As with the other Johnnie To films I have seen, I am left a bit torn. One part of me likes the visuals and story, but the other cannot deny that there's something missing. I have noticed a lot of To's films can be quite confusing at times. It's a mix of not enough character back-story, too many characters sometimes, and some iffy directing and editing.
The storyline is quite simple in a way, and honestly a little under developed. We get launched straight into the story with a car crash, and all of the characters don't really get much development besides what is happening to them in the present moment. This leaves you a little confused on what every characters intentions are, ESPECIALLY Timmy, played by Joseph Koo. We aren't sure whether he is helping the cops, or trying to play them. Now obviously this is the point, especially towards the end, but it's even worse because we barely know his character. I would have liked to of seen a little of him before these events occur to at least get an idea of what he might be trying to do. This problem leads to an ending that is pretty unclear until it's pretty much all said and done with.
Probably the best sequence is the final shootout, which could be compared to the shootout in "Heat", except it's not quite as tightly made. This sequence really shows of To's weaknesses in his films. Characters are all over the place, and because there are so many and we don't get to know them, we sometimes can easily mistake the side police characters for the side criminal characters. It can become quite confusing and gets in the way. We also bounce back and forth between different events in the shootout, making it confusing. Also, the choreography in regard to the shootout is weak. There's a lot of standing out in the open which police wouldn't do, and people get shot but just keep going as if they got hit by a paintball. We don't know if someone is shot and killed or just shot and injured, completely taking away from any emotional impact it could have.
I will give the ending credit, because how it all turned out kind of surprised me. I didn't expect it to go down that way. The final scene may be a little anti climatic, but I guess they couldn't end it any other way.
Overall I was let down. I heard good things about this, and it just kinda gave me a "meh" experience. Slow at times and some weak direction certainly brought the film down a lot. I know Johnnie To has a lot of fans, but I honestly don't think he's as good as they say. Clarity is what his films lack.
The storyline is quite simple in a way, and honestly a little under developed. We get launched straight into the story with a car crash, and all of the characters don't really get much development besides what is happening to them in the present moment. This leaves you a little confused on what every characters intentions are, ESPECIALLY Timmy, played by Joseph Koo. We aren't sure whether he is helping the cops, or trying to play them. Now obviously this is the point, especially towards the end, but it's even worse because we barely know his character. I would have liked to of seen a little of him before these events occur to at least get an idea of what he might be trying to do. This problem leads to an ending that is pretty unclear until it's pretty much all said and done with.
Probably the best sequence is the final shootout, which could be compared to the shootout in "Heat", except it's not quite as tightly made. This sequence really shows of To's weaknesses in his films. Characters are all over the place, and because there are so many and we don't get to know them, we sometimes can easily mistake the side police characters for the side criminal characters. It can become quite confusing and gets in the way. We also bounce back and forth between different events in the shootout, making it confusing. Also, the choreography in regard to the shootout is weak. There's a lot of standing out in the open which police wouldn't do, and people get shot but just keep going as if they got hit by a paintball. We don't know if someone is shot and killed or just shot and injured, completely taking away from any emotional impact it could have.
I will give the ending credit, because how it all turned out kind of surprised me. I didn't expect it to go down that way. The final scene may be a little anti climatic, but I guess they couldn't end it any other way.
Overall I was let down. I heard good things about this, and it just kinda gave me a "meh" experience. Slow at times and some weak direction certainly brought the film down a lot. I know Johnnie To has a lot of fans, but I honestly don't think he's as good as they say. Clarity is what his films lack.