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[Highly rated reviewer]

Breaking News: Johnnie To does it again!

Johnnie To once again proves why he is one of Hong Kong's most impressive filmakers of the last 20 years.

The story involves a gang who commit a robbery and end up in a shootout with the police in the streets of Hong Kong that happens to be captured by a TV news cameraman. The public's confidence in the police takes a hit so when they learn their men have located the gang in an apartment block, the police decide the best way to restore public faith is to televise the capture operation - and control every detail..

At the helm of this is ambitious Rebecca Fong who directs the whole thing like a proper TV show. So when things don't look positive for the police, they simply edit the material and put a positive spin on the events. However, the criminals are one step ahead of the police at every turn exposing Fong's fraudulent broadcasts to the media and the Hong Kong viewing public.

Arguably one of the quicker paced films of Johnnie To - clocking in at just 83 minutes - which means it starts quickly and ends quickly. It could have done with a bigger build up an perhaps some more character development. However the story is original and a nice satire on spin-doctoring and media manipulation that has you actually rooting for the villains halfway through.

This is a cracking film with the usual effortless performances from Richie Jen (Exiled), Nick Cheung (Exiled, Election) and Kelly Chen as well as appearances from To's favourites Simon Yam and Lam Suet.

My only real complaint is: why did we have to wait over 3 years for this great film to be released on these shores?

Hong Kong thrills again

Another great example of a Hong Kong cop thriller with all the fast moving action required to keep you on the edge of your seat. You are left wondering at the end of the film as to where your sympathies lie as the cold blooded villains are allowed to develop their characters. The senior police are morally corrupt leaving our cop hero to try and determine who are the good guys here.

It's in cantonese but the characters mainly have English first names and there are many 'Yes Madams' or 'OK's in the script to make it easy to follow - and you don't need the dialogue to appreciate the action sequences