Chinese cinema is definitely something I don't see often. Mainly due to the distribution to the UK not being that great. So I was certainly open to check this out and see what China has to offer.
It has quite an impactful opening act and sets everything up nicely. After that, it was a mixed bag of emotions. While the story was still moving along nicely and kept me interested. There were times where it went off into strange tangents which effected my enjoyment as well as the films momentum in my opinion.
I'm not sure if it was style of storytelling as it felt alien to me in those moments. Either that, or the director has a particular tone and vibe that just doesn't sit well with me or I'm not used to.
What did work was some very well executed action set-pieces and great camerawork and use of shadows that reminded me a lot The Third Man. Plus the performances were pretty good and the chemistry between the two leads played by Ge Hu and Lun-Mei Kwei was engaging and had a development that was effectively unpredictable to see how it would end.
So despite the problems I had with it, there was still effective portions of the film to just slightly outweigh the drawbacks.
I can't see myself watching this again. But it does entice me to watch more Chinese films and more from this particular director. It's certainly a style km not used to. But I'm willing to keep looking into films with a similar style to see if it's not just me.
It wouldn't surprise me if this gets made into an American remake. The foundations are definitely there for an entertaining action thriller that can be enjoyed by the masses.
Rating: 7/10
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