The Stool Pigeon (2010) User Reviews

Looks Like Dante Lam's Best Work So Far

[changmoh · 8/10 · 23 August 2010]

THIS Dante Lam-Jack Ng collaboration smacks of the 2002 hit "Infernal Affairs". After watching it, I get the feeling that some Hollywood studio would be buying the rights for a remake, just like it had been done with "The Departed", Martin Scorsese's 2006 remake of "Infernal Affairs".

After "Beast Stalker" (2008), "Sniper" (2009) and "Fire of Conscience", "Stool Pigeon" looks set to cap Lam's career as film-maker. It grips its viewers from start to end - and never lets go! Police Inspector Don Lee (Nick Cheung) relies very much on his 'stool pigeons' to provide information for his drugs and criminal cases. However, an act of betrayal involving his last informant (played by Liu Kai Chi) leaves him wrecked with guilt. Don resolves to be more careful with his next 'stoolie', an ex-convict nicknamed Ghost (Nicholas Tse), whom Don plans to plant as getaway driver for a gold heist gang led by Barbarian (Lu Yi). Ghost, a street-racer who is determined to save his sister from loan sharks, looks like the man for the job. Problem is can they trust each other enough to see the job through? Movies about snitches, moles and informers are nothing new. However, Lam gives the genre a new dimension by delving deeper into the intricate relationship between police handler and informant. One sequence has Don telling his rookie officers to be friendly with their informers to win their trust, but not to be too close or they would lose their objectivity. This, of course, is easier said than done when lives and limbs are at stake.

Lam also takes great care with character development. The backgrounds of Don Lee and Ghost are nicely fleshed out (with even a twist or two) - and there is an emotional connection between Ghost and Barbarian's girlfriend Dee (Kwai Lun-Mei). This romantic touch not only lends narrative power and depth to the movie but also sets up the groundwork for the explosive and breath-taking ending.

Of course, for any movie to be compelling, it has to have a great cast. Nick Cheung has won Best Actor awards for his role in Beast Stalker and now it looks like Tse's turn. Nicholas gives Ghost such a powerful portrayal that it reminds me of a young Robert De Niro. His character is so full of anger and angst that it threatens to explode at any time. Cheung, as expected, has the audience rooting for him all the time, while Kwai steals the show every time she appears as the scheming gang moll.

There are some awkward and over-the-top scenes here and there but they do not mar the overall flow of the movie. - By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

One of Dante Lam's best, this tightly-plotted thriller boasts excellent character-driven drama and brilliant acting from Nick Cheung and Nicholas Tse

[moviexclusive · 8/10 · 21 August 2010]

Dante Lam has found something of a creative muse in writer Jack Ng of late, and their latest "The Stool Pigeon" marks their fourth straight collaboration together. It is also crafted out of the same mould as their earlier "Beast Stalker", "Sniper" and "Fire of Conscience", and audiences who have enjoyed the morally ambiguous characters and their dilemmas in these male-driven films will certainly enjoy this latest.

Reuniting the duo of Nick Cheung and Nicolas Tse from "Beast Stalker", Lam reverses the good guy-bad guy roles played by Cheung and Tse earlier. In this film, Cheung is on the right side of the law- he plays Detective Don Lee, a cop with his conscience wracked by guilt from the fate of his last stool pigeon (or slang for 'informant'). Jabber (played by Lam regular Liu Kai-Chi) was almost slashed to death after his cover was blown, and Don counts himself responsible for making the executive decision that blew Jabber's cover.

Tse is the ex-convict Ghost, whom Don seeks out to be his new informant after police receive word that a wanted robber Barbarian (Lu Yi) is back in town for another heist. Ghost needs money to pay off his father's debt to a loanshark, and reluctantly agrees despite being fully aware of the risks. For a good first hour, Lam meticulously sketches out the relationship between Don and Ghost- opposites in the eye of the law, but forced by circumstance to befriend and even trust each other.

A scene where Don teaches his fellow officers how to manage their informants illustrates this conflict beautifully- he tells them they have to win the trust of their stool pigeons so they can get as much intel as possible, but not to get too friendly at the same time for they may have to make difficult decisions in the line of duty. It is an unenviable position that Don himself knows personally, and many of the film's most poignant scenes come from Don's regular visits to Jabber who has since become a vagabond.

