User Reviews

To paraphrase the great Sam Fuller, if an action film does not grab its audience in the first few minutes, forget it. Director Patrick Leung and screenwriter Roy Szeto certainly subscribe to that school of thought in "Sip si 32 doe," a surprisingly good action film that has some heart, too.

Of course, the plot, like in many a Hong Kong actioner, is a bit of a stretch. A Cambodian assassin with an unusually chilly body temperature doesn't remember her past, wants to break free of her manipulative aunt and find herself a normal life.

But "Sip si 32 doe" works because it's purely an action film and proves it in style. When it comes to choreographing action sequences, Hong Kong filmmakers are in a class of their own and their styles certainly have influenced Hollywood action films. It's a shame when these filmmakers are wooed by Hollywood, as John Woo, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark were, the studios promptly rein them in and they wind up making clunkers. Either that, or these filmmakers seem to lose their edge. I'd like to believe it's the former.

Leung fills "Sip si 32 doe" with visceral moments. There's a chase through a busy street that would never have been filmed with such ruthlessness in Hollywood. The denouement is a thing of beauty. Most American action films could be this entertainingly good if only producers and directors had some imagination and guts.

Leung, a John Woo protégé, starts his film off nicely and then promptly sets the tone for his heroine as we see her go after her first mark. She's cold, calculated and, yet, charming, too. While Leung and Szeto show us details of her modus operandi - they way she quickly changes bullets to improvise or how she cautiously prepares to sleep every night, for instance - they also care deeply about this woman to let us into her life.

As chillingly lethal as the assassin is, Wu Chien-lien brings a sweet innocence to the role. This child-woman's got heart and we wind up caring about her. Her hits are carried out with heartless precision - there's an especially unsettling moment during one hit - but there's still something extremely likable about this woman. There's a wonderful scene of unadulterated joy as she photographs herself. It's Wu Chien-lieu's tremendous charm that makes us completely forget what her character does for a living.

Leung and Szeto try to offset their heroine's darker side by giving her a chance at normalcy with a noodle shop owner, Long Shek (Lau Cheng Wan). This makes for some cheesy moments in the film - Hong Kong actioners have never quite mastered the art of mixing real romance with the gunplay. The problem is that Long Shek isn't a finely defined character. He's there for just one reason and his character's not explored deeply. When Leung and Szeto try to inject some depth into Long Shek at the end, it seems thoroughly out of place. And Han Sang-Woo overplays his role as the vengeful Yichin. He's a handsome chap, but his character's way too wound up to be taken seriously.

But its flaws notwithstanding, "Sip si 32 doe," under the skilled direction of Leung, is a grand addition to the genre and proof that Hong Kong action films can have substance. It's also a heckuva lot more fun than the similarly themed "La Femme Nikita" (1990) or its American knockoff "Point of No Return" (1993).

Hong Kong cinema veteran Johnnie To's Milky Way Image company has produced some of the best of the recent Hong Kong films that include the hyper dark one night set gangster drama The Longest Nite (dir. Patrick Yau, 1998) and the almost Kitano like in its finale Expect the Unexpected (Yau, 1998). Neither of these or some other Milkyway films are credited for Johhnie To as the director but he, like Tsui Hark or Johnny Mak, are very closely in the filming process involved too and so they can be considered as "co-directors" and their visions are always there in films they've produced. Johnnie himself has directed classics like The Big Heat (1988), Barefoot Kid (1993), Heroic Trio (1993) plus many others. Beyond Hypothermia (1996) is directed by Patrick Leung who has worked with John Woo for example as the co-writer in Woo's most harrowing masterpiece Bullet in the Head (1990). Hypothermia is written by Roy Szeto who has written films like Billy Chung Siu Hung's dark swordsplay tale The Assassin (1993) and Ching Siu Tung's East is Red aka Swordsman III (1993).

