Heroic Duo is a Hong Kong action flick with an intriguing storyline about a battle of wits between two master hypnotists that sadly goes awry as the plot becomes increasingly convoluted before falling apart completely. It's a shame, because most other aspects of the movie are good: the cinematography is crisp and clear, the acting is acceptable overall (Francis Ng as the bad guy takes gold for his charismatic performance in this one), and Benny Chan's direction is bold and energetic.
When a police officer sets fire to the contents of his station's safe after stealing some documents, police officer Ken discovers that he was hypnotised into committing the act. When the officer then commits suicide, Ken enlists the aid of Jack Lai (Leon Lai), a hypnotist and former officer now languishing in prison for murder. Lai tells Ken the only person who could have perpetrated the crime is "The Mindhunter," Lai's former tutor. Only Lai can identify the Mindhunter so Ken has him released into his custody to help solve the case. Things are more complicated than they seem, however, and Ken soon finds himself on the run from his own officers
There's enough plot in this movie for half-a-dozen movies, and it grows increasingly silly as it goes along. Twists and turns are thrown into the stew with every second scene and the stakes are repeatedly upped until the villainous Ng's wicked deeds begin to resemble the kind of actions committed by a Bond villain. It's a common flaw of Asian movies, where credibility is sacrificed for the sake of cool images and situations that have to be shoehorned into the plot until things become so far-fetched that you begin to wonder whether you're watching some kind of spoof. I swear every main character gets shot about three times apiece in the last ten minutes yet they're all still leaping about as if the bullets have simply bounced off them. This uncontrolled enthusiasm for thrills and spills certainly makes for entertaining viewing, but a Western audience's enjoyment will be tempered by the silliness of it all.
And couldn't someone have come up with a less naff title than Heroic Duo?
When a police officer sets fire to the contents of his station's safe after stealing some documents, police officer Ken discovers that he was hypnotised into committing the act. When the officer then commits suicide, Ken enlists the aid of Jack Lai (Leon Lai), a hypnotist and former officer now languishing in prison for murder. Lai tells Ken the only person who could have perpetrated the crime is "The Mindhunter," Lai's former tutor. Only Lai can identify the Mindhunter so Ken has him released into his custody to help solve the case. Things are more complicated than they seem, however, and Ken soon finds himself on the run from his own officers
There's enough plot in this movie for half-a-dozen movies, and it grows increasingly silly as it goes along. Twists and turns are thrown into the stew with every second scene and the stakes are repeatedly upped until the villainous Ng's wicked deeds begin to resemble the kind of actions committed by a Bond villain. It's a common flaw of Asian movies, where credibility is sacrificed for the sake of cool images and situations that have to be shoehorned into the plot until things become so far-fetched that you begin to wonder whether you're watching some kind of spoof. I swear every main character gets shot about three times apiece in the last ten minutes yet they're all still leaping about as if the bullets have simply bounced off them. This uncontrolled enthusiasm for thrills and spills certainly makes for entertaining viewing, but a Western audience's enjoyment will be tempered by the silliness of it all.
And couldn't someone have come up with a less naff title than Heroic Duo?