Revenge: A Love Story (2010) User Reviews

True to its Title!

[cremea · 7/10 · 2 December 2012]

Revenge; A love story, is a Hong Kong based production from 2010. It's pretty effective as a revenge/love story.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Story: Some maniac is murdering the pregnant wives and husbands of a small town police force. He kills these women by cutting their unborn children out of their wombs while they're still alive, and leaving them to bleed to death. He dispatches their husbands by whatever various means at hand. Did I mention this movie is frequently brutal?

The police are desperate to catch and punish this lunatic, and they soon capture the primary suspect who is obviously the culprit of these crimes. However, there is a lack of evidence to convict him, so he's eventually set free. The police officers tasked with interrogating him before his release, are well aware of who this guy is and soon realize why he's committing these crimes.

As the story unfold via flashbacks, it becomes clear what is going on and why; there is a group of police officers who wronged a young man and young girl in the past and then tried to collectively cover up what happened. What the coppers did in the past is now coming back to haunt them in the present, and they now must pay the price.

If you need to know more, here it is: (SPOILERS) An underprivileged young man who sells roadside steamed buns takes a liking to a pretty young school girl who visits his shop on a daily basis. The girl is semi-mildly retarded, but not totally incompetent, and the two of them eventually develop a relationship. Through a series of events, the young girl gets mistaken for a new prostitute serving the small town (which the local police force is regularly accustomed to taking advantage of). Things spiral out of control quickly, and the police force eventually realizes they've dipped their wicks where they shouldn't have (but only after they have viciously taken advantage of and used this girl for their own pleasure). They somewhat regret what has happened, but the damage has been done, and there is no turning back, so they decide to brush everything under the carpet and protect their brotherhood. Meanwhile, her life is now in ruins, and her young boyfriend has become insane with rage and obsessed with revenge (hard to blame him really). So, there you have it; he's determined to make everyone involved with this incident pay for their sins.

The lead actor (guy seeking revenge) is played by Juno Makhe's, and he's pretty impressive in this role as the love struck young man bent on obtaining brutal revenge. He's also credited as writing the original story, so it's clear he has some talent. The rest of the cast is rounded out by the lead actress, and the 5 primary cops who the lead is seeking revenge on. The actors portraying the cops are quite effective; they range from pure evil to simply complicit in their actions, but they are all pretty much deserving as to what's coming to them. I don't think anybody will feel sorry for any of them.

The lead actress is played by Aoi Sora. She does a capable job in her role, but she's not given a whole lot to do. I don't how much this has to do with the role she's pegged for, or the fact that she's a Japanese actress acting in a Chinese language film, or what have you. It should also be noted that she's pretty new to acting in mainstream movies, and, I find her efforts to evolve from former hard core porn star to legitimate actress an incredibly fascinating story on its own. I thought she was pretty solid as the lead In "Man, Woman, and the Wall", and was effective enough in her supporting role in the wonderfully odd "Torso". She invariably still has to take her clothes off in all of her recent mainstream roles to date, but she seems plenty capable enough to eventually cease having to do so one day, and if she succeeds, good for her!

Bottom Line: This is a solid story that becomes a bit unbelievable and over the top at times, but, it's effective for the most part and pretty good for what it's trying to accomplish. It's frequently brutal & often depressingly sad, and, it's not for the faint of heart. Not great, but, I will recommend it if you like this sort of thing.

As such, I'm giving it 7 out of 10 stars!

Sympathy for the Devil

[andrejakc-1 · 8/10 · 23 July 2011]

From the opening scenes of slow-motion choke killing, and the first 20 minutes, I was expecting another gory slasher Asian movie. But than, everything goes upside down. Explained via flashbacks this movie is 100% connected with the title; Add in brackets ( ultimate ) revenge; a love story. Director Ching Po Wong beautifully draw's you into the story. There are slow-motion scenes, there is repetition and than there are difficult gory scenes to watch. But believe me this is one of those movies that if you pass the first 20-25 minutes you will drop the popcorn's, forget about the love squeeze and just watch the movie. The main character Kit ( Juno Mak ) is exceptional as a mean-clean-killing machine. But what is his motive? Why all the brutalities? One of the flashbacks starts with "ultimate revenge is in forgiveness". Obviously Kit bypassed that section in his life and he will not stop until his revenge is complete. Sola Aoi in the role of the girl for who Kit falls in love is quietly perfect. Acting, direction and the script is excellent and this is one of those movies that will be difficult to shake off, it's not a date movie and it's not a movie to watch after getting a parking ticket for example. But it is one of those hidden gems that will stay with you for a while. Check it out as soon as you can! Andreja K.

