Gearing down from the elaborate plotting and yard-long character lists of ELECTION (1 & 2/’05 - ‘06), Hong Kong’s Johnnie To minimizes plot & persona in this Macao-set actioner about a self-exiled gangster returned home to mixed reception: One pair of hit men out to kill him/A second pair on hand to protect. The rest of the film charts a stand-off that bends toward partnership as Macao sorts thru a new pecking order of mob heads. So, as fast-rising Boss Fay, who ordered the hit to avenge his attempted assassination, waits with growing impatience, our five professional hitmen (Mr. Target; Killers; Defenders) debate what job opportunities to pick up on during the current citywide Mob shakedown. Heck, maybe he’ll just naturally get whacked on a ‘job.’ Mission Accomplished. Naturally, the situation is constantly upended: Wife & Infant Son a sentimental complication . . . with a gun!; Local Cop nearing retirement only wants to stay out of harm’s way; Rival Gangs jockeying for position; and, oh yes, there’s a ton of heist-worthy gold passing thru the area. With violent mayhem elegantly composed, To makes the action & reversals of loyalty easy to follow (a wonderfully individualized cast*), while sailing thru the film’s unusual two-part structure with bravura control of pacing, and a tone that’s a mash-up of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah & Quentin Tarantino, yet speaks in its own singular voice. The film should be far better known Stateside.
DOUBLKE-BILL/LINK: As mentioned above, ELECTION and its less effective sequel. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2010/09/hak-se-wui-election-2005.html https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2010/10/hak-se-wui-yi-wo-wai-kwai-election-2.html
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: One of the ‘killer pair’ actors has an apt name in real life, Lam Suet, exactly what he looks like.
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