In Beyond Hypothermia, Wu Chien Lien plays a mysterious and silent assassin who gets her jobs done with great care and "talent" and never gets caught or has trouble with her conscience or feelings towards the victims and their relatives. She in fact hasn't got too much feelings as her past is a complete mystery and all she and her aunt, the one who has taken care of her, know is that she was adopted from Cambodja and then raised to become a killer. Her body temperature is also lower than that of a normal human being's and thus the film title. She can be located max. 3 months in one place for security and safety reasons and now she is in Hong Kong. Soon she meets an attractive albeit pretty simple-minded noodle store owner (Lau Ching Wan) she soon falls in love with and so starts to feel something, too. But in the violent reality based world the film is set in, it may already be too late to start a new, better and safer life with the loved one.

The film is extremely dark, at times pretty nihilistic and thoroughly impressive in its visuality for most of the time. It is not as magical as the blue smoke filled The Longest Nite nor as restrained as Expect the Unexpected but it is very realistic and bleak as a big city is or can be. The cinematography by talented Arthur Wong (Eastern Condors, the stunning Once Upon a Time in China II, Dragon Inn, The Moon Warriors plus many other modern HK classics) is really as bleak and effective as the urban visions in Japanese Takeshi Kitano's Violent Cop (1989) or in the darkest HK urban action dramas like Alfred Cheung's On the Run (1988) for example. There are many interesting techniques to create effective illusions like speedings, slow motions, sudden zooms and weird angles and fortunately they are used pretty wisely and don't become just eye candy and meaningless pseudo-stylish nonsense often found in certain HK films. For example the furious assassination scene from the roof and the chase sequence after that, set in the traffic time HK highway, has some very creepy moments in the camerawork department and they just desire the big screen to reach their full impact.

The film is rather pessimistic from the very beginning and the film is as honest and gritty about depicting human nature and violence as only non-commercial cinema can and dares. The ending is an extremely violent and harrowing long sequence in the tradition of Expect the Unexpected and has the kind of infernal carnage that hits mercilessly straight to the face. Man is a beast willing and able to kill and destroy each other and itself and finales like this show it almost as powerfully and mercilessly as possible. The violence in the film is never "beautifully stylized" or the usual bullet ballet heroic bloodshed style found in for example films of John Woo, but it is only brutal and ugly in the tradition of Ringo Lam, the Mak Brothers and Kirk Wong to name just a few of the various HK masters all of which are great with their own styles and themes. Beyond Hypothermia is simply the most harrowing film I've seen for some time and it is so satisfying to see HK cinema not too long time ago could deliver interesting and uncompromising films like this. Hopefully it will go on.

The negative points however are little too plenty in Beyond Hypothermia. Lau Ching Wan's character is the most irritating one as it is so badly written and feels very unnecessary too. There are no motivations or explanations for his simple-mindedness and why he at one points even admits being "too stupid" and why his character develops during the end scene so fast and unbelievably, screaming and running without any explanations in the script to make it look believable. Also the love affair between the two should have been written more carefully and her feelings handled like in similarly themed French film La Femme Nikita (Luc Besson, 1990) for example. Also the body temperature thing seems to be there just to give the film a great title BUT it can also be seen as a pretty clever metaphor for the girl's lack of feelings and emotions because of her inhuman cold past and violent world she's lived in.

The music during the action scenes is also somewhat unfitting as it makes the otherwise very serious and brutal scenery look a little too light and distantly entertaining. Those scenes could have been done more effectively without music at all. Also some of the plot turns feel a little too easy and incredible as how can things like those happen so fast in a big city and everyone can be found always so easily? The finale, no matter how effective after all is still little too traditional as the guys just seem to meet in the streets as if they had planned it earlier.

One extremely positive thing to finish this review is about the beginning of the piece that belongs to the most effective, interesting and nailing beginnings I've ever seen. That is the kind of beginning to hook the viewer from the very first seconds! Also the circle-like structure of the film makes it all the more impressive and, as the conclusion and film's themes have become clear, shocking, harrowing and breathtaking.

Beyond Hypothermia is one extremely interesting and noteworthy piece even with its flaws and it could have been a bright (or dark, that is) masterpiece if the mentioned things would have been corrected. This is still on the same level with the more flawless Milky Way films and will strike fiercely everytime it is experienced. 6/10

This is certainly one of the best made girl-assassin films that have formed a genre of their own in Asia over the past 30 years. Conforming to the conventions of the genre, we have an attractive young woman whose early experiences have led her to adopt the life of a cold-blooded killer for hire; we have her gradually grow aware of her own emotional emptiness; we have her meet a man she could really go for if she didn't always have to remain ready to kill just about anybody; we have the betrayal by one of her few trusted associates; and we see her develop a plan for resolving all the dilemmas these situations present her with. In short, very little new in the story.

