Hard Boiled

This is probably one of the more satisfying and madcap action films I’ve ever watched or am likely to watch. Blood, bullets and slow-mo cameras present John Woo as an action genius in the making here.

Lt. ‘Tequila’ Yuen (Yun-Fat) is an uncompromising and wise-cracking cop who makes it his personal mission to take down a gang of criminals operating in his city. An inside man on the gang itself, Tony (Leung) teams up with his police colleague against Johnny Wong (Wong) and his henchmen.

Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic actor – his English language films have shown many people this. However, in this movie he seems far more at home; the Chinese language (seen through the dubbing) gives his performance a more realistic feel. Tony Leung, as the undercover officer Tony, plays flawed and secretive very well here, and his scenes with Fat, in terms of rapport and humour, are some of the best in the film.Teresa Mo doesn’t really have that much to do here as Yuen’s girlfriend, but she does at least contradict the movie stereotype of damsel in distress – her scenes with Fat are hilarious, as their relationship hits ups and downs at the worst possible time. Anthony Wong and Bowie Lam play the antagonists Johnny Wong and Benny, with the former projecting a large amount of sinister expressions as a performance to quite effective, if hammy, success. Lam is more disturbing however, his terminator-like Benny seemingly unstoppable and ruthless. Philip Chan plays the police sergeant, a role that Hollywood has done to death; put-upon, shouting and demanding results – not exactly remarkable.

John Woo presented the movie world with a new kind of action here; non-stop, adrenaline-pumping action all round, directed perfectly and skilfully by the Chinese director.Say what you want about Mission Impossible 2, Face/Off or Broken Arrow, but John Woo and action go together like peaches and cream. The director seems to only need the semblance of a story and the option for action to make an insane movie like this – and the three minute long take towards the conclusion is proof of his skill as an action film director. The version of the film I watched was heavily dubbed – but the translated dialogue was still poor beyond this disappointment. Some of the lines were so hackneyed as to be laughable – there’s one point at which Tequila and Tony discuss the accidental murder of policeman, and the characters actually go back on what they’ve just said – with no hint of comedy. Incredibly poor standards of writing for any film, but in this case it does not actually detract that much from the action itself.

Tequila plays at a jazz bar – and so for the first half of the film we’re treated to jazz, Chinese style. However, the rest of the soundtrack is pretty superfluous – if you can hear it over the gunfire or incredibly terrible dubbing then you’ve got fantastic hearing. Woo’s handling of action is, dare I say, the best of any director worldwide (other than Michael Bay), and the ballet-like movements of the policemen as they take down swathes of enemies is something other-wordly to behold. There are scenes and shots that just provoke an astonished laughter; you struggle to comprehend the madness of the shots, particularly stunt shots – Chow Yun Fat’s ability to mount seemingly any surface to aid in a fight is remarkable.

Whilst the film has drawbacks; namely, English dubbing (terribly done) and some hammy performances, it cannot be beaten for action – it’s a must-see film simply for the action on display.

8/10