Hit Team
Reviewed by YTSL
Good people can do not-so-good things for the
benefit of those who they care for, respect or both, whereas bad people
do bad things just to enrich themselves. These seem to be the messages
of this Dante Lam helmed -- plus co-produced, along with Joe Cheung (who
served as well as the 2001 film’s firearms consultant), and stunt co-ordinated
-- effort. Along with a heavily stressed theme of people -- particularly
those of the male gender -- needing to bear and honor the responsibility
to others that they invariably possess, they also appear to be the principles
which underlie the multi-part story concocted by Clarence Lee and Jack
Ng, this heavy-on-the-testosterone-as-well-as-action movie’s scriptwriters.
Although its title may make it appear to be
otherwise, HIT TEAM involves not one but three sets of substantially plus
formidably armed units, and culminates in a bullet-filled showdown between
two of them that also involves at least one member of the third group which
follows a similarly well-choreographed and -staged shoot-out involving
a slightly different ensemble of individuals. The first of these
that we see in action is that which is headed by Alex To’s Don character
and also consists of an SDU officer called King (who is played by Tony
Ho) along with a couple of other guys named Fai and Kee. This somewhat
ad hoc unit was effectively called into service by the serious wounding
of an undercover police officer friend of theirs named Ho (who is essayed
by Chin Kar Lok) in a gun battle that starts and is over before the movie
passes the 5 minute mark.
Targeting the underworld’s “underground bank”
that Ho was involved in investigating when he got so badly hurt that he
now suffers from a condition referred to in the English subtitles as “hemiplegia”
and needs to go to Switzerland for treatment that costs HK$2 million, the
quartet -- that is made up of three recently resigned plus one still serving
policemen -- carry out a risky illegal operation that ended up not only
failing to yield the amount of money they sought as well as costing the
lives of five men (despite their plan having been to not hurt anybody)
but also caused them to attract the serious attention of people on both
sides of the law. Rather than cut their losses and abandon their
unorthodox fund-raising efforts though, they proceed to plan a second heist
that would deprive the criminal world of some more of its ill-gotten gains.
More than incidentally, it’s indeed one of the
more problematic points of HIT TEAM that those who had been taught to uphold
the law would be so willing to break it -- as well as sacrifice the lives
of others along with their own -- so that an admittedly close buddy of
theirs, who they further believe has been made a scapegoat by higher-ups
in the police force, can have a chance to walk again. While it’s
no where as unorthodox in style as Dante Lam’s previous “Jiang Hu:
The Triad Zone”, there are signs here and there within it that those who
produced this work are more comfortable when not toeing establishing lines.
For one thing, in a more conventional film, more
screen-time would be devoted to the most clear cut “good guys” of the piece:
The E team of the elite Central Intelligence Bureau sent to hunt down Don
and co. that is under the leadership of Inspector Chung Chau (who Daniel
Wu efficiently portrays) and also comprises a gung-ho female replacement
for a recently killed comrade (Jane Chan is played with quiet purpose by
Jo Kuk), easy-going Sam (who comes in the form of Samuel Pang) and the
more intense B.J.. However sketchily drawn though, this top group’s
personalities still are more apparent and distinct than those of the criminal
hit squad brought together and commanded by the villainous Brother Joe
(Joe Lee is by far the oldest of the individuals with an active part to
play in HIT TEAM’s proceedings). Enough information is also provided
to make the (re)viewer realize that more than one member of this outwardly
cool and straight-arrow looking special police unit is plagued with the
sort of inner demons that have the potential to wreck havoc on their judgement
at times when this really should not be the case.
Still, this is not to say that I don’t wish that
more time had been spent on fleshing out this packed movie’s unexpectedly
many major along with minor characters. Among those that could lay
the most valid claims to having been given the shortest shrift are the
significant others of team leaders Don and Inspector Chung. Alternatively,
I saw little reason why they needed to be in this work at all. As
it stands (albeit through no fault of those who had the thankless job of
portraying them), I feel that the scenes involving Ruby Wong’s character
(that of Don’s female friend) and the woman who was Inspector Chung’s companion
at the beach (I’m assuming that Monica was played by Monica Lo) did not
add much at all to HIT TEAM’s story, and may well have been the weakest
parts of this generally respectable and somewhat different-from-the-norm
-- yet not particularly memorable -- offering.
My rating for the film: 6.