This is a solid Heroic Bloodshed drama with some EXCELLENT scenes of stunt work and gun play. The plot doesn't cover anything memorable, however it has a fast pacing so the run-time will go by fairly quickly. A high religious figure visits Singapore with full knowledge of a planned terrorist attack, although he entrusts the local police to protect him if anything awry should go down (which it most certainly does). The movie follows a group of ragtag men who try to save the religious figure's life after it becomes endangered and on-the-line in a local hospital. A terrorist group wishes to have the figure killed, and many waves of enemies confront our group of ragtag heroes in the midst of assassination attempts. There's a multitude of great action present within the movie, and a couple scenes should surprise you in terms of WOW.. If your a fan of over-the-top action movies then this should be a satisfying watch. - 7/10
12 Reviews
For the action fan only.
Ian-10015 March 2000
Has none of the look, style or panache of Hard Boiled, so don't be rushing to the video store counter with glee if you loved the first one. However, if you appreciate the sort of crazy, unbelievable choreography that John Woo made his name with - this is pretty close. It just won't have the quality of plot, characterisation or even, damn me for saying it, script. Funny subtitles, too.
Not Hard Boiled 2
BandSAboutMovies11 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Released in the Philippines as Police Protectors, the UK as Hard Boiled 2 and with an original title that means 12 Hours of Terror, The Last Blood has Interpol officer Lui Tai (Andy Tam) and Big B (Alan Tam), a gangster on vacation get caught up in the Japanese Red Army trying to kill the Daka Lama (Law Shu-kei). It turns out that he has the same blood type as Big B's girlfriend May (May Lo), a type that only three people in all of Hong Kong have. Those three people must be found to save their lives while the terrorist cell led by Kama Kura (Chin Lo) must be defeated.
The JRA kills two of them, but the last one is Fatty (Eric Tsang), who doesn't want to help a gangster or the police. But when his girlfriend and nearly all of his family are murdered by the terror cell, he decides that he needs revenge.
Directed and written by Jing Wong, this has the gunplay and violence that you'd expect from a movie that is trying to live up to Hard Boiled. I guess they both have lots of weapons and a hospital setting, so it makes sense.
The JRA kills two of them, but the last one is Fatty (Eric Tsang), who doesn't want to help a gangster or the police. But when his girlfriend and nearly all of his family are murdered by the terror cell, he decides that he needs revenge.
Directed and written by Jing Wong, this has the gunplay and violence that you'd expect from a movie that is trying to live up to Hard Boiled. I guess they both have lots of weapons and a hospital setting, so it makes sense.
Sequel-cum-remake exploitation flick with a twist
dima-127 September 2000
Like in every HK action franchise you can never know whether movies are actually connected.As I reckon this movie`s only tie to famed `Hard Boiled` is the title given by money-lovin` producers. Anyway,two ideas keep Woo`s movie connected with this feature.First of all,main characters are a detective and the `golden hearted` mobster.Second similarity is that plots and final showdowns of both movies have something to do with hospitals. Each movie contains energetic and rampaging shootouts. While Woo`s original had all main landmarks of his opus (Scorsesian and Melivillian influence),the sequel shows that it was made by eminent HK director Wong Jing.His landmarks are `Looney Tunes` pacing,speeded up action and plotting derived from 1980s Hollywood action fare.The difference is quite obvious. This movie works remarkably well and it doesn`t disgrace the `Hard Boiled` franchise.Of course it works well on its own since Woo`s and Wong Jing`s styles are barely comparable. If you overrule the input of dumb HK comedy `Hard Boiled 2` is highly enjoyable.Wong Jing provides us with enough razzle-dazzle that makes this movie a must not just for HK action afficionados but even for weekend fans of the genre that look for recognizable HK fare.If you like high-calibre gunplay,high bodycounts and Eastern Heroes this feature may scratch your itches. Interesting aspect of the movie is its explicit anti-communist orientation because characters joke a lot with the Red China.
Exceptional comedic 'heroic bloodshed' thriller
Leofwine_draca25 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
HARDBOILED 2: THE LAST BLOOD isn't actually a sequel to the John Woo movie - it came out two years BEFORE that film. However, it is heavily indebted to the director's THE KILLER, and the hospital set-piece climax may actually have influenced the Woo movie in turn. What is a surprise is that THE LAST BLOOD turns out to be a great addition to the 'heroic bloodshed' genre in itself, featuring fast-paced comedy, lots of snappy dialogue and jokes, and some relentless, high-octane action set-pieces.