Besides delineating the complex relationship between police and informant, Lam also takes care to develop his characters. Don's frequent visits to a dance studio hint of a personal tragedy that is only revealed later; and Ghost's feelings for Barbarian's girlfriend, Dee (Kwai Lun-mei), only make it more difficult for him to extricate himself later on. The characters in Lam's films have always been flawed in one way or another, but the attention that Lam pays this time round to his two central characters- Don and Ghost- ranks among one of his best.

Amply deserving of praise too are Cheung and Tse. Having won Best Actor at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards for his role in "Beast Stalker", Cheung turns in a wonderfully subtle performance here that conveys his character's anguish both in his line of work and his personal life. Because Cheung's acting is more restrained here, Tse gets the chance to be in the spotlight- and he more than delivers in a nuanced portrayal that fleshes out Ghost's struggles tiptoeing on the fine line of the law.

Lam brings the intricately and impeccably plotted first half to a head in the next hour of the film, and audiences familiar with Lam's films may naturally be expecting big-scale action sequences like those in "Sniper"or even "Fire of Conscience". But perhaps surprisingly, he doesn't give his audience the kind of visceral gratification this time round, and some may find his unusual restraint a little frustrating.

Not to say that he has lost his flair- an exciting foot chase down the tight cramped aisles of Hong Kong's street markets culminating in a midday car chase will set to rest any such doubts- nor that this isn't a taut thriller. It is both, but Lam often ratchets up the tension before an impending action scene and then defuses it without his usual signature guns-and-bullets extravanganza.

It is still no reason why you should miss this thriller. While it doesn't feature as much by way of action as one would expect from a usual Dante Lam film, its strong character-driven drama still packs a solid punch. At a time when the Hong Kong film industry seems inundated by big-budget China co-productions, Dante has stuck to his guns to deliver a gritty true-blue Hong Kong cop thriller set entirely in the iconic streets of Kowloon. In a year of lean offerings from Hong Kong, this will probably go down as one of the year's best.

HK Neo Reviews: The Stool Pigeon

[webmaster-3017 · 7/10 · 14 March 2011]

This is more like Beast Stalker… Beast Stalker was a great film, filled with tension, fine acting and incredible tension. Similarly, the latest venture from Dante Lam in Stool Pigeon is a lot like the aforementioned film. The good news is the tension is there, the acting is good and the film is well directed. The bad news is that Stool Pigeon does not reach the heights of Beast Stalker. Nick Cheung reverses role with Nicholas Tse this time around. Cheung is the cop and Nicholas Tse is the stool pigeon. Cheung is now an established actor and earns his paycheck here with a gritty and emotionally complex character. Tse on the other hand is excellent and almost carries the film on his shoulders. The best thing of the lot, is once again veteran Liu Kai Chi. Liu steals the show and the effect is seen in the opening scene when he screams for help.

Stool Pigeon is a good film, but not a great film. The reason is simple, it lacks the same amount of intensive tension of its predecessor and relies much on the acting of Tse and Cheung to take the film to the end. In say that, this is by a far a much superior effort to Fire of Conscience. Dante Lam is a capable director and he is at his best, when the characters in his films are allowed to express their truest potential or perhaps when they go crazy. Think Anthony Wong in Beast Cop and Nick Cheung in Beast Stalker. While both Tse and Cheung does fine turns, but neither are memorable. The film itself is not too memorable either. Instead what we got delivered to us is a film that entertains, some interesting chases, fine acting and positive direction. Easily a good film, but not great…(Neo 2010)

I rate it 7/10

• www.thehkneo.com

An Entertaining But Slightly Forgettable Tale Of Police Informants

[TheFilmGuy1 · 6/10 · 13 November 2013]

First off, let me say that Nick Cheung's performance was great. He has a few scenes where he really needs to show emotion, and he shines. Sadly, I would say this film is a little forgettable. It's a tale that we have seen told similarly in movies such as "Infernal Affairs" and "City On Fire" (especially the latter, with the jewelry store robbery and the warehouse standoff) but isn't done quite as well. It has a few highlights, such as the car chase with "White Christmas" playing in the background, or the jewlery store robbery, or even the fight in the abandoned room filled with chairs and tables, but other than those memorable moments, the rest seems like filler. It also contains a few side plots that seemed a bit cliché and unnecessary. It's entertaining, sure, but in the end, it will blend in with many Hong Kong films with similar plots.

