Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine’s review published on Letterboxd:
Action! - In The Mood For Kar-wai
Wong Kar Wai is one of those directors that I’ve been intrigued by but haven’t got around to watch more of his work other than the most popular stuff like In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express, plus that IP Man film he did. And I always love the entrancing vibe that a lot of his movies tend to have. Its inherently Hong Kong cinema in its look and overall vibe, but at the same time he brings some form of a style of his own.
Both things are true in his directorial debut, a film inspired by Scorsese’s Mean Street where we follow mob enforcer Wah (Andy Lau), who gets in trouble as he tries to keep his friends out of trouble, something that will prove difficult, namely because of his petty peer Fly. There’s also a romantic subplot featuring the young and stunning Maggie Cheung with a few steamy and 80s synth soaked, bright make-out scenes. The performances are all around great, namely Andy Lau, who delivers this cockier and hothead version than his American counterpart, and he definitely gets to throw more punches and kicks than Keitel has ever done in probably his entire career.
A lot of the things that really stands out, as I pointed out earlier, is the incredible vibe of the film. Andrew Lau's (no connection with Andy Lau) cinematography is fantastic. Its often-glossy blend of vibrant and high shadows and lots of blue lends that film a bit of a surreal, sorta neo-noir touch. I loved the use of slow and quick panning paired with some snappy editing, which adds a great level of energy and excitement to the film. And the cool slow mo—you can’t forget about the cool slo mo, especially at the end. And as the icing on the cake, the score is lowkey banger. Whether it’s the 80s synth driven score or the pop ballads, including some covers of popular songs at the time, the latter would become something of a trademark for the director.
All in all, while it sticks to a lot of the (awesome) conventions of the Hong Kong action cinema like the work of Ringo Lam and John Woo, Wong still manages to add a few subtle and not so subtle style elements that will later come to define a lot of his work.
Action! - In The Mood For Kar-wai
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