A bullet-riddled tale of three men trying to escape from their violent criminal past. Read more
| Starring | Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau, Danny Lee, Alex Mann |
|---|---|
| Director | Taylor Wong |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller, World Cinema |
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A bullet-riddled tale of three men trying to escape from their violent criminal past.
| Starring | Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau, Danny Lee, Alex Mann |
|---|---|
| Director | Taylor Wong |
| Studio | MIA VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT LTD |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 30 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller, World Cinema |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Dubbed | English |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 06 Oct 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
This film really caught me off guard as people, you don't expect to die, die.....and unexpectedly too (i.e. when and how they did).
Also, it really is touching as the drama is affecting. The music seems to have been inspired if not lifted from Once Upon A Time In America. Considering the comparisons to Once Upon A Time In America, I'm surprised the filmmakers never called it Once Upon A Time In China (a title more appropriate for this film than Tsui Hark's Kung Fu epic centered around Wong Fei Hung).
The finale is very exciting if not done in the same excessive and surreally captivating manner as the final mansion shootout in A Better Tomorrow 2.
The former surely is the inspiration for the latter as lots of henchmen get knocked down (though with not the same level as blood) and there's lot of weaponary (especially of the war movie calibre). It's a shame it's not as long as Woo's high-powered finale. Just the sheer stawpower is exciting alone - Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau teaming up to bring down the mob!
Alex Mann is probably the best Triad villain I've ever seen in a film. His transformation from lovable if mislead protagonist to downrotten & despicable antagonist rivals the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader seen in the Star Wars saga.
The only real problem with this film is it's portrayal of violence e.g. how people survive multiple gunshot wounds like its predecessor Rich & Famous. Also, when a group of people are caught in an internal explosion their 'corpses' are depicted as slightly dusty (including the face) without any real burns, scars or even blood which really ruins the credibility when later on in the film someone says thay their bodies were burned beyond identification.
However this is better than the first film and the production values of this film (and the first one) feel like what Tsui Hark would have made if he hadn't used the box office receipts of A Better Tomorrow to film A Better Tomorrow 2 - they're that lavish and polished!
This is the sequel to the rather lackluster 'Rich and Famous'. The main cast are re united in this triad tale of revenge and brotherly bonds. This has more action than the first film, but still only manages to be an average adventure. The last twenty minute blood bath is typical of these over dramatic Hong Kong actioners.