Fate worse than undercover

[harry_tk_yung · 20 September 2010]

Hong Kong's crime thrillers are renowned for their portrayal of police undercover. "The informant" is almost an education – we the audience soon learn that informant has a more tragic fate. The undercover agent is a police officer servicing with pride, and emerges a hero if he is successful in his assignment. An informant works under a business contract (filed with the government attorney office), for money alone. Both are of course dangerous and if they die, the undercover agent dies a hero while the informant dies a nobody. I suspect that even the criminals have certain respect for the undercover agent but despise the informant.

This movie takes some pain in portraying the tragic lives of an informant through story lines which are familiar to followers of Hong Kong crime movies. Some may fault it for having too many characters and stories but director Dante Lam's skillful and effective delivery of the stories renders the movie easy to follow. The action sequences will satisfy the most demanding action (and violence) junkies. The poignant blend in well. There is little humour in this generally gloomy affair but the farcical first encounter of the central pair of protagonist is rather ingenious.

Nicholas Tse, like Leonardo DiCaprio, working hard on shedding the pretty boy image, has achieved a measure of success in the movie as a recently discharged inmate recruited to be an informant. Nick Cheung, often explosive on screen, has also tried his own out-of-character thing as the police officer who recruited Tse. He has done well in deliberate underplaying, portraying an almost stoic, soft-spoken man who caught between the authorities that often sells the informant short and the informant that he comes to care about. KWAI Lunmei is yet another case of casting against type, doing quite an impressive job as a tough criminal from the mainland playing a brief interlude of Bonnie and Clyde with Tse. Acclaimed character actor LIU Kai Chi showcases his acting in a minor but impressive role as one of Cheung's informant driven to a mental breakdown.

When the good and the bad becomes sinners.

[samuelding85 · 7/10 · 28 August 2010]

Stool Pigeon marks Hong Kong director Dante Lam's latest production as a unofficial sequel to the 2008 hit, Beast Stalker. Pairing up with Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung, the two leading actors from Beast Stalker, Stool Pigeon has no doubt, become one of the few worthy Hong Kong productions of the year.

Beast Stalker features Tse as a detective and Cheung, a half-blind hit-man, crosses path with each other and teaming up together to stop a crime. In Stool Pigeon, both Tse and Cheung swapped their roles. Tse is now an ex-convict nicknamed Ghost, who unwillingly work as a informant for Don Lee (Cheung) in order to clear debts left by his late father and to rescue his only sister out of prostitution.

Don plants Ghost into a group of robbers, lead by wanted criminal, Barbarian (Lu Yi). Don wants Ghost to provide the information about Barbarian's plot to rob a jewelry shop, so as to make an arrest. Ghost came across Barbarian's girlfriend, Dee (Kwei Lun Mei), whom both is in love with each other after meeting each other years ago. When Don found out Ghost has been forced to join the robbery, he find all ways to pull Ghost out of the situation.

Lam have two productions released in theaters this year: Fire of Conscience and Stool Pigeon. While critics finds Fire of Conscience seems to be a disappointment, Stool Pigeon makes it better. Both movies discuss morality, with the leading characters seems to share a similar background. Lam creates a role of male police detective losing his loved ones, with two different outcomes: Leon Lai uses violence to solve crimes in Fire of Conscience; Nick Cheung redeems his sins quietly by helping the people around him quietly in Stool Pigeon.

While Fire of Conscience seems to lack details in certain scenes, Stool Pigeon makes it up by detailing every aspects of the characters involved specifically. Here, we are able to see why Don is trying to pull Ghost out of the robbery: his hesitance in using his former informant leads to his informant being taken on revenge, thus losing the informant's sanity.

