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Review
by Kozo: |
The latest Milkyway film dips just a bit more into
convention, but the result is predictably pure gold.
Lau Ching-Wan is Inspector Ho, a police negotiator who’s
led into a game of cat-and-mouse by ace thief Cheung
(Andy Lau). Cheung robs a Hong Kong high-rise, but his
motive is in doubt. Did he do it for money? Or fame?
And why is he letting Ho in on all of it?
Ho begins his investigation,
and as he discovers what Cheung is up to, so does the
audience. Not to give too much away, but Cheung is actually
dying of cancer, and is using his final days to avenge
his father. It isn’t what he’s doing that’s interesting
here, it’s how he’s doing it. The set up for his ultimate
scam is a joy to watch, and Andy Lau relishes his role.
It’s probably his best acting in quite a while as he
restrains himself from doing one of his two Andy Lau
things: either overacting the charm or overdoing the
bitterness. Credit director To with reining in his Sky
King star.
There are some truly delicious
genre moments in Milkyway’s latest sublime effort.
The little bits with bumbling police captain Hui Siu-Hung
are a little overdone and there are some major plot
holes, but it’s really hard to fault this richly entertaining
action thriller. This is probably the best commercial
film Hong Kong has produced in quite a while. It tends
towards pleasing the masses with its built in star-power
and sometimes cheesy dialogue, but the total package
(style, pacing, acting, direction) all add up to a rich
and satisfying genre experience. (Kozo 1999) |
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