2000 A.D. (2000)


	2000 A.D.		Return to Review Archive - Numbers
	\| review \| awards \| availability \|		Aaron Kwok gets the Y2K willies
	Year:	2000
	Director:	Gordon Chan Kar-Seung
	Cast:	Aaron Kwok Fu-Sing, Phyllis Quek, Daniel Wu (Ng Yin-Cho), James Lye, Gigi Choi Lok-Chi, Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Ray Lui Leung-Wai, Andrew Lin Hoi, Ken Lo Wai-Kwong, Tony Ho Wah-Chiu
	The Skinny:	The best thing about this movie is Francis Ng's performance, which is amazing in its restraint and quiet dignity. Unfortunately he only has a supporting role, and the film, while competent, suffers by comparison.
	Review by Kozo:	Big budget action flick from Gordon Chan and a passel of Singapore investors is a well-produced piece that doesn’t amount to much. It’s competently directed with some decent action, but the film suffers because it’s so pedestrian in its approach. Aaron Kwok is Peter, a computer programmer who gets involved in a nasty computer virus war when his brother Greg (Ray Lui) is exposed as a CIA agent. Peter has a hard time understanding as the bad guys seem to be coming out of the woodwork, and Greg’s fiancee Salina (Faye Wong lookalike Phyllis Quek) may even be implicated. All this matters little, as it’s merely a prelude to lots of chases and gunplay. Kwok has handled action before, but this is different. Instead of being a cop or superhero, Kwok is just a computer programmer. However, he’s a computer programmer who knows kung-fu. No explanation is necessary, he just starts high-kicking when he needs to. Aiding Aaron is sidekick Daniel Wu (the “dope” of the movie), and girlfriend Gigi Choi. In addition, Singapore has brought out a hero: James Lye, as Singapore agent Eric. Lye actually has a good action presence, and he proves a decent complement to Kwok. Still, all actors are absolutely destroyed by Francis Ng, who has a relatively small role as HK cop Ronald Ng. Given a role with little definition, Ng manages to make Ronald a well-rounded character without ever showing his hand. Ng is all restraint and control, a far cry from his out-of-control Ugly Kwan characterizations. It's a shame that he gets as little screen time as he does, because he owns the screen when he's on it. However, the star is supposed to be Aaron Kwok. That Ng can so mercilessly steal the movie from Kwok is pretty much an indication of what’s wrong with this movie. It has little identity, and doesn’t succeed at making us care about the characters or their situations. Everything is hammered out in typical commercial film fashion, and only Ng manages to bring anything resembling a spark to the proceedings. Aaron Kwok struggles to actually carry the film, which ultimately hurts all of Gordon Chan’s efforts. 2000 A.D. is entertaining, but it’s also incredibly bland.
	Awards:	20th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards • Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Francis Ng Chun-Yu) 7th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards • Winner - Best Actor (Francis Ng Chun-Yu)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Universe Laser and Video Co., Ltd.
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