A mildly entertaining Hong Kong actioner, neither good enough to be particularly memorable nor bad enough to be a worthless watch. This drama-cum-thriller (with only a few elements of comedy – mostly from annoying reporter Gi Gi Lai) takes a while to get going, but then on from the initial set-up we are treated to almost non-stop action and chase sequences. In a film in which the action is so pivotal to the entertainment value, it's a shame the choreography is on the poor side. Lots and lots of quick editing and jump cuts mean that we're never quite sure if what we're seeing is authentic, and the cameraman definitely needed to sit back at some points and just let the fight play out in one take. The pacy, lightning-speed of the battles is just too much to take, and reduces a lot of the fun value from them.
The name martial artist here is Chiu Man Cheuk (THE BLACK SHEEP AFFAIR), who served to fill Jet Li's shoes when the latter went off to America to make movies. He's a likable guy, but I personally would have preferred to see more of his moves and style in a movie which only really sees him fight really well and gracefully in one or two moments (the highlight being the showdown with stuntman Jude Poyer). As for his subtle method of acting, I'll reserve judgment until I've seen a few more of his movies. There are definitely some crazy scenes here, such as the battles with the group of cyclists, and a short car chase breaks up the run-of-the-mill stuff about halfway through. The race-against-the-clock style plot is not nearly exploited to the full.
All of the drama in the story comes from Anthony Wong, playing an AWOL soldier desperate to get his son back from the evil biological father. Wong adds tons of charisma and power to the film, so his performance here alone earns the proceedings an extra star. You feel that without him, there really wouldn't be much in the way of suspense surrounding the school siege, but Wong brings depth and gravity to what is essentially a two-dimensional character.
The name martial artist here is Chiu Man Cheuk (THE BLACK SHEEP AFFAIR), who served to fill Jet Li's shoes when the latter went off to America to make movies. He's a likable guy, but I personally would have preferred to see more of his moves and style in a movie which only really sees him fight really well and gracefully in one or two moments (the highlight being the showdown with stuntman Jude Poyer). As for his subtle method of acting, I'll reserve judgment until I've seen a few more of his movies. There are definitely some crazy scenes here, such as the battles with the group of cyclists, and a short car chase breaks up the run-of-the-mill stuff about halfway through. The race-against-the-clock style plot is not nearly exploited to the full.
All of the drama in the story comes from Anthony Wong, playing an AWOL soldier desperate to get his son back from the evil biological father. Wong adds tons of charisma and power to the film, so his performance here alone earns the proceedings an extra star. You feel that without him, there really wouldn't be much in the way of suspense surrounding the school siege, but Wong brings depth and gravity to what is essentially a two-dimensional character.
