This contribution to the "Western" genre from Hong Kong is just about the most offensively poor film I've seen that actually had a budget. I don't know how much it cost to make (I'm guessing at a few million), but it was money down the toilet. I am an admirer of the work of Chow Yun Fat, both in Hong Kong and Hollywood, but I was shocked and disappointed to discover how low his standards are capable of dropping, as demonstrated by his heavy involvement in this shoddy piece of work (main actor and co-writer). Essentially, the story is of a part of wild China in/around early 20th c, in which a former gangster and mass-murderer reforms his life and builds the Peace Hotel, a refuge for all the area's disowned and hunted. This situation is maintained for 10 years, when a woman of dubious character turns up and claims refuge. However, she is at the centre of a plot to bring down the Peace Hotel, the owner, and all he stands for. Why is this a disastrous production? Where do I start.....The back-stories of the two main characters are treated in an overly sentimental way, the soundtrack throughout the film is irritating, the story didn't interest me, I found the pacing to be slow without being gripping, and most of the characters seemed to be one-dimensional, pointless, irritating and/or unlikeable. I also got the impression that there were gaps in the story in terms of explaining motives, but it may be that if I had taken more of an interest in the film I might have understood it better. Frankly, I was bored rigid after the first 30 minutes, and couldn't wait for it to end. Yawn.
Review of Peace Hotel
