7 of 10
Cinematography by Wing-Heng Wang
Yun-Fat Chow
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
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| Hard Boiled 7 of 10 |
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| Directed by John Woo Cinematography by Wing-Heng Wang Yun-Fat Chow Tony Leung Chiu Wai |
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| Before watching this, the only John Woo films I had seen were Face/Off, Broken Arrow, and MI:2. Needless to say, I was pretty unimpressed with his work. This film changed all that, and for exactly the reasons one would expect. There wasn�t really much of a story. In fact, I�m not sure I could recount what happens in the film, from a character development standpoint. (In all fairness, that might be as much my fault as Woo�s.) But that doesn�t really matter, because the story is not what makes the film go. No, it is the brilliant action sequences that really drive the picture. And they are truly brilliant; no hyperbole here. The confrontation between two warring gangs that occurs about half-way through the picture is amazing. Woo keeps the tension at an almost unbearable pitch, and then, just when the audience is nearly exhausted, turns it up a few notches more. However, despite this scene and several other bravura sequences, it is nearly impossible to remember anything from the film clearly once Woo presents the hospital shoot-out. He opens this climactic battle with a long SteadiCam shot that takes us through several floors (and several dozen baddies). Woo changes speeds almost constantly through the shot, using the film printer to great effect. Impossible to describe; it really must be watched to be believed. All in all, this is a far better action film than his later, cleaner, Americanized stuff. Here, we can really see his imagination/choreography at work; and the results are formidable indeed. A real blast, and great Friday night fare. | ||||||