NinthShinigami’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Am I a dog?”
No Sei… you’re not T _ T
Decided I’d end my movie watching year with one that’s been on my mind for a long ass time, and boy was the hype ever worth it.
I’ve heard about this film from various sources. From Sean Chandler, from some of my other buddies, even just from action junkies in general, and it’s indeed one of the most goated action films of all time.
The main thing I really love about this film is that for an action film, its characters are very well written and integrated into the main story. The main character, Ah Jong, is actually a conscious killer. The cop chasing him is Inspector Li, a man trapped by the law when it comes to his sense of justice. Actually, both are.
These two characters and the cat and mouse game they play for about the first half of the film is very fun to watch, but it slowly builds up to their joint relationship and even eventual friendship that while some may argue feels condensed and rushed, I think is very intoxicating, badass, and filled with earned moments and dialogue between the two seemingly different yet equal individuals.
The film just does such a great job of making you care for both characters and really emphasizing their journeys and goals, as well as their traits. You buy into them and it makes the film all the more engaging and entertaining. The other character that’s thrown in here who is just such a goated side character is Ah Jong’s best friend, who’s Fung Sei. There’s this running theme between the two characters of honor in their work. Tho they’re assassins, they keep their word and follow their own code of justice and honor.
It’s what keeps the two characters feeling so human and likeable, because for the badasses they are, they are just that at the end of the day: human. The sacrifices all three parties make for each other just gave off these ultimate and earned cinematic broship moments the same kind I felt watching RRR 2 years back. The movie and writing earns these moments and growth between all the different characters, giving them full well rounded arcs, Sei as a friend, Jong as a compassionate killer, and Li as a man ensnared in the law and its idea of justice and how to pursue it.
Another big thing that just rocks about this film is the action sequences. John Woo just absolutely delivers on these gunfights that are super badass and are explosive and cool. The way the cinematography captures some of the shootouts, as well as the way the characters fight their way thru mobs of shooters and goons makes for some expertly shot, very well crafted, super cool, super fun gun-fu. It feels like the 80’s demo version of what Chad Stelheski would eventually accomplish with the John Wick films, but that’s just all the reason more to love this film.
The score was also pretty damn good, really evokes the right sense of tone and ambience when needed. And there’s this one song that’s utilized a few different times that was nice on the ears.
It’s got the story, it’s got the characters, and it’s got the action. The chemical reaction these three generate together is this generational, ultimately influential, absolute iconic action spectacle that I wish we could get more of nowadays. It only took me one watch to decide this is going up on my favorite action films, cause I can tell I’m gonna be watching this one again and again every now and again. I’m gonna go 8.5/10 on it overall!
