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Movie
Synopsis:
Quite an enjoyable
film, actually. It's not just a fabulous idol-celebration,
though Charlie Yeung, Takeshi Kitano, and Jordan Chan are among
the most stylish and popular young east Asian celebrities du
jour. But we get more than an exercise in star worship
exploitation. This techno-thriller is loaded with fast, quickly
breaking plot twists; imaginatively cartoonist technological
goodies (like a Bond film, but without the heaviness and camp).
Best of all, it sports a collection of breathtakingly inventive,
supercharged stunt-work. The action sequences (built on the
usual gunplay and vehicle chase motifs) are among the most
original and energetic that I've seen in Hong Kong cinema this
year: Stephen Tung Wai, who devised them, d.p. Cheung Man-po,
along with crack editing team Kwong Chi-leung and Cheung Ka-fai
should receive co-star billing. What's missing? Well, not much
time was left over (the film is too short, at just 90 minutes)
for character development. Jordan Chan has so much screen
presence that he can do it on his own, but Takeshi and Charlie's
roles are underdeveloped. And Theresa Lee, with buckets of
energy and charm, has far too little to do: what a waste!
Nevertheless, it's a pleasure to see how youthful energy can
breath a little life back into the apparently somnolent HK
action film world.
DVD EXTRAS:
None
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None
that I know of
DVD REVIEW:
It's bad when you
start yawning before the opening credits come up. It's even
worse when you put in a DVD and it starts up with the movie and no
menu system.
Well, the fact that
this DVD is an older release in Hong Kong, I can understand that
the movie subtitles are burnt in and that there is no menu.
I suppose.
As for the movie, the
characters are just not interesting. Well, Jordan Chan's
character is but Takeshi Kaneshiro's character is downright
boring.
This is the HK
"Mission Impossible" and it just fails.
Fortunately, the second movie "Skyline Cruisers" is much
better than the first movie.
This one is a renter
and for fans in the movie. Otherwise not a good movie and
not a good DVD (since it has no special features or anything).
THE MOVIE: D+
THE DVD EXTRAS: F
THE DVD OVERALL: D
Check out other cool
DVD reviews on this movie by clicking here: 1,
2,
3
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