Motorway (2012) User Reviews

Quite good...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 1 January 2016]

I am not particularly interested in cars of any type, and with the over exaggerated things in "The Fast and the Furious" movies, then it was nice to see "Motorway". It is a lot more realistic than many other car movies, and best of all, it has proper actors in it who actually possess an ounce of acting talent.

The story is about Cheung (played by Shawn Yue) and Lo (played by Anthony Wong) who work in a specialized department of the Hong Kong traffic police department. When they learn of a planned heist, all bets are off, and their driving skills are put to extreme limits.

Story-wise then "Motorway" was alright, although the story did lack a more comprehensive depth. But it was easy to follow, straight forward and right to the point.

The movie was full of car chases, and does put "The Fast and the Furious" to shame. It was elegantly filmed and it was as if the audience was right there in midst of the gasoline-injected action.

But the acting in the movie was really outstanding. And what made me buy this movie, aside from my love for Asian cinema, was that Hong Kong heavyweighter actor Anthony Wong was in it. And he performed very well, and together with Shawn Yue, they managed to make an otherwise flaccid movie genre interesting to watch.

If you like Asian cinema, and if you like cars, of course, then you should most definitely sit down to watch "Motorway".

HK Neo Reviews: Motorway 車手 (2012) – Hong Kong

[webmaster-3017 · 7/10 · 1 July 2012]

Review by Neo (Andrew Chan) FCCA

"Motorway" is well directed, produced and possesses some exhilarating car stunts, but leading star Shawn Yue fails to make his character interesting to follow My personal interest in director Soi Cheang's works dates back to my 2004′s "Love Battlefield" review. Quoting myself in the 2004: "Director Soi is a brilliant director that knows how to 'cheat' the audience but not in a bad way, but rather a terrific way." Back then, Soi was only starting out in his career and that movie took me by the storm and by the end of the film, I was overwhelmed by how much I cared and emoted with the characters and the situation. Since then, Soi continued to venture further into this path and made some wonderfully dark and character driven thrillers like "Dog Bite Dog", "Home Sweet Home" and his first encounter with Shawn Yue in "Shamo", before Soi began his association with Johnnie To's Milkway Films beginning with 2009′s "Accident". In many ways, "Accident" is Soi's first half-hearted crack at commercial cinema before going full on commercial for the first time in his latest corroboration with To in "Motorway". It is not necessary a bad thing, as there is still a certain degree of emotional core in his work, but it lacks the character of his earlier films. Despite, "Motorway" comes off engaging and entertaining, but with a team of Soi and To, one cannot stop the flow of greater expectations and in turn, "Motorway" comes off as one of the pair lesser works in comparison.

Having met Shawn Yue earlier this year at the "Love in the Buff" world premiere, you can tell that he is a man full of confidence and is now at a stage and age where he is ready to really carry the film and burden the shoulders of the male leading roles. Therefore, it is all the more disappointing to see him fail to add anything to his character and to be totally honest, he is fast becoming more wooden and stoic than ten years ago. In the Hospital scene, which was supposed to be film's most dramatic moment, Yue failed the audience by covering his faces when he is weeping in tears. For god's sake, it is his only moment in the film where he can display genuine emotions and set up a finale where the audience can actually care about. Instead, we are left with the audience starring at how cool the car drifting in tight angles is rather than caring about the person driving the car. If Yue continues to act like this, he is simply wasting his time and opportunities to become a truly long term box office draw card or acting award nominations. However for the sake of the future of Hong Kong cinema, I sincerely wish to be proved otherwise.

On the other hand, Anthony Wong is simply amazing in his role as the retiring cop who has done it all before. Wong is the reason why the film possesses an emotional core and in many ways it is him, not Yue that carries the burden of engaging the audience along for the ride. He is the perfect example of an actor in a car chasing scene, where the audience cares more about his well-being and safety rather than how fast the car is going or how cool the next drift will be. In many ways, the film relies so much on Wong, that the film essentially ended when his involvement with the film departed as well (trying my best to avoid spoilers).

