Cast:

Aaron Kwok

Phyllis Quek

James Lai

Daniel Wu

Andrew Lin

Ken Lo

Action:

Yuen Tak

Producer:

John Chong

Solon So

Director:

Gordon Chan

Score:  

2000 AD

AKA:  2000 A.D.

Year: 2000    Reviewer: Tony Ryan

In recent years, and resulting in polarised opinions, Hong Kong cinema has produced a number of films with a very "Hollywood" feel. Incorporating heavy use of English dialogue, westernised special effects and a reduction in HK-style action, these films have opened up a new market worldwide, but at the same time alienating some of those who have followed the industry since its 70's and 80's Golden Age.

Aaron Kwok stars in this modern techno-thriller directed by 'Fist Of Legend' helmer, Gordon Chan. Computer whiz-kid Aaron Kwok's shady brother is murdered and soon becomes embroiled himself in a far-reaching conspiracy 'Enemy of the State' style as he tries to avoid being killed, find his brother’s killer but doesn’t know who to trust.

Kwok has been a huge film and pop star in HK since the 1980's and adds another string to his bow with this huge-budget, highly stylish blockbuster, but for me, doesn’t exude much charisma, and as a result, I find it difficult to empathise with his character. There are numerous well-crafted action scenes throughout and Kwok, thanks to his dance training, still handles Yuen Tak's choreography with relative ease. Aside from a few short fights, the action highlight comes via Ken Lo's cold-blooded assassin in a car park shootout as he attempts to leave no man (or car, or wall) standing. The stylish direction of this scene in particular highlight why Gordon Chan is so highly regarded. I hope he does just as good a job on the upcoming Jackie Chan supernatural actioner 'The Medallion'.

Although this movie was enjoyable from start to finish, it still lacked something to make it an above average thriller, while the few surprises in store make it unlikely to be viewed more than once. As such, it borders on 3 to 4 stars but I certainly recommend a rental.

Distributor:  Hong Kong Legends

Region:  2 (PAL)

Running Time:  99 mins

Video: 

16x9 anamorphic widescreen. As would be expected from such a recent film, the picture is fresh and clear, although some grain still remains.

Audio:

DD5.1 English Dubbed or Original Cantonese soundtracks with English and Dutch removable subtitles.

Extras:  

- A Making Of Featurette

- Full Length commentary with Bey Logan and Gordon Chan - Very informative as usual, but I feel that Bey works better alone, since his joint commentaries tend to stray into conversation with whoever sits next to him.

- Interview with Director Gordon Chan - The helmer of 'Fist of Legend' and 'Highbinders' talks openly about this film interspersed with clips.

- Interview with Andrew Lin - Conducted in English, Andrew Lin (the bad guy from 'The Blacksheep Affair') discusses how he got into acting in HK and how he views the industry. A very interesting extra.