What's new is the manner in which it is all handled. The girl-assassin genre picture is typically handled in a rather over-the-top action film style, because the basic premise of the genre is really pure fantasy. I'm not saying there aren't female assassins in real-life; but they certainly don't share either the luxurious payoffs, the existential dread, or the romantic longings that we find in girl-assassin movies. In fact they're lives are probably little different from that of the male mob or government killer. We just want them to be different because they're women; and the girl-assassin film plays to this.

The present film certainly starts off in this direction, but very gradually, but at last inevitably, turns our expectations on their head. The guy our girl-assassin falls in love with here isn't very smart, but he is certainly very ordinary. The big-pay-offs for her killing never seem to bring her any luxury. And her romantic longings are doomed about half-way through the picture when she has to shoot a five-year-old girl who has witnessed one of her hits - and does. From this point on, we know she's doomed; she may never be caught or killed, but she can never live with herself after this.

Along with these twists undercutting genre convention and audience expectations, the film's visual style also gradually becomes increasingly realistic as it goes along. At the end, we're no longer in the same glitzy universe most girl-assassins inhabit, but a dead-end street looking very much like one we might ourselves wander down, but for the grace of whatever divinity watching out for us.

But there's no divinity watching after this film's girl-assassin. And the ending is probably the most down-beat of any film in the genre. But it is perfectly true to the situation.

Very dramatic, well-performed, nicely put-together - but, be warned: very depressing.

A professional hit woman without past, name or recollection of her childhood is hired to kill Mafia leaders in Asia. In Hong Kong, she kills a powerful Korean mobster and his bodyguard is in disgrace with the gang. He promises to chase and eliminate the killer. Meanwhile, the assassin falls in love for a cooker of noodles, but afraid to expose him to her enemies, she avoids encountering him. But the bodyguard presses her partner to betray and set up her in a restaurant. Chased by the whole gang, the assassin needs to fight to survive.

"Sip Si 32 Doe" recalls the genre spaghetti-western, where everybody kills everybody and in the end there is no survivors. This kind of gore Nikita has a great choreography, lots of action and many shootings and blood, and entertains. It is funny to see the number of shots on the streets along the story and no police showing up. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil: : "Hipotermia" ("Hypothermia")

For a movie centered around some really well down action sequences, this movie has a good deal of emotional depth. It goes for that La Femme Nikita style of making an assassin both lethal and fascinating but trapped and vulnerable. It is fascinating to see this killer's growing attachment to a simple noodle shop owner, and the movie does a good job of balancing its blood with its heart, supplying both exciting and touching moments.

But the movie also feels like it cut corners and it relies to much on movie romance clichés. Noodle shop guy's actions towards the end make utterly no sense based on what has happened so far, making the final, fascinating scene feel contrived. Even the hypothermia concept feels like it is just sort of tossed in there because it's a cool idea but then never used for anything in particular. I would not be surprised if I learned the script had half an hour of plot and character development chopped for pacing, as that would explain a lot.

This is a very good movie, and I took a while to decide whether to give it a 7 or an 8, but it gets a 7 because it just feels like corners were cut and the movie was not what it might have been. But well worth seeing.

This typical and yet unusual action film from Hong Kong belongs to the finest of its genre. It boosts breathtaking action, great drama and a catching story about a female killer, much more convincing than in the (theoretically comparable) much weaker "Naked Killer".

Outstanding cinematography add to the haunting atmosphere, and a strong melancholy touch makes the film even more impressive. Not to forget the splendidly choreographed action sequences that are staged like they do it only in Asia.

Easily on par with any of John Woo's masterly Hong Kong movies, this one is a must see for all admirers of Asian cinema and action in general.

Another in a recent trend of artsy girl-with-gun movies that tries to play to the male audience with hardcore girls 'n' guns action while attempting to attract the female audience with a love story framework and complex feminine psychology issues. As such, both genres are compromised, but the result is a fine looking and well crafted dramatic thriller.

