The Blood Rules (2000) User Reviews

Bullet ballet of a different caliber

[ckormos1 · 7/10 · 20 September 2017]

The formulaic "bullet ballet" genre made in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s can wear out the viewer quite quickly, yet so many of them were made. This one does not follow the formula and I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Spoilers of course, to play by the rules, but this movie is almost 20 years old.

The formula is first broken by making the bad guys the lead characters and sympathetic to the viewer. The good guys would be the cops but the movie would play almost as well without any cops at all. Everyone starts killing each other so that turns the movie into a mystery. The mystery is "Who will be alive (if anyone) in the final scene?"

My money would not have been on Lam Suet. Here's my applause to this unsung actor. He has a face you will never forget but not in a good way. Despite the lack of good looks, the flabby body and total lack of any martial arts skills, this actor played in over 200 movies most of the action genre. He is usually killed off in the first fifteen minutes. In this movie – there's your spoiler along with a serving of fermented stinky tofu.

I rate it 7.0 and much more favorably than any of the other reviewers here.

Good but unremarkable

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 28 August 2008]

Chinese action revenge drama has a group of crooks who steal from other crooks set up and shot up. Hunted by the cops and other crooks they set out to get revenge for the friends who were killed.

Good but unremarkable film is the Chinese Crime equivalent to those movies you stumble upon on late night cable that hold your attention for their running time but disappear when they are over. You enjoy it while its on, but its not something you need to see it again. I liked it but I don't think I'll see it again. In that spirit you'll enjoy it if you run across it, but its not something you need search out.

6.5 out of 10

Ultra violent heist movie...

[dwpollar · 4/10 · 7 September 2002]

1st watched 9/7/2002 - 4 out of 10 (Dir-Marco Mak): Ultra violent heist movie with heist gang doing jobs for a mafia-like leader. Lots of similarities to the Godfather-type of family doing dirty deeds for the big guy so he can make money. This movie is an example of a style over substance movie that does a lot of things visually, but the story doesn't lead us down too many directions and doesn't make us interested enough. Very similar to many of the recent action movies that the US has put out that carry the same `action' over `dialogue' mentality. This one didn't keep me on-the-edge of my seat enough to be considered a good action movie.