The villains in the film are simple: a Japanese 'red army' faction, determined to kill a holy man visiting Singapore. The heroes are a mixed bunch, including desperate Triad Andy Lau, whose girlfriend needs a blood transfusion; comic relief Eric Tsang, a blood donor; veteran cop Beardy; plus straight man Alan Tam. The narrative is full of chases, assassination attempts, bloody shoot-outs, and murder, and it never pauses for a second, offering exceptional entertainment value from beginning to end. It might well be Wong Jing's best film...
The villains in the film are simple: a Japanese 'red army' faction, determined to kill a holy man visiting Singapore. The heroes are a mixed bunch, including desperate Triad Andy Lau, whose girlfriend needs a blood transfusion; comic relief Eric Tsang, a blood donor; veteran cop Beardy; plus straight man Alan Tam. The narrative is full of chases, assassination attempts, bloody shoot-outs, and murder, and it never pauses for a second, offering exceptional entertainment value from beginning to end. It might well be Wong Jing's best film...
" My girlfriend said I look like Robert Redford without my glasses".
lost-in-limbo9 April 2020
Crazy, and ludicrous Hong-Kong action with a cruel streak. You know, the kind where a lot of innocent bystanders, and I mean alot. Are held hostage or catch a bullet, or two. Wong Jing's "THE LAST BLOOD" is one relentless onslaught after another, which does contribute to a few outstanding set-pieces consisting of wild and imaginative stunt-work (like the airport shootout, bathroom beatdown, tiny cable car combat and gun toting motorbike cyclists road chase)... although i do find the back-half of the film to lose that on-the-clock momentum and set-pieces.
Anyway there's a bit of melodrama on the side, plenty of goofball humour (especially when Eric Tsang's 'fat boy' gets in on the act), a foreseeable game-changing twist and recklessly over-the-top violence. It sure doesnt hold back, and tonally it's all over the place. Chaos and disruption is the name of the game, and this film delivers the promise when it becomes a race against the clock to track down three people with a rare blood type to save a famous reglious leader after an assassination attmept by terrorists. Andy Lau and Alan Tam start off as a duo, looking and wanting the same thing (blood donar), although for different purposes and this leads them to Tsang. Also featuring Leung Kar-Yan and Natalis Chan.
Anyway there's a bit of melodrama on the side, plenty of goofball humour (especially when Eric Tsang's 'fat boy' gets in on the act), a foreseeable game-changing twist and recklessly over-the-top violence. It sure doesnt hold back, and tonally it's all over the place. Chaos and disruption is the name of the game, and this film delivers the promise when it becomes a race against the clock to track down three people with a rare blood type to save a famous reglious leader after an assassination attmept by terrorists. Andy Lau and Alan Tam start off as a duo, looking and wanting the same thing (blood donar), although for different purposes and this leads them to Tsang. Also featuring Leung Kar-Yan and Natalis Chan.
Good HK-Action that needs to be discovered to know how great it is.
mrphantasm22 March 2005
Watching a Hong-Kong thriller is always a good experience, there's always hope of find a movie that will stick to your memory like did many movies of John Woo or Tsui Hark. The Last Blood is not only a surprising piece of Hong Kong action is also an under seen movie. It is a good time to discover this hidden jewel that could surprise many viewers. Old racks of movie-stores have many unexpected good movies to be found.
This movie has a frenetic but clear editing that put it in the same league of classics of John Woo. But anyway, Woo is the master and Wong Jing would be a talented disciple. Jing managed to make The Last Blood is an amazing piece of entertainment with a budget that is far from the standards of Hollywood, something that must be studied by filmmakers who want to shot but don't have the money of a mega-millionaire producer.