Adding to the mix is a strong supporting cast of Johnnie To's regulars. Michelle Yip stands out in a miniature role as Wong's supporting wife. Yip's teary eyes and expressive emotional face in the hospital scene is a perfect example of how Yue should have approached the situation. Another actor that Yue should take a page out of is long time supporting actor Gordon Lam as their police boss. Lam despite being stoic in the role is able to portray a level of depth in his character and the way he handled himself at the hospital with unspoken words and his red watery eyes tells a thousand words. In many ways, Lam is probably due for some recognition and his hard work throughout the last decade has not been gone unnoticed. Others like Barbie Hsu are wasted in a paper-thin doctor role.

All in all, "Motorway" is an entertaining and fun movie ride that will most likely satisfy anyone who enjoyed "Initial D" or to a lesser extent the Cannes Film Festival's favourite – "Drive". However, as a complete cinematic experience, the film lacks character, script and emotional depth. It is impossible not to expect more from talented director Soi Cheang, producer Johnnie To and the Milkway Team. Still, "Motorway" works because of its slick production values, quality direction, sharply edited, comprising of some well-choreographed car stunts and an excellent acting turn by Anthony Wong. It may not win any awards, but for the targeted audience, it is probably good enough (Neo 2012)

Neo rates it 7.75/10

It's motorway or the highway

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 20 November 2012]

Motorway being the international title of the movie! But while the money shots (obviously I'm talking about the scenes involving cars, but you did know that already) are really good and exciting, especially if you are really into cars, the story and the acting is not up to par. Anthony Wong is a regular and good actor in not only crime movies, but even he can't save this movie from mediocrity.

You have to ask yourself, if it worth your time watching the whole movie or just enjoying the trailer, that must have at least some, if not all of the best scenes in it. There is no real depth to the whole thing, which might be something you'll be missing, especially if you are fond of Hong Kong action/thriller movies.

Good movie.

[Sayasam · 6/10 · 12 January 2014]

Nothing relevant, but it's still a pretty good movie.

I expected it to be like Fast and Furious, but that's not exactly that.

It's not about winning a race or being the fastest.

It's about catching road criminals and mastering a special driving technique.

About a car each minute gets blasted and 1000 liters of gasoline are burnt...

They sure did not have ecology in mind.

But anyway, if you like police stories, Hong Kong and fast cars...You will enjoy it.

Good...

[RosanaBotafogo · 7/10 · 17 January 2021]

I'm not a fan of the "Fast and Furious" style, but this honconguês conquered me, engaging, good chases, but the touch is the relationship between the policeman of the past and the future in opposition, the veteran and novice, one being a mirror of the other, lovely, it sent me deeply to the department in which I work and became personal and special, a good drama, tragic, full of action and good accelerations...

Not bad at all !

[getawayinstockholm · 7/10 · 1 January 2021]

Having watched many Asian and 'Hollywood' movies about cars / street racing etc..I found this movie quite entertaining and better than many Asian 'car' movies I seen, so basically about a cop (or bunch of them) hot on a trail of a couple of robber who purposely got himself arrested to free his mate that was already captured by police - involving car chases and stunts/techniques and a planned escape routes by using very very narrow roads and the robbers proceed to do a heist / being double crossed by a rival gang etc...The police not being happy from the events of what happened, of course masters some driving techniques and skills, maybe he's been watching too much Tokyo Drift ! Title 'Motorway' itself yeah not very original and a few obvious blunders in that movie like the finale - the car chase Audi A4 (driven by the cop) and the Nissan Skyline (driven by the robber) by the time the chased had stopped the 2 wrecked cars were a Mazda 323 sedan and a Toyota Corolla Levin !!!

"I'm drifting my way, I'm drifting my way to something better"

[c0nfuzi · 6/10 · 27 May 2013]

the only reason i watched this movie it is because it was produced by johnny to. this is where you see the difference between produced and directed. the movie's photography was not bad but lack of constancy. the story is a non story which is kind of okay if you compare to most car movies, in exception of Drive. even if the movie is a bit better than the average car movie, that one was one car movie too many. the rookie and veteran relationship is kind of being a bit overexploited already, plus the romantic relationship if we can call it one. didn't feel it at all. not sure if it's because of the bad acting or back story development or bad character development. on the plus side, Anthony Wong was okay, but couldn't save the titanic. some other actors were better in other movies. spoiler alert: they could have just blocked all the exits of the building instead of dancing around, like what police usually do. the girl doctor who plays pool like a hustler, COME ON!

Well it was ''car chasey''.

