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Review
by Kozo: |
The follow-up to the hit The Heroic Trio is much more
serious. The result turns out to be more compelling, but the
overdone direction can leave you bewildered. Thankfully, the
ace cast of Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung return,
and the production proves to be just as entertaining as the
first film, if not more.
Years after the wonderful incidents
of The Heroic Trio, the world has apparently gone to
hell. An apocalyptic future awaits out heroes, and to top
it all off there's a water shortage. It seems megalomaniac
Mr. Kim (Anthony Wong in makeup) owns all the world's uncontaminated
water. However, all that turns out to be a scam as there's
plenty of uncontaminated water just out of reach of the populace.
Our heroes decide to combat Mr. Kim's blatant water bill fraud
by seeking out the pure water source. Thief Catcher (Maggie
Cheung) teams up with a hat-wearing rogue (Lau Ching-Wan)
to find the water, while Invisible Girl (Michelle Yeoh) attempts
to protect the President and prevent a military coup by the
power-hungry Paul Chun. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman (Anita Mui)
has domestic issues with police chief hubby Damian Lau. Then
she goes missing, which can only make matters worse.
The plot is waaaay ridiculous,
but Ching Siu-Tung's action is terrific. Johnnie To goes overboard
with a veritable marathon of montage sequences. It seems every
key moment in the film needs to be punctuated by a pop song
usually sung by Anita Mui. The overdone romanticism sort of
works, as the film has incredibly huge tonal shifts which
change between silly and tragic. The plot shifts gears quickly,
making the film a strangely wrenching experience.
Given To's emotional bullying of
the audience, the film turns out to be more compelling than
its prequel. He chooses to defy commercial expectations, and
the results can leave you tired and exhilirated - but also
annoyed if you happen to like mega-mega happy endings. At
least the three female leads turn in fine work, bringing presence
and dignity to the overdone comic book plotline, as well as
a believable athleticism to the action. Thanks to its overdone
emotion, quick pacing, terrific action and strong female leads, Executioners turns out to be a prime example of Hong
Kong Cinema at work. (Kozo 1996/2000) |
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