Hard Boiled (1992)

Director: John Woo

Writers: John Woo (Story), 

Barry Wong (Screenplay)

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, 

Tony Leung Chiu Wai and 

Teresa Mo

My friend, If you're a fan of Hong Kong's film collections and haven't watched this movie then WHY THE HELL DO YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN? 

*ehem* 

Hard Boiled jump-started Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo career to Hollywood. It has one of the most creative yet violent films I have ever seen. For a 90's Asian film, it's definitely not that bad. It's very different to what I used to watch during that era. Besides the Unlimited bullets, the every-time-you-reach-your-back-there's-a-pistol-clip method, and the very 90's hairstyles, you wouldn't really think of it as a 90's film. It's ahead of its time. 

The film's story revolves around a cop whose partner got killed during an gun bust operation and now has vowed to finish the job and look for the people responsible for his partner's death. You might think it's one of those same old revenge story but it's really not. It has more content in it but to avoid being a spoiler I would not tell you what it is. Correction: what THEY are. Oohhh. Interesting, I know.

And have you met Chow Yun-Fat? Yeah, he looks pretty B.A. in this film. He's like the Asian Bruce Willis, if you asked me, and Hard Boiled is his Die Hard. His acting is very natural and believable and his delivery of lines are in Chinese. The character development though are decent but not impressive. There weren't enough room for Woo to develop Chow Yun-Fat's character, Tequila. We did not see enough of who Tequila is; only that he is capable of handling a gun. The other characters, specially some of the bad guys, aren't that bad.

They might have not enough time to develop them but it's the action sequences that made this amazing action film. Holy mothballs, the slow motion sequences from this film is the reason why a lot of films have slow motion action scenes. John Woo even inspired the slo-mo scenes of The Matrix, a film famous for slo-mos. The way they use the slow motion are very natural and not forced unlike other films in Hollywood today.

I urge you film buffs to watch this movie and you would definitely have a fun time.

Here's a trailer for Hard Boiled:

by Tim Bernardino

Last few weeks, I've been playing a game called Sleeping Dogs. It's about an undercover police officer going undercover for the Hong Kong Police to infiltrate and bring down a triad organization called the "Sun On Yee". As he gets deeper and deeper in his cover, he gets too connected to everything around him that his sight starts to gets blurred on which side to serve.

This game really captured the feel of most of the Hong Kong Action Films; specially during the era of 80s and 90s. It reminded me most of those dubbed Jackie Chan action films I used to watch when I was young which made me download a bunch of Jackie Chan Films. Films like "Who Am I? (1998)", "Armour Of God (1987)", my favorite Jackie movie "Wheels On Wheels (1984)", and most especially the "Police Story Series".

These kinds of films grabbed my attention when I was young because of how amazing the stunts were and -- well, because it's full of Kung-Fu. Who doesn't like Kung-fu? 

Now that I've rewatched it with my (somewhat) mature state of mind and understanding, I realized that It's not just about stunts and fight sequences; I realized that the stories were also a huge plus. Specially with Hong Kong's reoccurring stories in films about Undercover Cops fighting the Triads.

Filing my Nostalgia Gauge with JC movies left me wanting for more. More of Hong Kong's Action films. 

So, stay tuned as I venture Hong Kong's fine list of action-filled movies only here @filmRaid.

"HONG KONG ACTION II" CONTINUES


Posted on 9/20/2012