| Horribly beautiful violence, masterly camera work, but confusing focus mars film. |
|
| written by Waiguoren99 |
April 1, 2003 - 11:53 PM PST |
|
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
|
| A somewhat scrambled and confusing plotline and further confusion as to the film's focus mars this otherwise excellent work. The emotional resonances between the characters is even stronger this time around, and the acting from all concerned is superb, especially in the scene between Ken (Chow Yun-fat) and the gravely wounded Kit (Leslie Cheung). (This scene, in fact, gives the lie direct to those critics who have spoken of Cheung's acting as "wooden". What actor were they watching? Certainly not this one!) The choreography of the violence is astounding and at times horribly beautiful, and the use of camera angles, lighting, slow - motion, etc. is masterly. Unfortunately, the story focusses sometimes on the character of Lung and the theme of his betrayal by his bosses, and sometimes on the relationships and events surrounding Kit, Ho, and Ken, to the detriment of both storylines. There is some speculation that producer Tsui Hark insisted on the focus on the Lung storyline because Dean Shek, Hark's mentor and the actor playing Lung, had been similarly betrayed by his own bosses at his studio. Woo has apparently disowned this film except for the final gun battle, and the third film in the trilogy, A Better Tomorrow III, was made by Hark without him. |
|
|
Your cart
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.