[markwalsh-61707 · 5/10 · 29 December 2022]

OK first up, a person here in 2017 wrote; ''There's basically a couple of police or whatever they are called in the poor Asian country''. Ha ! A poor Asian country ? Hong Kong, one of the richest places on this planet, Muppet.

Moving on. Well I'm a car freak, yes the F n F thing got completely out of hand. The French movies, ''Taxi'' have lots of realistic and entertaining car scenes. This one......hmmmmmm I mean really, an old 2.3 Audi up against some decent JDM cars, yeah sorry that's just not cutting it I'm afraid. And it all got quite bit same same sadly.

Oh and as soon as the older cop's retirement was mentioned.....really?

Anyway, it is entertaining enough I suppose, but certainly not mind blowing. Brum Brum.

Bizarre, that one

[inc-10 · 6/10 · 24 October 2012]

Watching this, I didn't know what to expect.

We have a rookie hothead cop who seems to be still reading "being a traffic cop for dummies" at work and transforms into generic main character from "The Fast and the Furious" on off-hours. Then we have old cop who's torn between nearby retirement and need for his high skills from "old times". This causes some drama, and I'm unsure if it enriched or ruined the experience.

Generally, it's pretty much like similar Hollywood movies (like one I mentioned above), but very, very dark. It reminds me "Crash" quite a lot. Slow music, dark city in neon lights, and despite quick cuts of insane horsepower - packed into plastic and chromed steel, under overpriced car hood, there's no hip-hop anthems playing or tanned girls anywhere to be seen. Neither is any dumb one- liners.

I liked that movie and yet hated it. I think it showed how weak Fast and Furious really would be as a movie if you removed MTV-styled clips and flashy people. As a cop drama it probably failed, because I really didn't believe that cops work like in this movie, leaving wounded behind, not reporting in, failing to catch a cop killer in week and never bringing out big guns, but send a rookie after notorious criminal instead.

Still, it was entertaining, and good break from formulaic stew that Hollywood constantly feeds us. Want to see something different, see this.

Good time waster

[bobrob-65478 · 3/10 · 13 April 2017]

I gave this film this score because its in no way terrible, but compared to other films in the category its fairly poor quality. But the over all action is decent.

There's basically a couple of police or whatever they are called in the poor Asian country that is still rich enough to have cars. And basically as far as I could piece together they have not managed to figure out if they use CCTV they can electronically fine people if they do something wrong. So basically most of the movie is these kinda weird cops chasing down anyone that they see fit which I am guessing are mostly criminals.

There's some dialogue here and there and one scene with them trying to go slow but have high RPM in the car where the guy touches another guys arm kinda gay like, but anyway moving on.

Basically think Fast and Furious - without the awful soundtrack and characters trying extremely hard to remain relevant for more than one movie. In fact go a step further and Imagine 'Fast but not so furious'.

If you want a movie you don't have to pay too much attention to but the payoff for that tiny amount of attention is good this is the one.

A Nutshell Review: Motorway

[DICK STEEL · 10/10 · 17 July 2012]

For the consummate speed car racer, what better way to drive at high velocity and challenging other speedsters while at it, than to be sanctioned for flooring the gas pedal and not get a speeding ticket at the end. I suppose it's a dream calling if one gets to go over to the side of the law as a traffic cop, put in a special unit given souped up, nondescript and unmarked cars, in efforts to take on other speeding road users by surprise. I know I would sign up immediately.

Shawn Yue goes back to being a racer from his Initial D days, playing Chan Cheung, an impetuous rookie in the traffic police's "Invisible Squad" team. His ride is an Audi A4, going after other souped up cars and their owners careening down the roads of Hong Kong. He's like a bulldog, always determined to get his mark even if they drive more powerful cars, and in his off hours, put in more time to spruce up his own private ride, to go after those that got away in what would be a slight vigilantism effort.

But racer in the night and cop in the day Chan does have his flaws and meets his match in driver Jiang Xin (Guo Xiaodong), who can be described as being in a similar mold to the driver in Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive, being the crime partner of Huang Zhong (Sam Lee), but having no interest in the latter's schemes other than to be the designated driver to get them out of tight situations. He has a penchant to rev things up into a smokescreen, and then maneuvering through what would be an extreme drift technique to rotate the car while almost stationery. A hard trick to master, that gets every pursuing car into a frenzy, coupled with having no qualms at bumper-car-ing any vehicle to shake them off as well.

