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Review
by Kozo: |
An action-revenge drama from Ringo Lam that's entertaining
but definitely a few steps below his best work. Andy Lau is
a Cambodian who, as a child, witnessed his parents’ murder
at the hands of Paul Chun. Years later he seeks revenge by
trying to assassinate Chun, but his attempt is botched. He’s
saved by Chun’s mistress Rosamund Kwan, and regroups to seek
revenge once more.
However, the CIA recruits him in
an effort to indict Chun, and inserts Lau into Chun’s life
by having him kidnap Chun's daughter (Wu Chien-Lien).
Soon he finds himself drawn into a web of assumed identities
and moral decisions, where he must choose between fulfilling
his revenge or breaking the heart of a girl who implicitly
trusts him.
As is usual with Ringo Lam’s work,
pop-culture references and wacky hijinks are noticeably absent.
The somewhat pedestrian plot is easy-to-follow, but Andy Lau
stumbles a bit with his performance. He's a fine action hero,
but he isn't convincingly intense. On the other hand, Rosamund
Kwan eschews her usual "flower vase" acting for
a downright nasty turn. This is probably her darkest performance.
Wu Chien-Lien is Wu Chien-Lien, which is always nice. This
rather commercial vehicle for Ringo Lam to be working on but
it’s an entertaining, solid piece of work. (Kozo
1996) |
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