Lam also displays how people standing on both sides of the law can appear in different scenarios. Fire of Conscience portrays two detectives standing on both sides of the law, with Leon Lai tracking down and stopping his new partner Richie Jen from leaning on the wrong side of the law. In Stool Pigeon, audience can tell directly that Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung portrays two characters on different sides of the law easily, with one as a gangster, another a detective. However, both ends up in a path where both do not wish to take: which is to stand on the wrong side of the law, and using unethical methods to save themselves. Ultimately, both Tse and Cheung's role fits in the tag line of Stool Pigeon: Good and bad are both sinners.

Taiwanese actress Kwei Lun Mei sheds her image of the girl next door with her role of Dee, who is a woman with a past. Kwei does not have much appearance in Stool Pigeon, but her role makes it important as anybody else, especially her role is more than just explaining about the relationships between Ghost and Barbarian. Both Tse and Cheung has appeared in taking a more matured role with more refined skills to portray them. Tse continues with his bad boy image, but much older and tougher than the similar roles he taken years ago. Cheung appears more refined throughout his acting careers, which he did not disappoints the audience.

Overall, Stool Pigeon is not your usual crime thriller that does not require thinking. A through analysis on the plot and characters are required to understand Stool Pigeon, which definitely helps in one understanding the movie.

A Brutally Realistic Police Drama, as Authentically Detailed as it is Immersive

[totalovrdose · 7/10 · 28 February 2015]

'Brutally honest' would be the term I'd use to best describe this particular feature. Although the term 'brutal' is often associated with the violent content exhibited in a film, the level of blood in The Stool Pigeon never takes away from the storyline.

Don Lee (Nick Cheung) is an officer, still suffering the ramifications of past decisions that led to his former informant, Jabber (Kai Chi Liu) been discovered by the men he was snitching on. Although Lee is attempting to atone for his mistakes, this is made increasingly more difficult by his boss (Li Sheng-cheong), who adamantly believes the ends justify the means. If ever he had a white whale, it would be Barbarian (Lu Yi), a brilliant and psychotically violent thief, who has recently returned to promulgate another job.

Advised to insert an informant into his crew, Lee discovers Ghost Jr (Nicholas Tse), a young man on the verge of being released from prison, whose adept driving skills would make him an asset to Barbarian. Immediately turning Lee's offer down, Ghost Jr instead opts to spend time with his sister (Sherman Chung), who has been thrust into a life of prostitution to pay off their late father's debts. Though their father is largely unexplored, his actions have inevitably shaped their lives, which forces Ghost Jr to make a life changing decision.

Under Lee's directive, he initiates contact with Tai-Ping (Philip Keung), the leader of a gang whose cronies have assisted Barbarian on previous jobs. Descending into a world where every move could potentially be his last, the impact of danger, betrayal and paranoia continuously gnawing at the viewers, Ghost Jr quickly finds solace in Barbarian's unappreciated girlfriend Dee (Gwei Lun-mei), their immediate mutual attraction based upon a history that is explored over the course of the story. But events begin to spiral out of control, and one question that later emerges is this: will Ghost Jr live to see his dream of saving his sister fulfilled?

Although Lee advises officers who will later have informants of their own not to become emotionally attached, he, hypocritically, is unable to separate his personal feelings from the scenario. The use of scenes, detailing previous events that have recently occurred over the course of his career demonstrates that it is not only the informants who have a grueling existence, the police having an equally unpleasant role. Having made a number of decisions and mistakes that he is not proud of, Lee is able to admit his faults, making him a sympathetic and respectable character to have headlining this feature. The relationship he has with his wife Cher (Miao Pu) provides the audience with not only another source of emotional depth, but a source of hope for the future.

Due to his screen time, though Mr Tse's portrayal of Ghost Jr is just as proficient, it is overshadowed by the focus that seems to continuously drift towards Mr. Cheung. Despite been a criminal, and persistently asking for money, Ghost Jr is a likable character, not only for his gentlemanly qualities, but his unflinching devotion to family, wanting desperately to be his sister's hero. Ms. Mei also deserved additional screen time, her portrayal of Dee effectively developing a character who, although compassionately emotional, is capable of blunt ferocity, her life choices based upon what is happening right now, rather than on what is right.

As aforementioned, Lee's past is explored over the course of several scenes, while Ghost Jr and Dee's is often articulated verbally. It would have been beneficial for more depth to have been provided to their back-stories, though the decision to focus more on Lee may have been so audiences had the opportunity to acknowledge the sacrifices officers are forced to make, the shared pain of Ghost Jr and Dee needing no further attention, for their lives effectively represent the grueling nature of their existences.