The highlight of the film is naturally the car chases, which varies from busy narrow streets to the winding routes up and down a mountain trail. They are all beautifully shot and the chases will keep you on the edge of your seat, with deft-defying moves that you'd never thought possible to be executed with a moving vehicle, from slight nudges to full on battles using the car as a weapon of choice. Your adrenaline will be kept pumping each time the stunts shift into high gear, keeping the shots tight and often putting you in the driver's, or co-driver's seat for that first person perspective.

And it's not all loud crashes that pepper the soundscape, but with wonderful music by Alex Gopher and Xavier Jamaux providing rather soothing car tunes to accompany quieter moments, before going for the more punchy, aggressive notes when the narrative gets on its mark to roll in another major action sequence. What made this Soi Cheang film engaging besides the action, are the characters put into the fray. A Milkyway co-production, we get the usual suspects in Lam Kar Tung and Josie Ho playing police head honchos who are almost always a few steps behind the main antagonist, with this, pardon the pun, being clearly a Shawn Yue vehicle, and the evergreen Anthony Wong being Yue's partner in the police force. Barbie Hsu becomes the blip on the radar though with a needless role that's decorative at best, to keep Motorway from being too testosterone laden.

It may be laughable, but the way the story by Joey O'Bryan and Szeto Kam-Yuen had conjured may be a little bit reverent to the Star Wars saga, with the final arc being quite reminiscent of a would be rebel receiving very brief, though effective, training from a more experienced hire, and finally showing his weight in gold. This is Hong Kong's answer to the sleek and cool Drive, and the result is something just as sexy in the crime genre, with brooding hero, and plenty of horsepower hidden under its hood. Highly recommended!

Adrenaline-pumping car chases delivered with producer Johnnie To's signature understated cool- 'Motorway' is a classy action thriller that cruises with lean mean precision

[moviexclusive · 8/10 · 3 July 2012]

The classic tale of a veteran cop teaching a young rookie the ropes of the job gets a stylish and at times exhilarating twist in Soi Cheang's long-delayed 'Motorway', a movie that aims for 'Fast and Furious' thrills delivered in the understated cool of 'Drive'. It is an intriguing combination to say the least, set against the distinctive backdrop of Hong Kong with its skyscrapers, neon lights and winding Peak roads and cast with two of the best actors from the territory- Anthony Wong and Shawn Yue.

Yue plays the twenty-something brash and hot-headed rookie Chan Cheung, part of an unconventional group of police officers known as the 'Invisible Squad'. Lo Fung (Wong) is his partner, laidback, nonchalant and waiting for his retirement. Their mission? To masquerade as ordinary drivers in their police-issued Audis and go after those caught speeding on the roads and highways. An early run-in with a cocky driver who gives them the slip shows their differing attitudes towards their job- and Cheung's disdain towards Fung.

Their dynamic quickly changes when a daring breakout by serial criminal Jiang Xin (Guo Xiaodong)- whom Cheung had taken into custody- of his partner in crime, Huang Zhong (Li Haitao) at the police station leaves the impulsive Cheung biting the dust and almost losing his life. Not only is Fung responsible for saving Cheung's life, but it comes to light that Fung had once pursued Jiang Xin into the same cul-de-sac and managed to manoeuvre his way out of that very tight corner.

Though Cheung is too proud to ask Fung to coach him, the latter eventually relents after he sees in Cheung a younger version of his own self. The trick is a perfect combination of acceleration, control, steering and patience- each one of these elements useful in their own right when both Cheung and Fung are drafted into a task force formed to apprehend the two fugitives before they strike again. The plotting is that straightforward, but then again, Cheang knows that the story is meant as a device to string together the many and varied car chase sequences beautifully designed by Chin Kar Lok.

And indeed, each one of them is gripping to say the least, eschewing the usual theatrics that Hollywood is too fond of for genuine detail, precision and most of all realism. Flawlessly executed is the film's first major setpiece, the cat-and-mouse chase between Jiang and Cheung that gets the latter into the tight spot in the first place- and Kar Lok never lets the baton drop as the action shifts up onto the narrow winding roads leading up and down the Peak and finally to the iconic roads around the Sheung Wan and Central areas.

