to Review Archive - I
	\| review \| notes \| awards \| availability \|		Pauline Suen and Tony Leung Ka-Fai
	Year:	1997
	Director:	Johnny Mak Tong-Hung
	Action:	Yuen Bun
	Cast:	Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Pauline Suen Kai-Kwan, Annie Wu (Ng Sun-Kwan), Winston Chao, Doze Niu, Sihung Lung
	The Skinny:	An interesting politically-charged thriller that engages, but proves a failure at entertainment. Tony Leung Ka-Fai is sensational, however.
	Review by Kozo:	This very expensive political thriller focuses on that illustrious home for corrupt politicians: Taiwan. Tony Leung Ka-Fai is Chou, a ruthless triad kingpin who is determined to join the Taiwan government. Fong (Andy Lau) is his nemesis, the leader of an anti-triad force who’s going to do everything necessary to take Chou down. This is a well-meaning flick that unfortunately suffers from byzantine plotting and an almost complete disregard for narrative logic. The back-stabbings and dirty double-dealings that make up the Taiwanese government are interesting, but also more than a little confusing. There are just too many characters and too many private interests to cohere into a workable plot. The only compelling supporting character is Pauline Suen as Chou’s supportive wife. Otherwise, Annie Wu is nonexistent as the reporter girlfriend of Fong. In fact, all plot threads involving Fong seem gratuitous. His rescue of his father and relationship to Wu are both unnecessary moments designed to give Fong inner life. Sadly, it seems his character is around only for the requisite chase sequences. The excellent action scenes are strangely out of place in this topical story. This is actually not a bad picture, but it gets crushed beneath its overwhelming potential, as it can’t match its premise. Redemption comes in the form of Tony Leung Ka-Fai, who returns to the A-list with this film. As Chou, he’s charming, dangerous, and even sinister. Andy Lau suffers by comparison - he seems to spend the whole film moping. This film is worth seeing for the subject matter, but as entertainment it only rings false. (Kozo 1998)
	Notes:	• In a rarity for Hong Kong films, the Cantonese language option is actually the dubbed track. Staying true to its Taiwanese setting, the film is shot in sync sound Mandarin. Andy Lau and Tony Leung speak Mandarin in the film as do most, if not all, of the supporting cast.
	Awards:	17th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards • Nomination - Best Actor (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) • Nomination - Best Actress (Pauline Suen Kai-Kwan) • Nomination - Best Screenplay (Johnny Mak Tong-Hung) • Nomination - Best Art Direction (Lee Ging-Man) • Nomination - Best Action Design (Yuen Bun) • Nomination - Best Original Song ("Goo Sing Lui", performed by Andy Lau Tak-Wah) • Nomination - Best Sound Effects
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Mei Ah Entertainment 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1 Removable English and Chinese subtitles

		image courtesy of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.
back to top