Solid and brutal Hong Kong revenge flick

[Seth_Rogue_One · 7/10 · 21 September 2015]

Fuk sau che chi sei (2010) or better known as 'Revenge - A love story (2010) outside of Hong Kong is a above average revenge movie which keeps you on your toes and always keep you wondering what's gonna happen next.

I can't really go into details without spoiling it but it's told in almost a MEMENTO-esque way at parts where when you think you have got it all figured out the movie throws you in a complete different direction.

Very good acting all across the board and well made in pretty much all aspects.

It is a very brutal movie but revenge is never pretty so I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

A bloody, gritty, brutal tale that Hollywood will never give us.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 15 March 2015]

A forgotten and underrated gem, for sure, not for the sissies, not for the squeamish. An Asian crime flick as I literally crave for, a movie for which I would crawl on my knees for miles. I thought of SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE whilst watching it. The fierce tale of a young man whose the girl he is in love with is brutalized and raped in a police station by a squad of rotten cops. So the Young man goes on a terrific rampage to avenge her. The kind of film that could have been shown in the Strange Festival in Paris. I don't know any of the actors, nor director. But I also admit that I don't know the Asian cinema very well; I only appreciate this kind of films very much. Darker you die. Don't expect any happy ending here, as Hollywood gives us with its straight to garbage stuff.

And only a few of them emerge in Europe or the USA. But if you dare, you can search for them. Nothing is impossible.

It tries to be something more than what it is, but still got my attention until the end

[KineticSeoul · 6/10 · 23 January 2013]

This is a grotesque exploitation movie that tries to be more than what it is. Still it got my attention most of the way through since I wanted to see how it would end. It did a good job of making the audiences hate the ones behind the corruption. The story is about a meat bun guy falling for a pretty handicapped high school girls. But things get sour when corrupt police officers do things they shouldn't be doing. The movie has plot-holes that doesn't make sense sometimes. But it doesn't try to make a believable story but heads more towards the hard hitting elements and exploitation. It's basically a B-movie that tries to be something more but when it comes down to it. Although it tries to show a deep message the intentions of this movie is quite clear and what direction and things they wanted to show. Which is exploitation and violence. It's also not clear if the meat bun guy is doing all the things he does for the one he loves or for himself because of the circumstances in this movie. Sora Aoi is in this and her scenes might be predictable which takes away from the shock factors. But it's still comes off as hard-hitting and brutal.

6.9

Brutal revenge flick

[sofianXmXh · 10/10 · 1 February 2017]

Flicks from Hong Kong sure can be gory, as Dream Home had proved to be true. This movie clearly confirms that statement. The movie opens up with a sequence in which two pregnant women and their husbands get attacked inside of their home.

The story is told in a non-chronological order, with each new chapter featuring a black tile and a quote written on it, similar to the Ju-on movies. As the title clearly states, the story is all about revenge. The story takes turns as it progresses, as shown by the opening sequence. At first one would expect that the one who seeks revenge would be somebody who avenges the four people hurt in the opening sequences. And then we are proved wrong.

Revolving around a tragic story, revealed through flashbacks, we come to realize that our antagonist is actually our dear protagonist. This movie is nothing short of brutally violent, but not merely for the sake of it. This is not a blatant exploitation flick. There is an underlying message that is revealed at the end, one that anyone who holds a grudge could learn a thing from.

Beware, this flick is definitely not for the squeamish. There's gore, there's gut-wrenching brutality, but there is also sadness. You feel pity. This movie does it jobs by reeling you in and rooting for the protagonist. While the gore isn't over-the-top, there is one scene that involves skin that made me grab my head. For somebody who has seen a lot of over-the-top gore movies; that shouldn't have happened. But I did simply because I could relate to it through bad habits. One that I fortunately got rid of.

Go see this movie, it's criminally underrated and it deserves more attention. If you like revenge-themed movies, this one is for you. I immediately thought of Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and I Saw the Devil.

Brutal, visually stunning and beautiful at the same time...

[paul_haakonsen · 9/10 · 8 August 2013]

"Revenge: A Love Story" ("Fuk Sau Che Chi Sei") is without a doubt one of the more brutal and raw movies to make it out of Hong Kong cinema. Sure, there are lots of action movies that are equally good, but there is just something more profound to this movie that transcends, pardon the expression, mindless action sequences.

The story is about a series of ghastly murders in the Hong Kong rural villages, where pregnant women are found with their bellies cut open and their babies removed. Kit (played by Juno Mak) is being framed for these heinous acts and he sees how corrupt police men take turns raping Wing (played by Sora Aoi), a simple minded girl that he has sworn to look after following the death of her grandmother. Kit will stop at nothing before these crooked cops have paid their dues.

