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R E V I E W
2000 A. D.
Universe / 2000 / 104 minutes
Directed by Gordon Chan Ka-Seung
Written by Gordon Chan Ka-Seung and Stu ZichermanWith Aaron Kwok, Daniel Wu, Phyllis Quek, James Lye, Gigi Choi, Ray Lui, Francis Ng
B A C K G R O U N D : director, in cinemas, recent and related films
Gordon Chan's first credit as a screenwriter came with 1984's Behind the Yellow Line; his first directorial effort was The Yuppie Fantasia in 1989. Since then he has directed more than 15 films, including Fight Back to School, The Final Option, Fist of Legend, Thunderbolt, and Beast Cops (co-directed with Dante Lam).
The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong in February 2000 and did well at the box office.
Subsequently Chan directed Okinawa Rendez-vous.
M O V I E : plot, performances, production, rating
Plot: The Singapore military is concerned about threats from computer warfare and sets up an Information Warfare Unit. Sure enough, a plane is destroyed and computer warriors are suspected. Peter is a game-loving computer nerd living in Hong Kong. He works at his own computer company with his best friend Benny; his girlfriend Janet is Benny's sister. Peter's brother Greg (also in the computer business) comes to visit from America. Greg is very quickly accused by the CIA (led by Kelvin) of being a spy. Officer Ronald Ng leads the Hong Kong police in their investigation, while Eric Ong of the Information Warfare Unit arrives from Singapore to try to find out what's happening. Lastly, one more character arrives to muddy up the waters . .. . Salina, Greg's mysterious girlfriend. Events begin spiraling out of control.
Performances: Aaron Kwok effectively conveyed the range of emotions that Peter experiences during the film, although his transformation from computer geek to action hero is not completely convincing. Phyllis Quek lent Salina just a touch of poignancy. As with the role of Peter, however, Salina's character arc is not realistically portrayed in the script. In supporting roles, Daniel Wu was very good as Benny, James Lye stoic as Eric Ong, Gigi Choi given nothing interesting to do as Janet, Ray Lui competent as Greg, and Andrew Lin avoided the cliché of taking his role as Kelvin over-the-top. The real standout in the cast is Francis Ng as Officer Ronald Ng. He stood out in my first viewing of the film back in September. A second viewing confirms my impression. He portrays Ronald as basically unflappable - efficient yet concerned for his own people as well as civilians. His most memorable line? "This is business as usual for a civil servant."
Production: Director Chan keeps the plot moving at a good pace but allows time for the events that are happening to register, both with the characters and the audience. The action is very well staged, especially two of the gun battles that break out. Throw in a car chase in Singapore and a couple of martial arts fights and it's hard to get bored. Arthur Wong's cinematography makes a variety of locations look attractive. His many credits include Once Upon a Time in China I and II and Big Bullet. Mooi Lam Mau's music is great, adding impact where needed to the action scenes and stirring emotions with some of the quieter scenes. His other credits are The Christ of Nanking in 1995 and Option Zero in 1997.
Rating: Category IIB. A lot of shooting, crashing, and some fighting. At least two scenes have explicit gunshot violence with blood spray.
D V D : look, sound, subtitles, features
Look: The disk is letterboxed at 1.85 to 1 and the presentation is excellent. Black levels are deep, colors are saturated and rendered accurately, and fleshtones look natural. The source print is very clean.
Sound: I listed to the Dolby Digital 5.1 Cantonese audio track and it sounded very good and very loud. The soundfield is expansive and the surrounds are used frequently. The other audio track provided is DD 5.1 Mandarin.
Subtitles: The English removable subtitles are white and easy to read with few, if any, spelling or grammatical errors. The other subtitles provided are traditional and simplified Chinese.
Features: Twelve chapters can be selected from the full-motion menu. Stars' files are provided for Aaron Kwok, Phyllis Quek, Daniel Wu, James Lye, Gigi Choi, Ray Lui, Francis Ng, and Andrew Lin. The film's theatrical trailer is included, as are trailers for Tempting Heart, Metade Fumaca, Purple Storm, and Gen-X Cops. As a bonus for those who can understand Cantonese or Mandarin (or who can read traditional or simplified Chinese), a 20-minute "making of" feature is included with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the director and stars. It focuses on Aaron Kwok quite a bit - you see him shaving, practicing a dance routine, etc. English sub-titles would have been great, but, then again, I would be shocked if I missed much by just watching.
R E C O M M E N D A T I O N : buy, rent, or pass?
Rent - unless you are resolutely opposed to Aaron Kwok and/or any movie that includes computers in its plot line. Well-paced suspense and a great supporting part from Francis Ng lend weight to the proceedings.
(Reviewed 3/12/01)
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