This great Ringo Lam action vehicle, which features Andy Lau in a strong, dark role, is unlike anything Lam has done before. It has an organic, nihilistic quality to it, and is an amazingly accomplished technical piece of film-making. The cinematography, by Arthur Wong ("Eastern Condors") and Ardy Lam, is breathtaking. The score, by Teddy Robin Kwan, is hypnotic, and achieves a resonance most scores can only dream of. Though it begins as a simple tale of revenge, it takes unexpected detours which rapidly broaden its scope. There are many accomplished scenes of suspense and action that are jaw-droppingly brutal, yet curiously beautiful. The film's Cambodian opening has a dark, dream-like quality to it that is later echoed when Lau's character makes his first attempt on the life of the man who killed his parents. The star's first meeting with Rosamund Kwan is a keeper, as is a bloody sequence in which assassins ambush Lam's rural hideout. Lam pays equal attention to the performances and staging of the kinetic set pieces. His use of dutch tilts, snatches of slow motion and black and white flashbacks mesh and blend to form a sizzling piece of bloody entertainment. I loved it.
Review of The Adventurers