A decidedly different role for the frail and tragically pretty Wu Chien Lien, as she plays a ruthless and dispassionate assassin desperately searching for her humanity. Surprisingly, she does a remarkable job with the material and presents herself as a complex combination of harsh conviction and fragile vulnerability. Unfortunately, her character is so cold and soulless that you never really connect with her or care what happens to her, which ultimately threatens the emotional impact of the film.

Good movie, the Hollywood industries must learn from Asia, a lot of good films, only know by the people of Asia.

When I saw this movie, I remember "My Sassy Girl", fresh ideas for the new era, very slow in time, looking for details of the characters, a romantic story mixed with blood, again, a very good idea.

When I see the name of the movie I think:-Another movie plenty of special effects, far from reality, this movie have no effects (only for the car crash and some bullets), but the reference to the temperature of the girl are very good.

Really, good movie.

"Sip si 32 doe"/"Beyond Hypothermia" totally blew me away.Not only it is one of the best action dramas I have ever seen,but it is also one of the best action dramas ever made!Wu Chien-lien plays nameless assassin without a past.She and her Aunt(Shirley Wong)are partners in the killing game.Lau Ching-Wan plays the humble noodle seller that falls in love with this pretty girl,who stops for noodles after each kill."Beyond Hypothermia" contains lots of bloody violence,so it's definitely not for sensitive viewers.The acting is excellent,the imagery is wonderfully stylish and the ending is incredibly tragic.The performance by Wu Chien-lien is breathtaking-the viewer almost feels her sadness. 10 out of 10-my highest recommendation!

The description of Beyond Hypothermia really sounded a lot more interesting on the back of the movie box than the movie turned out to be. It is a very stylish thriller about a deadly assassin who constantly dreams of having a normal life with a husband and children, but it really doesn't do anything new in the genre. My favorite thing about the movie was the way it is cut together, especially many of the death scenes.

The first assassination in the movie, for example, shows what you normally see in such a scene, the close up of the scope with the killer's eye behind it, the victim going about his business oblivious that he's in someone's crosshairs, the slow motion, etc. But the actual death avoids showing the man getting shot. Instead, we see the two guys behind him pouring wine out of a wine bottle that suddenly explodes (a curious occurrence that they mysteriously respond to with laughter).

As I was watching the movie, I was reminded of the stylish originality of movies like The Way of the Gun, as well as a few other foreign films that I've seen recently in which massive numbers of people get shot, such as the disturbing but hugely impressive Battle Royale, and the equally disturbing and probably even more impressive Portuguese film City of God. One thing that I really liked about this movie, as well as the ones I just mentioned, is that even though an enormous number of people are shot dead, it is not done in such a relentless way that you completely stop caring. No, you're not going to jump out of your seat every time some extra gets shot, but watch a movie like John Woo's Killer and you'll see how large numbers of gunshot killings can be numbing to the point of boredom. Not exactly what you would expect from John Woo, who otherwise is a very skilled action director (except for that Windtalkers mess).

Here's one thing I didn't understand, though. At one point in the movie there's a lot of bad guys chasing the god girl through oncoming traffic, and the bad guys keep getting hit by cars. Now, it is to be expected that people are going to be hit by cars when they're sprinting into oncoming traffic, but these guys are chasing after the woman that is supposed to be Japan's deadliest assassin, and they don't even have the sense not to run right in the middle of lanes of traffic when they're chasing her down the street! No wonder they can't catch her!

It's true that the movie doesn't cover much new ground, but it is short enough to remain worth watching, if only for its style. Sadly, I made the mistake of renting the dubbed version, and I am fairly confident that the original film with subtitles is even more enjoyable. I don't know what it is about dubbed movies, they just seem so fake with someone so obviously voicing over the lines. Look for the original language version, because it's worth checking out.

"Beyond Hypothermia" is an excellent movie. The plot: An assassin (Wu Chen-Lien) just keeps on killing until she meets a lonely noodle shop owner, Long (Lau Ching Wan). She wants to change her ways, but her employer won't let her. On top of that, another hit-man is after her.

