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Rating:  -
I heard so much about Hard Boiled, and felt let down. It sure puts a lot of empty casings on the floor and cars in the air, but it takes itself far too seriously considering how lame some of the dramatic scenes are.
The heroic rescue of the baby at the end while our hero kills bad guys left and right says it all: Woo wants there to be justice and nobility, but it all seems corny in light of the incredibly over-the-top violence.
The fight scenes are indeed staged very impressively, and the squib boys were working overtime, but after a while it's boring. There's just too damn much shooting! Violence works when it frightens, not when it numbs.
But, if you need to see almost a million shots fired in two hours (30 minutes too long), here's your movie.
Rating:  -
Item was shipped and arrived as expected and was in perfect condition -- everything worked out as was said
Rating: -
Great Hong Kong gangster movie. The most gunfire I've ever seen in any movie. I thought Chow Yun Fat was great along with Anthony Wong as the villian. It's one of my top five favorite action films. A John Woo classic.
Rating: -
Chow Yun-Fat is possibly the coolest gun-toting policeman (or gangster) to ever appear in any movie! It looks like he is having such a good time blowing the bad guys away! Even when he's shot, and he frequently is, it doesn't slow him down or dampen his spirit. Usually chewing on a match and flashing the famous Chow Yun-Fat smile, it's impossible not to like this guy. I think if you're a girl, you want to be with him and if you're a guy you just want to be him! He has one of the strongest and most charismatic personalities in movies today.
Hard-Boiled is thrilling from start to finish. I've never seen a movie in this genre take place in a hospital. It's really a stroke of genius, because it's so unexpected and kind of taboo -- putting all those innocent people -- and babies -- in danger. Yet, it works! I especially like Chow Yun-Fat blowing the bad guys away while carrying a small baby who seems to be having a great time! The baby flashes a big smile every time Chow Yun-Fat's bullet hits its target, which means the baby has a big smile on its face almost all the time. This baby has a big future ahead of it in movies. He's a natural!
Tony Leung is terriffic in his role and also looks gorgeous! This movie really doesn't have a down-side. It has interesting characters, unexpected locales and tons of bullets and dead bodies! It's an exciting violent fun film which keeps your interest from beginning to end. You won't be checking your watch during this movie!
Rating:  -
Despite his success and acclaim, I was mainly introduced to John Woo films via Mission Impossible 2, Broken Arrow and Face/Off with the latter being probably my favorite. But then anytime somebody mentioned John Woo it was always followed by acclaim for his early Hong Kong output, namely that of the Killer and Hard Boiled. Well with the latter being re-released on DVD, I thought I'd check it out and I wasn't disappointed. Although the DVD package is less-than-ideal, the film itself is a great and entertaining watch.
Tequila (I know, weird name huh?) is a cop in Hong Kong haunted by the death of his partner during a teahouse shootout. Determined to wreak havoc on the Triad members and their leader, Johnny Wong, he starts taking the fight to them. But complicating matters is Alan who is an undercover cop who's currently on the rise within the gang. So Tequila and Alan have to figure out how to bring the gang and Johnny down while trying not to get killed or Alan exposed.
I mentioned this on the Face/Off review but John Woo shares something in common with reviled director Michael Bay: regardless of their faults, they do know how to stage great action sequences. In John Woo's case, he's in full swing with his trademarks which include slow motion, characters diving while shooting and things that go boom really big. Here he's in fine form which include the teahouse shootout, a warehouse gunfight and most specially, a long climax in a crowded and hostage-held hospital. Even if the whole cop-bent-on-revenge story has been done before, got to admit these are exciting scenes to watch.
My one complaint the story itself is that at times, the pace of it kind of drags. While an action movie has to have at least some story, here it feels underdeveloped with the only real thing of merit is the odd friendship that Tequila and Alan have. They bond and bicker but can also go to town on the bad guys like nobody's business but it's the stuff inbetween such as the animosity towards Tequila by his boss just doesn't feel compelling, or the possible scenario of Alan being found out. The big scenes are the payoffs but the story I felt needed a bit more punch to give the fights more of an emotional payoff rather than just bullets everywhere.
There's times where you buy a DVD and you notice the presentation seems forgetten as long as we get the film. Who cares about shimmery film stock, print flaws or weird editing glitches (nothing major, but the film at times feels it like it pauses for a second without a layer change) not to mention the subtitles feel very lackluster with some grammatical mistakes as well as just weird translations. Most people won't notice as long as they understand the story but other people might cry foul.
It's probably not my favorite John Woo film (I haven't watched them all but so far it's Face/Off) but this is very much a close second. But then again the film's so exciting and cool that it doesn't matter where it places, it's just good anyway.
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