Action movie. Prehistory of the first two parts, which tells the story of the formation of Mark - the hero of Chou Yunfat. This time, the director was Cui Hark - the producer of the first two parts, but as a result of creative (or other, we will never know) disagreements, John Woo left this episode, remaining in this part as a nominal producer. There were some fears about the third part - and they were partially justified, and here's my brief opinion - postrelushki against the background of the war. Not without its drawbacks, which I will definitely tell you about, but for now, let me draw your attention to the obvious advantages of this action movie.
So the pros:
1. The story told - let's not touch on expectations now, but go through the essence. The film tells about the adventures of the still green Mark (the hero of the first part) in Saigon (now this city is called Ho Chi Minh City) at the end of the Vietnam War. He comes to Saigon to meet his cousin, getting to know a charming girl on the way, not suspecting that she is far from being as simple as it seems at first glance. The brothers will have to play a little naughty in the city, sort out their feelings (yes, they brought in a classic love triangle) and smash the adversaries under the roar of the advancing Vietnamese People's Army. The story turned out to be far from as boring as I thought, but clearly inferior to the early parts, at least in terms of emotions. And then I don't even know who to blame, the script or the actors. The villain turned out to be interesting, and not a walking cliche, with his own background, motivation, what kind of feelings, but still, this added the point to the picture, which I had previously taken away for unjustified expectations. But if you remove all my claims, and if you forget about the early paintings as an independent work, then it looks good. But it doesn't work out that way, and the point is in the name. I can't do anything about it.
2. Atmosphere - The Cultural Revolution in China, the Civil War in Cambodia, the war in Vietnam, ready to end with the complete victory of the communists - the whole of Southeast Asia is on fire. The atmosphere of a certain doom, expectation, hope is literally eaten under the crust. Saigon, the last stronghold of the South Vietnamese puppet regime, backed by the United States, reigning tension everywhere that awakens aggression, monstrous corruption that corrodes the puppet regime. Here is a great merit of Cui Harka, who knows this period not by hearsay, so you believe in what is happening on the screen. For this I can only praise.
3. Shootouts - they are good, and again realistic, but this time there was clearly not enough blood for me to believe it one hundred percent. And against the background of the final shootout from the second part - it looks faded. But it brings pleasure, no matter what.
So the cons:
1. My expectations - I was expecting a crime thriller with unrealistically steep shootings, where two brothers create their own criminal empire against the backdrop of the ending Vietnam War, but I got something different, with a focus on war drama. Hurricane shootouts did not wait, there is not so much crime in the film, only Chow saved the day. Which confirms my theory that John Woo was only a nominal producer here, and also Victoria Peak, which constantly appears in every John film.
2. Humor - you will be surprised, but I didn't like the jokes here at all. Not even a slight smile was elicited, let alone a real laugh. Again the problem is in the script. It would be better if there was no humor here at all, honestly.
3. Music - or rather one melody, which is very much like another from the cult series of paintings. What is it? Plagiarism or coincidence? Decide for yourself.
A little about the main characters:
1. Mark performed by Chou Yunfat is a young and daring gangster from Hong Kong who came to Saigon on business. It is here that Mark will be baptized by fire and become the tough guy he appeared in the first picture. Chow pleased me again with his acting. Bravo!
2. Moon played by Tony Leung Kang Fai - Mark's cousin living in Saigon, who is trying to save his family and take her to Hong Kong, but he cannot do without difficulties. Behaves like a real brother who always has his back. Tony played this role perfectly!
3. Chow performed by Anita Mui - a mysterious acquaintance of Mark, who turns out to be a real fighter, able to mow down a whole company of soldiers with one left. A strong girl, perfectly wielding weapons, with a delicate and vulnerable soul, in whose life love happened. A strong heroine who remained a woman. Anita played excellently. I have no complaints about her. It is a pity that she is no longer with us.
To summarize under the entire trilogy, then it is a worthy representative of the genre, although the first part is better than the rest, and clearly did not need a continuation. The experience of staging this episode was very important for John Woo. It was thanks to him that he made his masterpieces of the period of "Hong Kong creativity" - "Hired Assassin" and "Hard Boiled".
As a result, we have a good backstory for the adventures of the hero Chou Yunfat with an excellent military atmosphere, a good story, good shootouts, the best villain in the series and great acting work.