The level of violence and gore is high, this turn outs to be some of the highlights in the film. The plot is just what one expects from this kind of production. The situations hang between the exaggeration and realism. There's authentic drama (or well focused melodrama), some laughs, interesting characters and enough adrenaline to boost the viewer out of his seat. The relationship between both cops and the common guy who becomes target of the terrorist is handled in a magnificent way. There's space for some reflection in the middle of all the action to focus on important moral matters. All this is quintessential in the good exponents of this genre. Also the characters don't try to be sympathetic to the point of been insufferable. Final notes: Jing tian shi er xiao shi (The Last Blood) was released in the early nineties, a crucial period for HK cinema when it was discovered massively by audiences. This audiences were tired of movies of eighties decadents stars, whose reputations were going down with really lame movies that were mere vehicles for the exploitation of their profiles.
This movie has a frenetic but clear editing that put it in the same league of classics of John Woo. But anyway, Woo is the master and Wong Jing would be a talented disciple. Jing managed to make The Last Blood is an amazing piece of entertainment with a budget that is far from the standards of Hollywood, something that must be studied by filmmakers who want to shot but don't have the money of a mega-millionaire producer.
The level of violence and gore is high, this turn outs to be some of the highlights in the film. The plot is just what one expects from this kind of production. The situations hang between the exaggeration and realism. There's authentic drama (or well focused melodrama), some laughs, interesting characters and enough adrenaline to boost the viewer out of his seat. The relationship between both cops and the common guy who becomes target of the terrorist is handled in a magnificent way. There's space for some reflection in the middle of all the action to focus on important moral matters. All this is quintessential in the good exponents of this genre. Also the characters don't try to be sympathetic to the point of been insufferable. Final notes: Jing tian shi er xiao shi (The Last Blood) was released in the early nineties, a crucial period for HK cinema when it was discovered massively by audiences. This audiences were tired of movies of eighties decadents stars, whose reputations were going down with really lame movies that were mere vehicles for the exploitation of their profiles.
Comedy with some decent action in it!
chrichtonsworld30 March 2009
If you are familiar to Wong Jing's work than you know what you can expect. Silly stories with over the top comedy. The action in his movies are always secondary. And that is the way to approach a movie like this otherwise you surely get disappointed. Somehow they gave this movie the subtitle "Hard Boiled 2" even when there is no connection to that superior movie. But when you use a title like that it does raise some expectation concerning the action. And let me make it very clear since the other reviews on this site neglected to give a sufficient description of the action. It is nowhere near the level of "Hard Boiled". How could it be? That is nearly impossible since Woo's Hard Boiled is one of the best action movies ever made. Most of the action scenes in "Last Blood" are pretty decent that consists of gun play and some hand to hand combat. But they are short and not that impressive. There is one chase sequence that showed promise. The bad guys follow the main characters into a crowded subway station on their motorcycles. Now here is a setup for bloodshed and mayhem. Sadly the director preferred a less creative solution and ended the scene to quickly with taking out one bad guy and completely ignoring the remaining ones. And throughout the whole movie Andy Lau is goofing off. There is not one scene where he is serious even when a gun is pointed at him. He used to do to this often in his movies those days. But somehow it bothered me big time in this one. This again is proof that you should approach this movie more as a comedy than an action movie.
The Crazy Cinema of Wong Jing: Last Blood
Captain_Couth3 July 2001
Last Blood (1990) was a funny flick by Wong Jing. The Daka Lama is severely wounded while making a goodwill trip to Singapore. A triad's girlfriend is also wounded when a group of Japanese Assassins try to kill the Lama. The two share a rare blood type and only five people in Singapore have it. But three are dead and one is on holiday. The fate of Asia lies in the body of Fatty who's being chased by two cops, the vacationing triad and a horde of terrorists. The film winds up in a crackerjack finale. Wong Jing throws in everything including the kitchen sink in this low budgeted action film.
One scene to watch for is the man in a wheelchair during the Hospital invasion. It's a real hoot. Film stars Alan Tam, Andy Lau and Eric Tsang who's also the Producer. Wong Jing is a hired gun on the film but he brings his usual stamp on to the screen. Blackie Ko is the Action Director. This is sometimes called Hardboiled 2, but this came out almost two years before that one and is just as entertaining.
Highly recommended.
One scene to watch for is the man in a wheelchair during the Hospital invasion. It's a real hoot. Film stars Alan Tam, Andy Lau and Eric Tsang who's also the Producer. Wong Jing is a hired gun on the film but he brings his usual stamp on to the screen. Blackie Ko is the Action Director. This is sometimes called Hardboiled 2, but this came out almost two years before that one and is just as entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Action aplenty!
