R E V I E W

2002

Golden Harvest | 2001 | 96 minutes
Directed by Wilson Yip Wai Shun
Written by Wilson Yip Wai Shun, Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu, Gwok Ji Kin, Szeto Kam-Yen

With Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

Wilson Yip Wai Shun directed five films before coming to prominence with Bio-Zombie in 1998. He followed that up with the very good police drama Bullets Over Summer and the romantic Juliet in Love. He evidently faltered with Skyline Cruisers (which received so many negative notices that I have yet to catch up with it).

Notable among the scriptwriters is Szeto Kam-Yen, who contributed to four films made by Milkyway Image Productions (Too Many Ways to be No. 1, The Longest Nite, Expect the Unexpected, A Hero Never Dies).

The film opened in Hong Kong cinemas in mid-December 2001.

M O V I E

plot
Inspector Yau and his ghost partner Sam make up 2002, a special unit of the Hong Kong police. They deal with all the supernatural cases. It's time for Sam to be reincarnated, though, and his replacement is Fung, a traffic cop. The only problem, according to Chan (expert on the underworld and Yau's confidant), is that Fung is fated to die.

performances
Nicholas Tse Ting Fung is very good as the tormented Yau, and Stephen Fung Tak-Lun also turns in a worthy performance as Fung. Their scenes together are probably the strongest.

Law Kar-Ying provides good balance as Yau's spiritual mentor, Chan, and Sam Lee Chan-Sam (as Sam) livens up his scenes. Rain Li Choi Wah (her third film) is comatose half the time (rather, her character is) and perfunctory the other half. In her first film role, Danielle Graham, plays Yau's love interest, a nurse; she is noticeably dubbed by someone else.

Alex Fong Nik Sun (also his first part) glowers as the Water Ghost. Anya, a noteworthy presence in Sharp Guns, has just a few minutes of screen time here as the fierce Fire Ghost. Co-writer and producer Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu contributes a cameo as a doctor.

production
Your tolerance and/or enjoyment of this film will depend on how deep you want to scratch. I've certainly taken many films to task for the sins of insubstantial character development and gaping hopes in the plot and story line. 2002 never establishes the internal logic of its ghost world, the work that the special squad does, or even the stakes that are at risk. Characters are sketched in quickly and relationships are described rather than shown. So why did I enjoy this film so much, and come down hard on, say, Dance of a Dream?

Because I have a really kicking sound system. Sorry to say, that's what influences me here. If you don't have a home theater system that can output Dolby Digital 5.1 audio at high volume, consider my recommendation to be a low priority rental. I'm positive that the flaws in the story would be much more apparent to me were it not for the thunderous bass. Dissecting this movie is like talking in a disco -- philosophical arguments will not be heard.

Even without the capacity to play back in DD 5.1, you still might enjoy the film if you've enjoyed techno-thrillers like 2000 A.D. and Tokyo Raiders. 2002 feels like those movies, in that style tends to overrule substance, and the overall feel is to keep moving so the audience doesn't grow bored. 2002 also benefits from good performances by Nicholas Tse and Stephen Fung, and an extended meditation on life and death.

Not to mention that the entire film exudes smokin' cool.

rating
Category IIB. Despite some rather punishing physical scenes, only a limited amount of blood appears on-screen.

D V D

look
Crystal clear, with well-saturated colors and deep black tones. The source print was very clean. Letterboxed presentation.

sound
Gut-wrenching, chest-thumping bass and a very deep and expansive sound field mark this as a remarkable-sounded disk. I listened to the Cantonese DD 5.1 track; also provided is a Cantonese DD 2.0 track, and two Mandarin versions (DD 5.1 and DD 2.0).

subtitles
The white removable English subtitles flew by quickly on a couple of occasions, but for the most part they were highly readable with just a few notable spelling errors. Also included are traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles.

features
The disk is divided into 11 chapters, although surprisingly there is no menu from which you can select individual chapters. Click "Character" and you are presented with descriptions of each of the main characters (note that the lead characters are named Tide and Wind here, whereas the English subtitles refer to them as Yau and Fung). The original theatrical trailer is included, as is a "making of" feature that I haven't had a chance to watch yet.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. Pure popcorn entertainment.

(Reviewed by Peter A. Martin; February 28, 2002)

THIS DVD IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT HKFLIX.COM