I tend to associate the films of John Woo with non stop well choreographed violent action but this one is different. Yes, there is plenty of action, some of which is fairly violent but the over all tone feels much lighter as there are also plenty of gags, some of which had me laughing out loud.
The film starts in France where we see a trio of thieves stealing a valuable painting from a moving lorry as it is transferred from a museum. When they give the painting to their French employer he asks them to steal another painting, the two men in the group say they are happy to take on the job but the woman, who is acting as translator tells their employer they have declined the offer.
The two men proceed to steal the painting and escape in a thrilling car chase which ends in the apparent death of "Red Bean Pudding" (Chow Yun Fat). James (Leslie Cheung) and "Red Bean" (Cherie Chung) return to Hong Kong and after a while they are surprised to discover that their friend is still alive, it turns out he survived the crash but is now in a wheel chair. They also learn that the painting they stole in France is now the prized possession of their Fagin-like adoptive father. They are determined to steal it back off him which leads to several memorable scenes including attempting to steal a set of keys at a dance where Chow Yun Fat demonstrates that he is quite a dancer... in a wheel chair. The final shoot out is both exciting and hilarious.
If you are a fan of John Woo's work I'd recommend this, it is also a great film to introduce his work to people one thinks might not be so keen on his purely action flicks. It probably isn't suitable for children though as there is quite a lot of shooting and some swearing.
These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles, an English dubbed version is also available.
The film starts in France where we see a trio of thieves stealing a valuable painting from a moving lorry as it is transferred from a museum. When they give the painting to their French employer he asks them to steal another painting, the two men in the group say they are happy to take on the job but the woman, who is acting as translator tells their employer they have declined the offer.
The two men proceed to steal the painting and escape in a thrilling car chase which ends in the apparent death of "Red Bean Pudding" (Chow Yun Fat). James (Leslie Cheung) and "Red Bean" (Cherie Chung) return to Hong Kong and after a while they are surprised to discover that their friend is still alive, it turns out he survived the crash but is now in a wheel chair. They also learn that the painting they stole in France is now the prized possession of their Fagin-like adoptive father. They are determined to steal it back off him which leads to several memorable scenes including attempting to steal a set of keys at a dance where Chow Yun Fat demonstrates that he is quite a dancer... in a wheel chair. The final shoot out is both exciting and hilarious.
If you are a fan of John Woo's work I'd recommend this, it is also a great film to introduce his work to people one thinks might not be so keen on his purely action flicks. It probably isn't suitable for children though as there is quite a lot of shooting and some swearing.
These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles, an English dubbed version is also available.