A moment during the film involving a car race is quite possibly the film's most unenthusiastic moment, the scene, despite been well choreographed, lacking any real entertainment. Unable to live up to the outstanding visuals audiences have been awed by in the Fast and the Furious franchise, the scene appears to be comprised of cliché crashes and sounds that fail to cement the viewer in the moment. This aside, The Stool Pigeon is not an action movie, and for the most part, it's a plot driven police drama with substantial depth provided to its characters.

Although firearms make an appearance, more often than not, machetes and other serrated weapons are used by villainous characters as they pursue their hapless victims. The sound of flesh been sliced, alongside the screams of agony really impacts the viewer, with not only the horror articulated during these torturous moments, but the ever mounting tension.

Unlike other films dedicated to portraying the lives of police officers, The Stool Pigeon does not rely upon exaggerated footage, instead capturing the brutal realism of the lives officers and informants alike struggle to cope with. Emotionally in-depth and thought provoking, the audience are also inclined to work as detectives to piece the storyline, that isn't always set in chronological order, together, which makes for a continuously interesting feature. By the end of the film, viewers may feel the need to question who the real antagonists are in the film, and who really are the victims.

Cinema Omnivore - The Stool Pigeon (2010) 7.1/10

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 14 April 2021]

"In STALKER, Nicholas Tse plays a straight-arrow police sergeant, pitched against Nicky Cheung's ruthless, one-eyed kidnapper; whereas in PIGEON, the shoe is on the other foot, Cheung is a righteous police detective and Tse is the debt-ridden, ex-con stoolie he needs to protect from a dangerous gang of armed robbers. Both actors show confidence and versatility in their dual transitions. Cheung excels in a beastly, menacing presence in STALKER that the audience has never seen before, then morphs into a bespectacled, spiffy officer of the law whose reticent appearance dissembles his inner conflict; Tse is a single-minded redemption-seeking hot-head in STALKER, sometimes he can be schmaltzy, but goes low-key and quietly affecting in PIGEON where he really catches audience off guard for a maturer performance that elicits our commiserations."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks.

Activated

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 8 September 2011]

The term/title itself gets explained in the movie, which you should watch if you like Hong Kong action cinema in general. While most people are looking for the new John Woo (movie) or the new Johnnie To (movie), a veteran filmmaker almost slipped under the radar. And it would be a shame if you'd miss out on this one.

Action packed, but still with character driven plot(s), this will not let you rest easy. There is always moral dilemma involved and of course it is difficult to watch our hero go through some of the trials and tribulations he has to go through (and maybe not all that is supposed to be good, is actually good). That is another thing that you either love or hate. Thank you Dante Lam for this excellent movie

Great film by a great Director, proof positive that its Asian Cinema thats the future

[waz_fukashima · 9/10 · 31 October 2011]

The Stool Pigeon is a tense Hong Kong crime thriller from one of Asia's most prolific crime thriller directors, Dante Lam. While the film follows many familiar tropes of detective films, such as the good natured criminal, and the detective determined to succeed at all costs, there is a persistent visual style and a well developed set up for the excellent action sequences. It is quite gratifying to see a film that isn't just about a bank robbery, but real character growth, especially in Hong Kong cinema, which as of late has been clearly out shined by South Korea. The story follows Police Detective Don Lee (Nick Cheung) and his work with a recently paroled gang informant who is out to save his sister from a life of prostitution because of a debt owed by their father. Lee is the experienced detective who throughout his career has needed to investigate, track and convince informants to help with a case, but the problem is that he's had trouble protecting these informants and has conflicts with senior management. Ghost Junior (Nicholas Tse) proves his skills early on, in a cool sprint race through the streets of HK, and is soon recruited to work with a major Robbery suspect known as Barbarian. The racing scenes are handled with a lot of flair and sufficiently loud sound design. The soundtrack works well, as the jazz mixes with the suspense soundtrack to bring heightened tension to the deceptive game these cops and criminals play. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Michael Mann's Heat (1995), though Stool Pigeon had a faster pace and it's attention to detail was not nearly as well developed. Hiccups such as Don Lee's forgetful wife subplot were a little silly.

