Most of the "foreign" films in my collection are slow-moving leisurely tales. This one is the total opposite, one of the most violent movies I've ever seen. No wonder subsequent films like "Kill Bill" are made. This film definitely has the most people shot by guns, an unbelievable amount.
Being a James Woo written and directed film, I guess it's no surprise. He can't get enough violence. It's also Rambo mentality at it's highest: the good guys out-kill the bad guys about 100 to one! It's almost laughable. Yet, the story is still pretty good and generally fun to watch.
However, I don't think it's a good message - nor an accurate one - to show the "good guy," a professional killer (Chow Yun Fat) as the compassionate one and the guy to root for (see Leon: The Professional for another example of this), but this certainly is another case of that. I am sorry, but men who make a living killing people are NOT compassionate people - they can't afford to be. That's only in the make-believe world of films.
By the end of the film, with yet another long shootout, anyone with any sensibilities will be tired of it all by then.
Being a James Woo written and directed film, I guess it's no surprise. He can't get enough violence. It's also Rambo mentality at it's highest: the good guys out-kill the bad guys about 100 to one! It's almost laughable. Yet, the story is still pretty good and generally fun to watch.
However, I don't think it's a good message - nor an accurate one - to show the "good guy," a professional killer (Chow Yun Fat) as the compassionate one and the guy to root for (see Leon: The Professional for another example of this), but this certainly is another case of that. I am sorry, but men who make a living killing people are NOT compassionate people - they can't afford to be. That's only in the make-believe world of films.
By the end of the film, with yet another long shootout, anyone with any sensibilities will be tired of it all by then.