Gen-X Cops
There is a new breed of criminal out there and
so a new breed of cop is needed. If this sounds like a plot from the Mod
Squad, its because this film very much follows in its footsteps. Cops
who can be hip and blend in with the very stylish crooks in HK these days
is the basic gist of this film. It is completely style over substance and
character development and much of the dialogue is close to laughable
but unlike the recent Mod Squad movie, this film has a lot of energy
and zest and is overall good mindless fun.
As this was a summer release with much fanfare
with some special effects created by the team that made Independence
Day (and yes they blow up a HK landmark as well!) and a number of good
looking young actors this is exactly what the filmmakers were no doubt
trying to accomplish. This is a popcorn movie sit back and dont worry
about how silly much of it is. Instead focus on some very good action scenes,
the characters cool names (Alien, Y2K, Match), mod hair styles and great
fashion sense.
Most of the young actors both the good and bad
guys are fairly new to the HK film scene and though no one actor has
enough screen time to really make an impact they all come off reasonably
well and there is eye candy for both sexes to enjoy. To keep the film from
completely blowing away in a breeze, there are two veteran actors Eric
Tsang and Francis Ng with smaller but good parts and they bring a bit
of intensity to their parts that the Gen-X kids cant quite manage.
Directed by Benny Chan (Big Bullet, Who Am
I, Moment of Romance) the film is sleek and fast moving most of the time
and there are a number of well executed action scenes that are fairly large
in scale. Utilizing quick editing and I assume a large number of stunt
doubles, the actors come off looking good and reasonably authentic. None
of them really have the look of developing into major action stars but
for a film like this they do fine its looking good that really counts.
A Japanese criminal (Toru Nakamura) is in HK looking
to get his hands on some weapons for a little scheme he has in mind and
the cops cant seem to track him down. Basically to get him out of the
way, the police task force allows Eric Tsang to form a little group of
his own to track Nakamura down. He goes to the police academy and finds
just what he wants three recruits Nicholas Tse (Jack), Sam Lee (Alien)
and Stephen Fung (Match) who fit his profile. They are troublemakers
on the verge of being kicked out rebellious but most important very
fashion conscious. They soon infiltrate the gang of Daniel Wus where Fung
comes across an old flame from Canada who oddly speaks with an Australian
accent the very lovely Jaymee Ong.
The three of them are also soon joined by Grace
Yip (Y2K - I guess because she likes computers!) and they are soon on the
trail of Nakamura. First though they have to deal with another triad gang
leader that Wu wants them to kill Francis Ng. Ngs role here is fairly
small but he has a few terrific scenes in the film. Also, look for the
Jackie Chan cameo near the end of the film.
All along the way there have been various shootouts
and conflicts with the police authorities who think Tsang is crazy to use
these punks very Mod Squadish. There are really a number of moments that
in most films would make you groan because they are either so corny or
just plain idiotic but in a popcorn movie why let it worry you. Just
sit back and wait for the next big explosion or change of clothes.
My rating for this film: 7.0