With much less emphasis on CGI effects the action is visceral and shocking. It is certainly not the type of 'PG' American experience we've become accustomed to, whereby explosions and slow motion action has overblown any subtlety of realism. There are machete wielding gang members and they do take revenge. While this is not a film about happy endings, it finishes with an effective and satisfying conclusion. The Stool Pigeon is a rewarding experience, with cinematography capturing the streets of Hong Kong in an often beautiful and slow boiling state, but the action choreography and character clashes keep it tight and exciting through to the end. Nominated for best film at last year's Hong Kong Film Awards, The Stool Pigeon proves that the Asian resurgence will continue. It's not just China and South Korea who are raising expectations.

A Nutshell Review: The Stool Pigeon

[DICK STEEL · 10/10 · 28 August 2010]

This is what Hong Kong action crime thrillers are made of, with the sets being the real streets of the city upon which a high intense cop and robbers drama unfolds, and engaging characters that you actually care about. Already having given us Fire of Conscience earlier this year, it seems that there is nothing stopping hot property of the moment Dante Lam, who had helmed hard hitting same genre movies such as Sniper and Beast Stalker, which starred Liu Kai Chi, Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung in leading roles reuniting for Stool Pigeon, looking set to have been improving film by film, and frankly is fast becoming a firm favourite storyteller of mine for Asian crime thrillers after Johnnie To with his consistency for gripping edge of your seat material.

Thanks to the success of Infernal Affairs, we've seen in recent years a fair share of police dramas that deal with that of an undercover cop either battling his loyalty and allegiance, his return to a life of normalcy, or even have his persona spill over to real life through immense popularity in the cult character, like Laughing Gor. We know that the police have as part of their investigative arsenal the infiltration of undercover cops, but what's often overlooked is the role of the police informant in a leading role, until now.

Dante Lam's story is extremely engaging in its examination of this peculiar outsourced role, where one is backed by the formalities of contract to define a relationship of transactional nature – material wealth in exchange for critical information, with bonuses to come with milestones achieved too! But such dangerous work close to where the action is with risks involved doesn't impact a police personnel, and this is clearly a win situation for the cops because this risk of being caught and maimed/killed in the course of an accidental discovery is transferred to a non-uniformed person, often someone desperate enough and comfortable to be living on the fringes of society, such as an ex-criminal. But being human, the cops have to learn to not become closer than necessary to their informants, so as to minimize guilty pangs should there be a need to no longer support them, and literally to throw them to the sharks for the greater good – the tragic irony of it all.

Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung swap sides now from Beast Stalker, and Tse plays the role of Ghost Jr, an ex-convict released only to find his sister being pimped by the underworld to pay off their dead father's gambling debt. After some deliberation he takes on the offer by Cheung's inspector Don, and officially in the eyes of the law Ghost becomes Don's informant, with a direct line to his handler and if necessary being able to waiver any arrest if made during the course of his work as an informant. His role is to infiltrate and report back on the gang activities of Barbarian (Chinese actor Lu Yi) and his wife (played by Kwai Lun-Mei), who are planning a jewellery shop heist, and are in need of a driver, where Ghost's skills will come into handy.

Just like how Donnie Yen is discovering a new lease of life in his career as an action hero, Nick Cheung, once overlooked as leading man material, now finds new ground in crime thrillers, and being equally adept at both positive and negative roles just brings out the wide spectrum of his acting abilities. Dante Lam's cop character so far have always been flawed and pained, and being dedicated time meant a subplot involving his wife and relatives, which serve to deepen the character's backstory. In fact, the many human drama that Lam injects into his characters all provide them a lot of depth rather than to be just that one-dimensional role most cops and robbers story tend to trap themselves into .

For instance, Kwai Lun-Mei's gangster moll role is something that's totally different from her usual sweetie pie ones, and she has enough of what it takes to pack a punch in this genre, which is surprising to say the least, in both delivery and providing to be the wildcard in Stool Pigeon. Boldly casting her against type is what I felt showed the courage of Lam and team to explore new ground (including Stool Pigeon's premise) and having seasoned actors, each of whom have won acting awards in recent years, also serves as an indicator that you're getting powerful performances all round.

