The movie starts out in a high pace and it doesn't really slow down. So that was a great accomplishment on behalf of director John Woo.
The storyline, while it is not the most complex of storylines and plot ever to have been constructed, is actually entertaining and does have some nice turns to it.
Was it predictable? It most certainly was. But it is the type of storyline that picks you up and carry you along for a great action-packed thrill ride. One of the more impressive things about "Hard Boiled" aside from the amazing action sequences, was the cast. There is a lot of violence in the movie and a lot of innocent bystanders do get gunned down throughout the course of the movie. But doesn't that sort of add some perverse sense of realism as well, because psychotic people would actually succumb to such wanton random violence and bloodshed.
I have watched "Hard Boiled" many times, and return to it every now and again solely because of the impressive action and the ultra fast pace that there is to the movie. And "Hard Boiled" was actually one of the reasons why I have such a profound and deep love for the Hong Kong cinema.
Quinoa 17 January Hard Boiled is an action movie any self-respecting genre fan has to see at least once. Even if they're not a big fan of John Woo's work though how any action fan can escape the wonder of The Killer or A Better Tomorrow is hard to see , this could provide a good kick in the ass for those jaded on CGI effects and drab story lines. It's a good indicator what kind of thriller it will be from the opening scenes and the action set-piece.
I thought to myself, 'I can't tell anymore who is the cop and who is the usual Woo gangster', but that's part of the point here. It's a twist-and-turn pretzel machine of a movie where you can't really be sure when a double-cross will take place especially with the character Tony played by Tony Leung, who early in the film is called Alan , but at the end of it who really remembers the plot to this?
I can just about remember The Killer, but only because it's ripped-off from Le Samourai. In this case Hard Boiled is about cops on the trail of gun runners.
Simple enough, except that the plot keeps thickening as traitors are discovered, bodies keep piling up, and the head lieutenant or whomever keeps calling out Tequila Chow Yun Fat in one of his coolest performances for being so reckless and a loner on the job.
But when you're like Tequila, who can come blazing down a staircase or flying through a roof or just about anywhere with two guns firing precisely at all times and always with that toothpick held on for dear life , can you blame him for being suspicious of both the cops and the gangsters?
After a while, perhaps Woo means for us to see, the 'glamorization' of the police here- as opposed to his sort of glamorization of quintessential Hong Kong gangsters in his 80's films- is really not all that much to take in.
Except for those little nice moments, like humming American songs to get codes for messages passed along the enemy. Woo at his best takes a beat that should be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a SUPER shoot-em-up. I don't mean just a regular shoot-em-up, but the kind of deal that more than likely inspired Michael Bay. Except the difference between Bay and Woo is a sense of modulating excess with cinema style. Bay doesn't know when to quit and is too relentless, while Woo's action set pieces are like endless rivers of guns and blood and bullets and bodies that becomes exhilarating.
Some may find it too much, or that it becomes repetitive despite it being so well-shot and choreographed. But if you can key into Woo's aesthetic from the start, which should in any other movie be the climax, you're good to go all the way through that almost half hour climax at the hospital. And it does become so relentless and reckless in that hospital finale. It's like Woo and his effects people and stunt coordinators decided at one point to just keep going and to not stop, to see how far they could take it ultimately the body count of the movie is about , more than most war movies.
And when they're put into the mayhem of Woo's carnage it becomes a lot of fun. Nothing is taken exactly TOO seriously, thankfully, and that's another sign of its brilliance.
When it comes time to get to all of those babies left behind after everyone else gets out of the hospital or is laid to waste, you'll see what I mean and how it's later ripped off, lovingly, in Shoot em Up with Clive Owen. It's a take no prisoners buddy-cop movie that can stand tall with some of the best in American film for humor and pathos i.
Lethal Weapon while standing on its own as a quintessential HK flick of its time. This means some of it is a bit dated you'll think listening to the music that Don Johnson is missing somewhere in the action , but only in a shallow sort of way.
