I bought this DVD based on a large number of people saying it was one of John Woo's best movies. Having seen The Killer, Hard Boiled, and A Better Tomorrow, I was expecting something spectacular if this movie was going to top them. It not only did not top them, it bears little resemblence to a good movie of any genre. It is very sloppily edited. The cuts are abrupt and the movie is utterly lacking in continuity. Flashback scenes are interspersed throughout in a very haphazard and annoying fashion. It is simply a bad movie. Tony Leung still manages to look cool. Big surprise there.
The theme of this movie is a good one, and, expressed properly, this movie could have had a strong, emotionally charged core. Friends are tested both by hardship and success. That is a common thread through all cultures, but the over-the-top way this movie deals with the topic is laughable.
I rate this movie a 5/10 in it's genre. It was not nearly as entertaining or enjoyable as other John Woo films I've seen.
The theme of this movie is a good one, and, expressed properly, this movie could have had a strong, emotionally charged core. Friends are tested both by hardship and success. That is a common thread through all cultures, but the over-the-top way this movie deals with the topic is laughable.
I rate this movie a 5/10 in it's genre. It was not nearly as entertaining or enjoyable as other John Woo films I've seen.