What's great about this movie is that the romance and action fit perfectly. All the gunfights are well-staged and bloody, but it also has a heart. Lien and Wan put in outstanding performances.

The climax is very powerful and the only problem I had with the movie is the dubbing, but who cares. You'll be pulled in instantly.

I highly recommend this action-packed gem.

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I found this film enjoyable, though the main problem was that it was dubbed in English - the DVD I rented from my video store failed to inform me they didn't have the original Chinese dialogue - I was mortified as I hate dubbed versions, though it was alright this time, though I won't be so forgiving next time.

Chien-lien Wu plays an assassin who doesn't know her real identity and all she knows is killing and simply does what she is told. However, she eventually longs for something more when she meets a simple chef where she eats noodles after every time she kills someone - I guess it is her form of relaxation.

I never thought I would see Chien-lien Wu in another film again - I saw her in Ang Lee's 'Eat Drink Man Woman' and loved her in the movie. She makes a decent action heroine here, portraying many emotions. She brings a sweet innocent essence to the film while also showing that innocence can also be misinterpreted to the naked eye.

The plot is kind of predictable and the performances - well I can't really judge them properly considering they were dubbed but I'm sure they would have done a decent job - I think I have to find the original version to really get the full essence of the performances. However, from what I viewed, it has a simple plot that moves at a reasonable pace and I didn't get bored by it. In fact, the main character is pretty likable so you really want her to find the freedom that she longs for.

It's a simple film with perhaps too much random shootings and killings, in particular from the Korean bad guy but there are some enjoyable shoot offs that keep you on the edge of your seat. This isn't a remarkable film but enjoyable nevertheless.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: professional assassin is tired of it all, finds true love and wants to "go straight" but can't, because in this line of work there are too many enemies and unsettled scores. The only twist is that this time the killer is a woman. Patrick Leung's over-stylized direction tries to make this trite old story seem new, but most of the time it seems like the work of a man who got carried away by his "arty" side. The often inappropriate score tries to sell parts of the movie as a romantic melodrama, but the final shootout slips into laughable operatic-action excess; I liked it better in the old times, when the 7th or 8th bullet usually killed a person for good. (**)

Jacklyn Wu plays an assassin who has no memories of family, friends, or any sort of past to cling too. Her character is so detached, that killing causes no emotion or regret. The title of the movie "Beyond Hypothermia" refers to her body temperature which is 5 degrees lower then a normal human being. The only time this killing machine feels any warmth is when she is in the company of a noodle chef who makes her a gourmet bowl after each of her killings. He reminds me of the Chinese version of Benicio Del Torro. The two strike a friendship and eventual love for one another. But like most Chinese films, this love is doomed and tragedy ensues. I thought this was a better film then "Point of No Return" and "La Femme Nakita" However, there is one disturbing scene of violence which I truly detested and thought was uncalled for. On a personal note, Jacklyn Wu is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful actresses in the world. You can't take your eyes off her and her performance is mesmerizing!

An expert female assassin, with no past, name or ties, finds herself attracted to a young cook. Upon trying his noodles(that isn't a euphemism; get your mind out of the gutter), she finds them to be steaming... heating up her body, in spite of her noted coldness(literal and figurative). A relationship between the two grows... however, her trade is not one you leave easily, and the personal bodyguard of one of her marks is in the process of tracking her down. Sound familiar? Yeah. This isn't necessarily all that original. It's a mix of two sets of genres... romantic drama and tense action-thriller. The marriage is slightly oddly matched, and both partners suffer somewhat. There's love and psychology for the women, and us guys will come for the well-choreographed, John Woo lite shoot-outs. Much of the editing and beautiful cinematography is stylized(their hairdos would get in the way of the gunplay in real life). The sweetness and humanity work, and barely get into sap(perhaps because of the stark and effective contrast with the treatment of the killing... this is remorseless in its nihilism). Unfortunately, we never completely connect with the lead, because of how emotionally distant she is. The acting is pretty good. Wu manages to make the heartlessness and the more approachable aspects of her role play convincingly. There could be a greater amount of character development, the "temperature" theme isn't fully explored, and the plot is overall fairly minimal... you won't always know who is who, or who ranks above who, or, indeed, why exactly the man whose death is the catalyst was taken out. This is just shy of 80 minutes, and I can imagine it was cut down(for pacing reasons?). The best of this is the beginning and end(awesome duel), with the middle being weaker. I don't know if my version was dubbed; it had what may have been Korean and Cantonese, and then a little in English. The performances were mostly solid in all three. There is a lot of disturbing content, brutal, bloody, at times gory, violence, and brief nudity/sexuality in this. The DVD comes with a trailer. I recommend this to anyone who can imagine enjoying this. 7/10

