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FINAL
JUSTICE
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1988 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Ah
Wai (Chow) is a car thief who occasionally acquires vehicles
for a group of thugs led by the notorious Judge (Shing Fui
On). After one particular meeting he is caught in the
act by District Sergeant Cheung (Danny Lee), something of a
department supercop who likes to go it alone. When the
stolen vehicle is used by the gang in a robbery and people are
killed Wai is charged with murder in an attempt to get him to
cooperate. As cocky as he is, Wai soon begins to realise
that Cheung is the man to help him when he is witness to a
shoot-out and once again blamed for some of the deaths
(stupidly he holds one of the guns). Torn between the
right thing to do and ratting out his so called friends, Wai
must take Cheung along for the ride and hope that he is there
at the right time to bail him out of trouble.
Before
every actor finds their niche in the movie market, they begin
in the business by doing roles that are totally out of
character for them and this applies to Chow Sing Chi here.
Void of the expected hilarity, 'Final Justice' is a serious
action/drama flick where Chow gets to show that he is more
than just a comedian. As Wai he gets to display the
frustration of being a young man caught between both sides of
the law and he does it exceptionally well with surprising
believability which probably goes a long way to explaining why
he won the best supporting actor for this role in 1988.
Danny Lee is the other leading member of the cast and finds
himself in the familiar role that plagued him throughout his
career; the cop who befriends a criminal. In this movie
though he looks somewhat uncomfortable and slightly cumbersome
in the more athletic scenes which could be signs of his
reluctance in the part or maybe this is just his way of adding
to the realism. You can relax though as with a gun in
his hand he looks totally at ease and coupled with a motorbike
he still retains his cool persona (even despite the dodgy
floppy haircut).
Another
actor worthy of note here is Shing Fui On and its fair to say
he has always been something of an unsung hero (or villain as
he always seems to be) in the whole gangster genre. Here
he plays his typified role but it's nice to see that he
finally gets a chance to shine as the leader of the gang
rather than his usual lowly henchman. He often stands
out due to the gruffness of his voice and his sheer size in
comparison to the other actors but it's his acting ability
that is always supremely impressive as his characterisation is
always spot on.
All
in all, 'Final Justice' has a few enjoyable shootouts and some
solid acting but it's fair to say the plot will do little to
excite those of you familiar with the genre. However,
the main reason to watch it is to see Chow's attempt to play
it straight which is extremely admirable and shows that he is
not just a funny face.
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