I will say that the storyline was quite interesting, and the characters were nicely detailed and portrayed by the actors playing them, but more importantly, the story is very graphic and visual, which I enjoyed and found to be a rather nice surprise for a Hong Kong movie. Mind you, that some of these visuals, especially at the murder sites, can be a little bit too much for some viewers to handle - so viewer discretion is advised here. There is more to the story than just revenge, especially if you look at the movie from the eyes of Kit and Wing, then it is a story of love and compassion.

Not really being familiar with Juno Mak, I will say that he put on a really good performance in "Revenge: A Love Story", as did Sora Aoi (although she has some fairly questionable movies etched in her belt), and together they really complimented one another with the on-screen chemistry.

I had initially just expected this to be an action-thriller, but it turned out to be something much better. And I highly recommend this movie to anyone fan of Asian and/or Hong Kong cinema.

My rating is 9 out of 10 stars. "Revenge: A Love Story" was as surprising as it was entertaining.

An Affront To Intelligent Cinema

[miller07436-18-462995 · 4/10 · 14 November 2011]

Revenge: A Love Story puts its best foot forward from the get go, drawing the viewer in with early scenes of remarkable cruelty that are shot with a clarity of vision one would expect from a veteran filmmaker. Unfortunately, the film stumbles and eventually falls flat.

The film is divided into 'chapters'. For fear of spoiling anything at all, I will refrain from discussing them in depth. I will say though - the first three play out over the first hour of the movie. These three, and the third especially, are strong, with a few setbacks. After that first hour, I was expecting to be rewarding this movie with 7 or even 8 stars.

I may be jumping to conclusions by saying this, but I am of the belief that this movie was simply watered-down too many times pre-production. There was most certainly something great beneath it all. In the lead role, Jun Mak showed off his acting chops and I can't say, by any means, that he was bad in the role. There wasn't enough dialogue. I felt like the movie was tailored for pop stars and took away any opportunity for them to appear to be poor actors, subsequently preventing any semblance of a strong performance. Solo Aoi almost never spoke. It was briefly alluded to that her character was 'retarded' or 'mildly retarded'. Her role in the movie felt too much like 'smile and be beautiful'.

Buried somewhere deep within Revenge: A Love Story is a truly brilliant film, comparable to prominent films in the revenge sub-genre. The recent I Saw The Devil comes to mind. In fact, there are even parallels to be drawn between the two, as Revenge too invokes the notion of pure evil when the title of chapter 5 refers to the devil. By that time, the film had already begun it's self-destruction, and we're subjected to the third installment of Jun Mak running, shirtless, in slow-motion, with his panting the only audible sound.

I would recommend this to revenge-movie geeks. You'll likely enjoy the movie (as I did). You might even be enthralled through the first hour (as I was). But be warned: If you are expecting a good, intelligent thriller, this is not it.

Unquenchable Thirst

[Foutainoflife · 9/10 · 9 August 2018]

Love is maddening. This was, to a degree, psychotically sweet and full of understandable rage. No one likes to be screwed over by the people you trust most. If you are looking for a film with the innocence of love along with determination check it out.

A criminally overlooked and gloomy thriller

[NicolasHunter500 · 14 October 2012]

I have to admit, having previously viewed a multitude of Asian thrillers, like Battle Royale and hard boiled,I really came into this not knowing what to expect. From first impressions, it looked dark, unnerving, and overall I was expect it to be a solid and entertaining thriller with a lot of cringe inducing scenes. But, when I saw it my expectations were completely surpassed. It has wonderful music,great acting (for the most part) and it has a satisfying level of grim and gory sequences that will keep most fans of this sort of thing happy. Mind you, It has little dialogue and a few plot holes that will get a few heads scratching, and also some characters, like the girl who the main character likes, for instance, simply has too little dialogue and who's acting in general was a bit wooden. But, overall, a good film.

HK surprise

[gonijohn · 9/10 · 2 July 2018]

It was a surprise form me. If you change the language and the names of actors / director, this is a japan movie. HK movie (i don't like the word industry) is not as it was before in past century, so this was a very pleasant (what a word for this movie) surprise.

Brutal Revenge Story

[leonffe · 8/10 · 19 April 2023]

Oh my God, this was a really brutal one. Not the funny kind of brutal, instead this was serious brutal that kinda haunts you. It would've been fun kind of brutal if it was not for the gang rape scene. That was very nauseating scene.

My main problem with this movie was the ending. It was way too ambigutious. Did the fight between the killer and crooked cop turned preacher really happen? Or was the killer just immune to bullet wounds and repeated stabbings?

All the other parts of the movie were really good. Although some of the cops fealt kinda bland as characters. The movie serves as a great warning to loyalty based morality.