Action-wise, Stool Pigeon is no sitting duck. While time is devoted to the human drama, action is not just left to plain boring gunfights, as there are a lot more moments here involving chases from vehicles to foot and hide and seek that provides most of the thrills with its superb editing and execution, either in a crowded market evading a swarm of cops, or between apartment units to avoid detection. Like most Dante Lam films, the finale provides that bang for the buck, and Stool Pigeon has one of the most intense sequences he had come up with thus far, set in an abandoned school where the set design provides a visually arresting feast for the eyes, while your heart feels and roots for characters going all out for each other's throats.

I'd prefer this over Fire of Conscience, and easily is a contender for one of the best films this year! Highly recommended, and I'll be more than keen to watch this in its original Cantonese language track.

Too much ingredients spoiled the soup !!

[moviesbest · 3 September 2010]

I have no intention to watch this movie in the cinema if not because of having read 2 or 3 reviews up here. Someone even give it a 10 !! I am not a fan of HK actions. My Internal Affairs dvds are still unopened.

The story - The opening subplot before the main title makes a perfect opening for this movie but as the movie moves along, there are just too many ACCIDENTS, CO-INCIDENTS and INCIDENTS beside the main plot that makes the audience feel that the scriptwriter don't know how to end the story or because they are not confident enough, thinking that more to see will please the audience. In this case, it certainly spoil it. Many subplots like Cheung's past with his wife, his dancing class, the ending part of the opening informer, the cops tailing someone to the car park, how Nicholas has met the boss's girlfriend before, etc. They are all unnecessary. They could be much better ways to show the characters or carry on the story. There are also too many situations that are UNBELIEVABLE too, making the audience to lose excitement. At the end, you only want to know what will happen to Nicholas Tse and his sister as they have the most sympathetic characters.

The direction and styling - Can easily tell the director is a big fan of Wong Kar Wai. A different colour bar scene, the night train scene,the music, some old English and Chinese songs styling. They are all like ideas from WKW movies but without William's editing and Doyle's jerky camera-works. .

The acting - Overall good. Nicholas's acting has really matured. He made the character so special like no one else can replace him there. The Taiwanese actress is also good. The actor who played thug Taiping is outstanding. Cheung is also good but the director let him show-off in the wrong scenes.

I think the director should emphasize more on the scenes between Nicholas and Cheung and between Cheung and his boss(near the end) instead of putting in so many unnecessary subplots and happenings that spoil the movie's concept.

Without those flaws, I would have given it a 8 or 9 but at most 7 now. Anyhow,if you have enjoyed such movies from HK, go for it.

A more realistic, unsettling, gritty packed with emotion police film

[nokturnal-rapport · 9/10 · 29 December 2012]

I think this film is underrated. I didn't expect much but it was a pleasant surprise. It's gritty, some what unsettling, and raw with emotions. It might start slow but it rewards those who're patient. Considering the premise - the dangerous line of work and the thin boundary an informant has to walk, it's not inappropriate for it to be dark and I wasn't turned off by the ending. I wasn't in for a Disney ending from the start. I think it's more realistic and all the build ups channeled well to the end. It's emotional and you get to see from both sides and their unspoken rationales and they're both right in their own respect and sometimes there's nothing more they can do. I was drawn into the dilemma, the unsettling conscience, the consequences of one's action, the fear, the adrenaline rush, the pressure, the guilt etc. The action sequence is not nice and pretty like that of Jackie Chan's. It's honest, brutal, and it's real, and it's scary because that's how things are settle on the street in the East. There's no hero; you've just got to do what you've gotta do. A good film in my book.

Well Go USA Keeps Bringing Us The Goods

[gavin6942 · 25 September 2011]

Policeman Don Lee (Nick Cheung) often works with informants but numerous too-close calls and failed missions cause him to see the world as one betrayal after another -- then he meets Guy, and is given a new chance to change his views.

I have to give credit to the folks at Well Go USA. I have been reviewing the films they distribute for a while now, and they have been consistently good. "Stool Pigeon" is no exception, adding the genre of police action to the martial arts stories they have delivered us in the past. I assume not all Asian films are this good (in fact, I know they are not), so whoever does acquisitions for Well Go needs a raise.

