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On
the Run |
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Year: |
1988 |
Yuen Biao and Pat Ha |
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Director: |
Alfred
Cheung Kin-Ting |
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Cast: |
Yuen
Biao, Pat Ha Man-Chik,
Charlie Chin Chiang-Lin,
Yuen Wah, Bowie
Lam Bo-Yi, Alex To Tak-Wai,
Philip Ko Fei, Lo
Lieh, Peter Ngor Chi-Kwan |
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The
Skinny: |
Underrated
noir thriller that grabs you by the balls and squeezes for
about ninety minutes. Simply a terrific movie. |
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Review
by Kozo: |
Darker-than-dark noir thriller is one damn fine Hong Kong
flick and proof that Alfred Cheung can actually direct, a
supposition that usually holds little weight since his last
two movies were The Group and The Extra.
Yuen Biao is a down-on-his-luck cop
who’s counting on his ex-wife to provide possible emigration
to the United States. However, his ex-wife is a narcotics
officer that promptly gets snuffed in a professional hit.
Yuen immediately begins chasing the killer, a cool-as-ice
hitwoman played by Pat Ha Man-Chik. However, it turns out
that the guys who ordered the hit were CID, former Lucky Star
Charlie Ching. Yuen’s dead wife used to be sleeping with Ching
and found out that he was running drugs. Ching goes about
trying to off Yuen and Ha, who join forces to get the hell
out of dodge. Then things get worse.
This is a by-the-numbers crime thriller
that’s raised to another level by an incredibly dark sense
of humor and a knack for doing the unexpected. This film takes
you for a ride, managing to assault, frustate, and delight
at regular intervals. Sure there are cheesy moments, but the
film never ceases to be entertaining or compelling.
Yuen Biao never does any kung-fu
and manages to bring the proper weight to his role. However,
the film absolutely belongs to Pat Ha, who displays an intense
physical presence as possibly the most absurd killer in HK
Cinema history. She’s a cold-blooded hitwoman with a heart
of gold that sports a ridiculously exaggerated Jackie-O hairstyle.
And still, she commands respect and sympathy. Probably one
of the most underrated Hong Kong movies around. That which
we love about HK Cinema is in this film. See it. Now. (Kozo
1999) |
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Availability: |
DVD
(Hong Kong)
Region 0 NTSC
Fortune Star / Deltamac
Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles |
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image courtesy
of Mega Star Video Distribution, Ltd.
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| LoveHKFilm.com
Copyright ©2002-2017 Ross Chen
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