Hard Boiled can kick you in the face with a ton of bullets and shrapnel, and the kick some more, and in the right place and time it hits just the spot. BandSAboutMovies 5 May Any time anyone told me how good an action movie was, I always thought, "Yeah, but Hard Boiled John Woo had been criticized for glamorizing gangsters in his films, so for this film, he created a supercop named Inspector Tequila, who was expertly played by perhaps the coolest actor who has ever lived, Chow Yun-Fat.
Do you think Clint Eastwood could make having a baby pee all over you and extinguish the fire on his leg somehow still look awesome? Also, for all the complaints about the amount of death and destruction in American films, this one wipes out people in 92 minutes well, if you're watching the cut version; there's also a minute cut.
There are also around 2, different guns firing off , rounds. It would also be the last film Woo would make before going to Hollywood to make Hard Target. Don't worry - he made better stuff after that. I've always felt that Woo is absolutely in love with everything that is film. This movie is a violent ballet with guns and leaps and fire and explosions instead of body movements. While not as dramatic as The Killer, this still has more of a story - and again, way more action - than anything that the U.
I mean, what else other than a love of film explains that the lead character's name comes from the fact that William Holde drinks an entire bottle of tequila in The Wild Bunch?
Scarecrow 20 May Tony Leung is undercover cop, Tony.. They join forces to take down a ruthless arms dealing mafioso, Johnny Wong Anthony Wong who has a large cache of weapons within a vault underneath Maples Hospital. If Tequila and Tony are not successful in stopping Wong, he'll slaughter the innocent lives of the entire hospital to save his own neck. If you want to see how to make a real action movie, see John Woo's early work in Hong Kong before vacating for America.
Bodies are mangled and pulverized by bullets as well as major destruction of the buildings where shootouts occur. Even before you can settle into the movie, Woo hits it out of the ball park with the superb shootout in Wyndham teahouse where Tequila and his partner trade gunfire with arms smugglers where many innocent customers..
As you'd expect, Tequila loses his partner.. Then a little later we get the successful raid of Wong.. This is were Hoi's best assassin, Alan, "betrays" him joining forces with his rival. You see practically all of Hoi's men massacred by Wong before Tequila..
Not only does Tequila contend with men on motorcycles and Alan.. Again, many men die as sparks and explosions emanate with bodies blasted apart as Tequila, Tony, and Mad Dog masterfully evade ammunition aimed their way by flipping and sliding over vehicles and through windows. The final dazzling, mesmerizing set-piece.. By the end, the hospital resembles the skeletal remains of a building you'd see in Beirut.
Woo establishes Wong as an absolute monster.. His men actually blow away patients and medical personnel trying to get out of the hospital.. This film features some of the most amazing gun battles I have ever had a pleasure to witness. Exhiliarting ways Tequila and Tony are able to avoid the contact of bullets aimed in their direction. I've never seen such damage to the insides of buildings before this film. One entire sequence has Tequila and Tony moving floor to floor dropping their adversaries..
It doesn't get much better than this. John Woo himself.. Everpresent in John Woo's work is injecting humanity into his films, not matter how blood-thirsty they are.
Where Tequila must defend himself against baddies with one hand while cradling a baby is nothing short of amazing, particularly how he escapes an exploding building! Hong Kong police inspector "Tequila" Yuen is out to righteously destroy the gun running mobsters who caused the death of his partner. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! In essence, John Woo's characteristic take on movies like Die Hard : a supercharged thriller in which a renegade cop and an undercover man take on Triad gun-runners who store their munitions in a hospital morgue. Anyone who saw The Killer will have a fair idea what to expect, from the intense male bonding to the hyper-kinetic editing style.
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The Stabilizer Country: Indonesia. Duration: 87 min. Rainmaker killed Goldson's fiancee by kicking her with his spiked shoes, and now Goldson wants revenge. Meanwhile, Rainmaker has kidnapped the famous Professor Plot: fight , explosion , revenge , murder , death , martial arts , gun duel , female martial artist , grenade , brutality , massacre , kung fu Fire Phoenix Duration: 90 min.