David_Niemann23 August 2002
Warning: Spoilers
A terrorist group, called The Red Army, want the Daka Lama dead, and they'll do anything to kill him. As he enters the airport in Singapore he is shot down. Also in Singapore is a man and his girlfriend. During the gun battle she is also hit. They are alive but need operations to live. The only problem, they both have a rare blood type. And they need the blood to have the operations, without the operations they will die. To make matters worse only a very few people have this rare blood type in the area. The Police and the woman's boyfriend go looking for the people with the rare blood, hoping to save the Daka Lama and the woman. But the terrorists know this as well and are planning on killing the people with the rare blood type as a way to kill the Daka Lama. The Police must get at least one of the people to the hospital to save the lives of the Lama and the woman. But with the terrorists hell bent on killing the Daka Lama it will be almost impossible to reach the hospital in time. Can they save the day and the lives of two innocent people or will the terrorists get what they want?
'Jing Tian Shi er Xiao Shi' is such an action packed movie. It was crazy! But I loved every moment of it. I'm glad I watched it alone because I was constantly screaming at the more tight action parts. If you want an action packed movie, this is it! The stunts are awesome and the movie contains a fantastic car chase. It also throws in some comedy. Though some word of caution for non-regular viewers of Hong Kong action movies: it is rather violent. The film holds a few twists, but most of them you can see coming a mile away. Although this isn't a detractor to the film.
I had a great time with this film. The action just kept on coming right up to the crazy finale in a hospital.
8/10
'Jing Tian Shi er Xiao Shi' is such an action packed movie. It was crazy! But I loved every moment of it. I'm glad I watched it alone because I was constantly screaming at the more tight action parts. If you want an action packed movie, this is it! The stunts are awesome and the movie contains a fantastic car chase. It also throws in some comedy. Though some word of caution for non-regular viewers of Hong Kong action movies: it is rather violent. The film holds a few twists, but most of them you can see coming a mile away. Although this isn't a detractor to the film.
I had a great time with this film. The action just kept on coming right up to the crazy finale in a hospital.
8/10
No, it's not a sequel, it's great !
Phroggy26 April 1999
This one is no sequel, since it was shot a year before John Woo's breath-taking "tour de force", it just ends in an hospital ; but believe your Phaithful Phrog, it's one of Hong Kong's best, with all the incredible action and beautiful ideas you expect from them - but one or two notches better. The plot's idea - trying to fond a blood donor against a bunch of terrorists - is simple but well-heeded and gives out some brains as well. This ain't got the brains of a Tsui Hark movies or the guts of John Woo, but comes very, very close.
Hard Boiled ... again, but before
kosmasp1 May 2024
No pun intended - this has a few titles. One of them (in the UK) is Hard Boiled 2 (in Germany apparently it was Hard Boiled 3!) ... even though it originally was released before the original Hard Boiled movie by John Woo. Now someone asked the distributor in the UK why they would do something like that ... well apart from this being an action movie and having a climax at a hospital ... they told him that they asked John Woo if it would be ok to use the title ... and he gave them his blessings.
Not sure if that actually is true (I believe the guy who told the story, that he asked and got the answer) ... I mean if they told the truth. Whatever the case, the movie is filled with action and comedy ... and as they say: you couldn't do a movie like this nowadays in China (Hong Kong) ... the Daka Lama is clearly the Dalai Lama ... blasphemous and apparently not something the government would let anyone get away with.
Andy Lau is always a treat - the supporting cast is also really good. I still prefer the original and only Hard Boiled ... but this is a great action movie too (stunt and otherwise)
Not sure if that actually is true (I believe the guy who told the story, that he asked and got the answer) ... I mean if they told the truth. Whatever the case, the movie is filled with action and comedy ... and as they say: you couldn't do a movie like this nowadays in China (Hong Kong) ... the Daka Lama is clearly the Dalai Lama ... blasphemous and apparently not something the government would let anyone get away with.
Andy Lau is always a treat - the supporting cast is also really good. I still prefer the original and only Hard Boiled ... but this is a great action movie too (stunt and otherwise)
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