It was worth the time just to see Chien-lien Wu as a contract killer. She has no knowledge of her past, and has no associations other than her handler. She is cold as ice; hence the title.

She falls for a noodle shop owner near where she is presently living. Since she moves every three months, this can't last. She is really charming and shy and, with the noodle guys infectious personality, you can see the romance blossoming.

Unfortunately, she killed a Korean Mafia type at the beginning and the gang lost face, so they will not give up. There was a great chase scene right after this happened. Nothing you will ever see in a Hollywood movie.

The ending was also great as everyone came together for one big final shoot-out.

But there was just not a lot in the romance angle and it felt empty.

Why was this an "R" movie? The violence was not graphic and the nudity was less than you would see at the Bada Bing in an episode of the Sopranos.

A compelling portrayal of a soulless Cambodian survivor, acting out her vicious hostility to a merciless world while struggling to recover her humanity. There's also a couple of (presumably) unintentionally hilarious lines - watch for the part where she considers the possibility that the restaurant owner has girlfriends.

If it weren't for the actors this movie would have failed! Jeff Lau and Wu Chien-Lien really save this movie! With their outstanding performances they breath life into a very boring story! Not much is happening other than a few killings and the relationship between the noodle shop owner and a woman who happens to be a professional killer! There are some decent action scenes! But that is the only thing I can say about it! The shootouts are nice but to me they were missing something very important! Excitement! I couldn't care about the action since it looks like they have been done on routine! The bloody and tragic ending at least is a big redeeming factor! The title "Beyond Hypothermia" refers to a condition the main character has! It never gets clear how the main character became so coldblooded! Is it because of her training or her condition? Since nothing is being done with the "hypothermia thing" the title is very misleading! In my opinion they use this title to make the movie sound more interesting than it is!

1 January 2005. Hypothermia is a gorgeous, penetrating, and deeply moving experience of a female assassin and her relational conflict as emotions become her baggage or liberation. In comparison with Collateral with Tom Cruise, this Japanese version avoids the apparent need for comic relieve with a more subdued but lighter counterpart and brings up deeper emotions, internal turmoil on the part of the assassin (though the dichotomy between her work and her private life is much more clear cut). This a major, solid work that probes the mindset of intrigue and political mystery dripping with submerged feelings, love, betrayal, and low-tech but effective murder and revenge. While the ending is classic Japanese in its totality making for a rather flashy, over the top finish, this movie is a memorable one - a haunting one, one of those movies that will stand out and be remembered. Eight out of Ten Stars.

One can't be convinced that Wu Chien-lien, a woman with a body temperature of only 32 degrees Celsius, is actually a merciless assassin! How unfortunate that the filmmakers missed their chance of exploring the interesting implications of a person with a body temperature five degrees lower than everyone else and who only has a one-in-a-million chance of survival. Superficial as it is, the film is both alienating and romantic. Its most intriguing parts are the romance between Wu, the female assassin, and Lau, the noodle-seller, conducted in the tradition of a "midnight love affair with a beautiful ghost", and Wu's persistence in finding her roots.

After hearing accolade after accolade for this film, I was excited to catch it on cable tonight. As usual don't believe the hype sadly. What I found was a well-acted, but clichéd and ultimately average romantic action story. If Patrick Leung is one of John Woo's protege then perhaps he should have paid more attention, the beginning and ending scenes are pretty good, but the middle needs work. The fact of the matter is this story of an embitered hit-woman finding love with a noodle vendor could've been so much better then what it is. Still if you find it on cable one night, try to catch it, just don't get your hopes up.

My grade: C

Where I Saw it: TMC extreme