It's an exhilarating ride once the gears start pumping, with both Kar Lok and Cheang consummate drivers in keeping the tension and excitement impeccably calibrated to keep their audience on the edge of their seats. Their dedication to ensure that every one of the car chases feel authentic is truly admirable, with Cheang and his cinematographers Yuen Man Fung and Kenny Tse shooting most of the action guerrilla style without the proper permits that they probably would not have gotten.

Given the adrenaline rush it delivers, it's easy to overlook the performances of Wong and Yue. Wong's role as the reluctant mentor is archetypal, but he brings class, charisma and coolness to the role that few actors in Hong Kong can. Next to Wong, Yue is at his assured best playing the impetuous newbie who progresses from naivety to maturity. There is a low-key chemistry that Wong and Yue share, and their scenes together ooze machismo like the best Milkyway Image genre productions do.

It should come as no surprise then that 'Motorway' indeed comes from that Hong Kong factory of cool- produced by Johnnie To and featuring a whole list of To regulars from supporting actors Josie Ho and Lam Kar Tung, to composers Xavier Jamaux and Alex Gopher, and last but not least to editor David Richardson. This is easily Soi Cheang's classiest work to date, the director better known for gritty stuff like 'Dog Bite Dog' and 'Shamo' maturing into one of style and finesse under the tutelage of To.

'Motorway' may seem like Hong Kong's answer to Hollywood car-chase thrillers, but its ability to deliver adrenaline-pumping thrills with its own signature of cool is what sets it apart and makes it one of our favourite movies of the year.

• www.moviexclusive.com

Classic Car Flick, Part 2

[sydneyswesternsuburbs · 10/10 · 2 January 2017]

Director Pou-Soi Cheang who has also created other classic flicks, Dog Bite Dog 2006 and Kill Zone 2 2015 has created another gem in Motorway.

Starring Anthony Chau-Sang Wong who has also been in other classic flicks, Exiled 2006, The Mission 1999, Hard Boiled 1992, Full Contact 1992, Ebola Syndrome 1996, Big Bullet 1996 and Beast Cops 1998.

Also starring Shawn Yue.

Also starring Xiaodong Guo.

I enjoyed the action.

If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic car flicks, Curve 2015, Driven 2001, The Fate of the Furious 2017, Wheelman 2017, Cop Car 2015, Night Fare 2015, 11:14 2005, Tailgate 2019 and The Hitcher 2007.

MOTORWAY : Familiar Quality Chase and Drive Theme

[official-filmbioskop · 8/10 · 1 July 2012]

Producer Johnny To and director Soi Cheang have been developing this project since 2009. Through some rewrites, re-shoots and re-edits, Motorway safely released into theaters in June 2012. The script, written by Joey O'Bryan and Kam-Yuen Szeto doesn't offer new things rather than similar plot from The Fast And The Furious, Gone In 60 Second (2000) or Hongkong production itself, Initial D (2005). Well, it won't bother me to watch the movies though.

Jiang is a getaway driver who agreed to help a dangerous criminal escape from jail as his one last assignment. They both plan to rob an expensive diamond within Wui Tai Commercial Building. Veteran cop who's going to retire soon, Lo must train young ambitious traffic cop, Cheung in such short time to catch Jiang especially defeat his mastery driving skills.

Director Cheang have trying to fasten the tempo. Feel bored actually came by some drama that involved Lo's background. Fortunately, these popular names did their job very well despite most of them had limited screen presences. Key characters like Anthony Wong, Shawn Yue and Guo Xiaodong have shone with their own roles. Famous Barbie Hsu gave another memorable minimum time as Cheung's possible love interest.

Don't expect some fancy chasing scenes alongside with exclusive cars being crashed like Hollywood typical. Motorway offers those in smaller scale, judging by the intriguing conflicts between charismatic bad guy and sympathetic good guys into simple yet effective dialog exchanges. Cinematographer Yuen Man Fung and Kenny Tse had done some guerrilla-style, shot without permits inside buildings or across streets and highways in night mode.

Minimum lighting from the natural lights towards the end of the movie quite distracting to see what's going on. Still forgiven though. Overall, Motorway is still impressive to watch despite those familiar ideas and conventional styles. Our hero must get through confidence, deflicted, rise by the great advices before win over his target. Therefore, only smart filmmaking skills make it slightly different this time!