spoiler by innuendo
P.T.U. (for Police Tactical Unit) is director Johnny To's much publicised recent work. Comparison with To's classic The Mission is almost inevitable. P.T.U., unfortunately, does not measure up. The main problem could be that To tried too hard, not unlike Zhang Yimou with Hero.
While Zhang tried to dazzle his audience with an overwhelming visual kaleidoscope, To was indulged in an attempt to impress his with mental sleight of hand. Both failed. What To has done is to play with every scene like a sleight of hand, building up mounting tension and suspense, culminating in..........nothing. On might say that this is precisely the point, to show the absurdity of the entire situation, a much ado about nothing piece of satire. Even granting that, this sleight of hand thing is still far overdone.
This assertion comes out more clearly by comparison with The Mission, which is To's best work to-date. In The Mission, To used a simple plot as his vehicle to do the things he wanted to do: the characters, their interaction, the visual form, the mise-en-scene. Amidst all that, he had time to squeeze in one of the most inspired scenes: the five body guards languidly kicking around a crumbled piece of paper made into a ball while waiting for the big boss.
P.T.U. is not a complete disaster. The sleight of hand does capture some attention, at least at the begining. Lam Suet's portrayal of the rather down-to-earth and somewhat comical character does a lot to brighten up the film.
The original score by Chung Chi-wing also deserves some credit. Chung, unless I am seriously mistaken, is the one quite well know among people familiar with the local live theatre scene, being credited with a couple of very respectable local musicals.
P.T.U. (for Police Tactical Unit) is director Johnny To's much publicised recent work. Comparison with To's classic The Mission is almost inevitable. P.T.U., unfortunately, does not measure up. The main problem could be that To tried too hard, not unlike Zhang Yimou with Hero.
While Zhang tried to dazzle his audience with an overwhelming visual kaleidoscope, To was indulged in an attempt to impress his with mental sleight of hand. Both failed. What To has done is to play with every scene like a sleight of hand, building up mounting tension and suspense, culminating in..........nothing. On might say that this is precisely the point, to show the absurdity of the entire situation, a much ado about nothing piece of satire. Even granting that, this sleight of hand thing is still far overdone.
This assertion comes out more clearly by comparison with The Mission, which is To's best work to-date. In The Mission, To used a simple plot as his vehicle to do the things he wanted to do: the characters, their interaction, the visual form, the mise-en-scene. Amidst all that, he had time to squeeze in one of the most inspired scenes: the five body guards languidly kicking around a crumbled piece of paper made into a ball while waiting for the big boss.
P.T.U. is not a complete disaster. The sleight of hand does capture some attention, at least at the begining. Lam Suet's portrayal of the rather down-to-earth and somewhat comical character does a lot to brighten up the film.
The original score by Chung Chi-wing also deserves some credit. Chung, unless I am seriously mistaken, is the one quite well know among people familiar with the local live theatre scene, being credited with a couple of very respectable local musicals.