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HEAT
TEAM
AKA:
Hit Team 2
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Y.T.
Lee (Kwok) and K.C. Chan (Chan) are widely regarded as two of
Interpol's top agents, so when a master thief returns to Hong
Kong to conclude a job, it's only natural that their skills
are called on by the police force. On arriving though, both
Lee and Kwok are shown to be jealous rivals both with serious
character deficiencies; the former is ridiculously nervy
around the opposite sex while the latter is a selfish cad. The
rivals are thrown together by their new superior Bobo (Cheng)
and immediately sent out to follow up a few leads. One such
investigation sees a beautiful suspect detained (Wu) and the
mismatched cops whittle away the hours trying to get
information from her. Eventually her information is
forthcoming and Lee and Chan set up a trap to catch the
elusive superthief. As the target approaches though, it
quickly becomes clear that the informant is playing both sides
against each other.
Originally
touted as a sequel to the modestly successful 'Hit
Team', 'Heat Team' proves to be a very different creation.
In fact, though Dante Lam is once again in the director's
chair, the tone and style is completely different to that of
the sombre 'inspiration'. Lam has carved out a career in
film-making that seems to hinge on pulling the carpet from
under its audience, throwing commercial aspirations together
with moments of what can only be described as bewildering
surrealism. 'Heat Team' is a production that sums up Lam's
unusual tendencies in a neat 90 minute package, combining what
is enjoyable and vaguely infuriating about most of his work.
The
opening ten minutes has a healthy dash of humour - something
that a good action film can always benefit from. Kwok and Chan
are quickly shown as complete opposites, a device commonly
used in these 'buddy-cop' films to create some initial rivalry
for the protagonists. lam plays with this idea quite
successfully in the story's opening; the director toys with their
heroes' inflated opinions of themselves and their petty games
of one-upmanship. Gradually though, the film's focus is
blurred and any hope of a tension filled atmosphere dissipate
as Lam tries to put his own sense of quirkiness on screen.
The
'quirkiness' and bizarre romantic entanglements seem to have
far more in common with the peculiar 'Runaway' than the
original 'Hit Team'. A plot is started - one with enough
potential to make a good template for a genre film - but
appears to be ignored for the weak mid-section of the film. A
character driven piece like this may be fine for a small scale
drama, but this is meant to be a rollercoaster ride and little
else. The fact that two such contrasting styles of direction
are fused together by Lam does little for the overall
cohesion.
One
minor triumph for this otherwise average film is the unusual
casting employed here. Aaron Kwok is no longer the swaggering
charmer - that honour is given to Eason Chan. Kwok is cast as
a shy, insular character that is far removed from many of the
roles he has played in his career. This subtle subversion of
the viewer's expectations is one of 'Heat Team's plaudits, as
is the use of some interesting supporting players. Danny Lee
takes up the role of police commissioner, a role that used to
be his own until Hui Shiu Hung (who appears as an informant) entered
the fray. There's a strange twinge of nostalgia seeing him
return to a familiar role despite the fact that 'Heat Team'
shows how different film-making is today compared to the Hong
Kong 80s heyday. In a small role, Carl Ng is also quite a
welcome injection of characterisation - although he doesn't
get the best lines here, his Chinese-cockney schemer is a
breath of fresh air.
'Heat
Team' will undoubtedly baffle more than it will appease; the
fractured style and severe lack of focus on what the film
actually wants to achieve is difficult to forgive. It starts
out as a bright and breezy, well-paced action comedy but along
its journey to the end becomes a very different creation.
While Dante Lam is a director who certainly has his talents,
he needs to find a project that will galvanise either of his
styles and not try to put all of his proverbial eggs in one
basket. 'Heat Team' could've been a kinetic genre film or a
character-based ensemble piece - the mistake that Lam makes is
trying to combine the two.
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