Plot: blood splatter , gun duel , violence , kung fu , gun , fistfight , martial arts , blood , martial artist , gunfight , combat , mob. Movie in collections. Bloody Brotherhood Duration: 92 min. Story: Bloody Brotherhood didn't make much of a splash at the HK box office just reaching that "magic" two-week theatrical run where most HK movies reach the break-even point and it's gone largely ignored by fans, even though it stars Plot: gore , machete , blood , armored vehicle, police shootout, robbery, blood splatter , explosion , exit wound , violence , murder , police officer shot in the chest Also search: Movies like The Raid 7.
Cheetah On Fire Duration: 84 min. Story: In Hong Kong, a weapon dealer has a special computer chip, which is needed to build a secret missile. He is trying to sell it to a foreign goverment. The local secret police, the CIA and an enemy band is looking for him, but he has a very rich and Plot: martial arts , cia, blood splatter , female martial artist , gunfight , gun duel , explosion , fistfight , exit wound , fight , martial artist , death Place: thailand, hong kong.
The Greatest Battle of Wolves Story: A veteran mobster finds that not only are the police after him, but so are members of his own gang, led by a young gangster who wants to take over. Style: realistic, serious, exciting, tense, suspenseful. Plot: gangsters, martial arts , police, cons and scams, boat chase, mortal combat, on the run, crimes, chase , chases and races, dishonesty, danger Time: 20th century, 80s. Place: hong kong, asia, china. Beauty Investigator Duration: 86 min. Story: A serial killer is loose in Hong Kong, murdering hostesses from high class night clubs.
As punishment for their flaky style and lack of discipline, two young policewomen are assigned to work undercover as hostesses to catch the sadist. While solving Style: buddy comedy. Plot: loss of loved one, undercover, car chase , female assassin , singer, kung fu , shower, policewoman, revenge , exploding car, martial arts , female police officer.
Just Heroes Genre: Action, Crime, Drama. Duration: 97 min. Story: The assassination of a gang lord triggers a power struggle amongst his men. Who will win the game the righteous or the villain? Plot: boat, shot to death , hand to hand combat, revenge , bloodbath , death , shot point blank , shot in the leg , gore , shot in the stomach , blood on camera lens, shot in the chest With guilt threatening to overcome Alan, Tequila reassures him it was just another bad guy, but Woo makes sure the incident is replayed so we, the audience, are left in no doubt.
Frustratingly, Hard Boiled has a long and ugly history of sub-par home entertainment releases, with even the Criterion edition being relatively light on supplementary material. Several releases were cut for violence, including the original U.
Although concrete information on this version is slight, dvdcompare website claims it has its origin as a preview screening, shown at a festival before Woo had finalised his cut of the film. Therefore, it is important to note that the Taiwanese cut is not director approved and the theatrical cut remains the definitive version of Hard Boiled. In terms of notable differences between the Taiwanese cut and the theatrical version, it is claimed there is additional footage at the beginning and end of the non-action scenes.
But due to the Taiwanese cut being sourced from a master that was in two parts, there is a black screen in the middle of the film that lasts for approximately five minutes and accounts for the majority of the extended run time. However, a seller on Amazon. While dvdcompare estimates the extra footage clocks in at four minutes. In a video game sequel , Stranglehold , was released that saw Chow Yun Fat reprise the role of Tequila, with John Woo and long-time producing partner Terence Chang on board in a producing capacity.
The rights owners did not want fans buying Stranglehold merely to access Hard Boiled , as they feared it would harm sales of a planned future blu ray release the Dragon Dynasty version.
Woo also wrests a career best performance out of Jean-Claude Van Damme, making Hard Target the greatest of his Hollywood output and despite its offensively low critical rankings, it sits comfortably alongside his more revered Hong Kong work. Woo also directed the made-for-tv action movie Blackjack starring Dolph Lundgren. However, he revisited his action roots recently with action thriller Manhunt , which made its debut on streaming giant Netflix.
But it would be fair to still consider it a cult movie given the initially fervent popularity among action fans and subsequent breakout appeal. It might also be fair to suggest Hard Boiled has dropped out of the conversation a little bit in terms of the greatest action movies of all time.
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