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Review
by Kozo: |
Alex Fong broods like there's no tomorrow in the shot-on-film
but released-on-video flick Cop Unbowed. Fong is
Lam, a former cop who was ousted from the force due to a
frame-up involving the kidnapping of his girlfriend Kelly
(Yoyo Mung). During the ensuing melee, Lam was forced to
kill his best friend Fung (Michael Tse), who apparently
worked overtime to lose that title. Fung was working for
mob boss Mr. Dick (Eddy Ko), and betrayed both Dick and
Lam by taking up with Dick's girlfriend. The outcome of
this web of broken loyalty and bottled-up betrayal? Plenty
of hurt feelings, many stretching to the present day. Lam
and Kelly now run a seaside restaurant, but the scars are
both physical (Lam's hands shake uncontrollably due to triad-inflicted
wounds) and emotional (Lam and Kelly both do their share
of brooding). When Mr. Dick returns to the fray, Lam had
better watch out. However, Lam may have bigger problems,
namely new hire Henry (Sam Chan), who may be more than he
seems. Coincidentally, Henry also likes to brood. Considering
the amount of time spent by the principals morosely staring
into the horizon, it's a miracle that Cop Unbowed
runs less than ninety minutes.
However, you need actual content
to justify a longer running time, and Cop Unbowed doesn't truly provide that. While possessing of a standard
triad plotline and decent enough actors, Cop Unbowed pads its running time with endless shots of the principal
actors brooding, and dispenses most of its revelations with
obvious expository devices. Lam Suet appears as Alex Fong's
cop pal, who seems to have nothing to do except appear at
convenient times and enable the other characters. Lam and
Kelly have their own bubbling personal conflict, but most
of their scenes involve the two silently eating dinner,
or one brooding while the other walks around in the background.
Young turk Sam Chan is passable as the pivotal character
of Henry, and his romance with waitress Yuki (Sammi Cheng
lookalike Yu Chiu) gives the film some minor spark. Then
again, Chiu's performance—as well as those of the other
younger actors—is undisciplined and more fitting for
serialized TV than a shot-on-film wannabe thriller.
Cementing matters is Chin Kar-Lok,
who plays Lam's buddy Curry with pronounced "I'm a
name actor" flair that's more annoying than charismatic.
Curry shows up frequently to mouth off and get beaten up
by potential bad guys—sometimes to such an extreme
degree that it looks like he's about buy the farm. No dice,
Curry usually shows up in the next scene with bandages on,
indicating that director didn't have the wherewithal to
have Chin Kar-Lok rein in his acting during the previous
beatdown. Clunky, obvious symbolism, and an ultimately unexciting
climax seal the deal. Cop Unbowed is standard stuff
for bored home video renters and insatiable screen idol
completists. Fans of Alex Fong and Yoyo Mung might like
the close ups on their favorite stars, and followers of
Yu Chiu can rejoice because she actually appears in a film.
Some of those viewers might even term Cop Unbowed a surprise, as it's actually better than a majority of the
direct-to-video films out there. That measure, however,
is exceptionally relative. On the grand scale of things, Cop Unbowed barely scrapes average. (Kozo 2004) |
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