A surprisingly dark and uncompromising thriller, Return to Dark only falters in its undisciplined acting and scattershot direction. Four strangers (Anthony Wong, Eric Moo, Ken Wong and Michael Tse) join forces to rob a loan shark, but things don't turn up all rosy. For one thing, Ko (Eric Moo) is a depressed cop who's been suspended pending the accidental death of his partner. He's thinking of offing himself, and gets the chance when the money they heist turns out to be the quarry of two vicious hired killers (Joey Man and Blacky Ko). The four thieves run, the two hitmen chase.

This could have been a Milky Way film, except the proceedings get dragged down by wretched hijinks which only serve to distract. Anthony Wong turns in his most annoying performance ever as a wacky toy salesman with flatulence problems. The rest of the actors are uniformly undisciplined, except for Joey Man and Blacky Ko, who are appropriately stoic as the hired guns. The twists and turns the plot takes are entertaining, as is the uncompromising tone which creates no winners or losers - just people who are alive or dead. At the same time, the film is really just typical B-grade crime stuff that loses even more points for the grating performances and uneven direction. And the first thirty minutes are interminable. Still, if you can get by those, you might find something occasionally worthy in Return to Dark. (Kozo 2000)