What is this film? A bit of mystery, a lot of action, a crime thriller. It really should appeal to a wide audience. If you like films like "French Connection" or "Snatch", I think this will be your film. While not quite a masterpiece, it really does tell a strong, interesting and emotional story. It is a film I am eager to watch a second time.

The DVD/BD (it comes as a combo pack) has some nice features on, most notably the variety of languages and subtitles. You might prefer Cantonese with English subtitles. Perhaps you prefer English dubbing. Then again, maybe you speak Cantonese and would rather watch it without dubbing or subs... you are able to do any of these.

Fantastic thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 17 August 2019]

THE STOOL PIGEON is a surprisingly fantastic little thriller from Hong Kong director Dante Lam, better even than BEAST STALKER which preceded it. I had no idea what to expect with this one, finding Lam a hit-or-miss director throughout his career, but it's a real highlight and on par with OPERATION RED SEA. The story follows Nick Cheung playing a typically wounded, on-the-edge cop, on the hunt for a gang of robbers and planting an equally wounded Nicholas Tse right in the middle of the group as his informant.

This is a dark, dark story, heavy on the psychology and yet shot through with pulse-pounding action, indebted a little to BOURNE along the way. It's hard-edged stuff and surprisingly sympathetic when it comes to the characters. Romantic sub-plots are handled sensitively and some aspects are a little unbelievable, but it generally hangs together perfectly and there's so much suspense that it never flags for a moment despite the familiarity of the set-up. Things built to an appropriately intense climax that had me both on the edge of my seat and in tears; the mark of a truly great film in which everyone involved is at the top of their game.

Good movie, but depressing...

[Eiriksterminator · 8/10 · 23 November 2019]

Like others have said, this one seems like a fairly realistic depiction of what being an informant might actually be like (not that I would know), and what a dangerous and possibly horrible life it might be, and also how rough it might be on the police officer in charge of the informant. There's both action and drama in this in equal amounts. I'd say it's a fairly good movie, but brace yourself, this one is not a happy one. Even long before the ending, there are several tragedies along the way, and it doesn't really get much better even until the end. It fits the narrative and the depiction of events, and it's good direction in my opinion, but I still really wish things could have turned out better, there's not really a happy ending for anyone involved here...

This Pigeon Flies

[YohjiArmstrong · 29 March 2015]

THE STOOL PIGEON starts tough and ends tough. The plot sees a HK cop struggling with his conscience over his use of informants. On his last op things went bad and his "stool pigeon" was hacked nearly to death with machetes; now he's mad and alone, with our hero volunteering at a homeless shelter to help him. A top Taiwanese gangster is in town though, looking for a big score in a HK jewelry shop; so our cop recruits a new informer - a street racer just out of jail, who needs money to pay off his father's debt which has led to his sister becoming a hooker - and infiltrates him into the gang as their wheelman. Throw in a tragic gangsters moll and you've got a corking B-movie plot that moves fast and hits hard. The machete attacks are savage, although thankfully more is suggested than shown, and the final fight in an abandoned school is nerve wracking in its intensity. The emotional side is less sure though, especially the hero's ludicrous back story: after his last informant got hurt he got drunk, slept with a floozy, contracted syphilis, gave it to his pregnant wife, who chucked herself out of a window after learning the disease would make their child handicapped; and now she has amnesia the cop is trying to re-romance her. It's insanely melodramatic, especially compared to the authentic and matter-of- fact depiction of how the cops and robbers work. Still, this is a great film with excellent scenes of action and tension.

better than the Beast ..

[dumsumdumfai · 4 November 2011]

Beast Stalker that is. I like this one better, even there are extraneous subplots that stretches my patience to the limit.

What makes it works is the grim, memorable, albeit kind of nightmarish ending. The chase, the clogged up class room. The claustrophobic affects of that ending feels right. Feels that even you, the audience is in the same nightmare. It is inevitable as life itself.

All that subplot of the wife, the past, the guilt, doesn't work for me. Sure you need motivation but this seems 'fitted in', tailored to the story - in a simple way - a way of solving the problem instead of finding the nuance of the character.

I don't remember anything else, I think there was a few action sequences, but it all build up to the end.