User Reviews

Johnnie To is one of the world's most underrated contemporary film directors. Working in Hong Kong he effortlessly switches between genre flicks (like The Mission, but he's equally at home in rom-coms (like Needing You or Love on a Diet) and weirder though sometimes even better material like 'Running on Karma' (or Heroic Trio is earlier times). The man is just as prolific as he is original, and even if he is derivative he is still a great, effortless entertainer. His Milky Ways production company makes studio and independent films with the same dedication. His latest film 'Election' is actually in competition in this year's Cannes. The Mission is the type of film Jean-Pierre Melville would probably make today. Its a mix of Hong Kong Noir and stylised set-piece. It boasts some of Hong Kong acting heavy-weights (many of which appear also in the Infernal Affairs trilogy). Dialogue is minimal, efficiency is the maxime. The music is so detached that the effect overall is almost hypnotising. The film is not perfect, and the flaws hurt because this could have easily been truly great. Still, it's way above average. Watch this and anything else by To you can get your hands on. It boggles

I really enjoyed this movie, from the first 5 minutes. It's an edgey, not very dialogue driven action movie, but the cast really did a great job. This isn't to say the movie was just one shootout after another.

It isn't a mainstream "A Better Tomorrow" type Hong Kong gangster movie, and doesn't pretend to be. It's dark, the characters don't verbalise what they want to do or are thinking, but the nuances are all there. But it's befitting of the setting - they're Asian, male hired hands. It's not realistic expect them to be all philosophical and willing to wear their hearts out on their sleeve.

I also liked the movie because it cast some of the finest Hong Kong actors who were really working as a team, and no one was really glamourised to be the hero. Anthony Wong epitomises cool as his character Curtis (in Chinese his character's name was really "Ghost") with more grunts than dialogue.

Francis Ng does his edgey best, as does Roy Cheung. All three went on to make Infernal Affairs, one of my all-time favourites.

What an outstanding film this is. Yes, the music is way out of place. But hey. It stars Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Francis Ng, Simon Yam, and Eddy Ko. This has some of the coolest gun fights that I have seen in a long time. The shootout in the mall is just amazing. Listen for the echo of the of the single shot sidearm. Very very cool. The plot is about five people who are in the Triad that must protect a boss at all costs. They come from different walks of life. One is a gun enthusiast, another is wanting to make a name for himself as a gunmen, another owns a club and is being constantly harassed by some guys who think they are tough. Anthony Wong points out their mistake the hard way. Oh yes. And Anthony Wong is a hair stylist...don't let that fool you one bit. If anyone has seen "Untold Story" and John Woo's "Hard Boiled", then you know what I am talking about. Just see this movie with another great film by director Johnnie To called "Fulltime Killer". This movie gets a 10 out 10.

Shot lovingly at a measured pace, the Mission is one of the best films I've seen all year.

The cinematography is simply incredible. Combined with a strong score and excellent sound, it sets the tone and pace of the film. Rather than rushing the gun battles and creating the furious duels of John Woo films, the Mission takes a slow measured approach. The bodyguards cover one another and move in harmony, taking up advantageous positions from which to strike. They do this slowly and methodically, but with an air of cinematic perfection to their languid movements. When they fire their guns, the weapons thunder and bullets either ricochet off or shatter their targets. No stock sound effects here - this is as good as Heat or Saving Private Ryan in the intensity and quality of its weapons fire.

The acting is first rate with much of the communication left unspoken. These men don't need to ramble on to one another, a few sentences or a simple gesture convey all the information that is required. All five of the bodyguards turn in first rate performances that leave you with a real sense of both who these men are and what they are all about.

The theme here is loyalty - and while it might be a simple one, this is one of its finest presentations. Definitely worthy of one's time.

I've seen a couple of To films before this one so I kind of knew what I was getting into. This may be a HK action film but it's nothing like the more loud and workmanlike fare that has come from there in the past 15 years.

Five men are called to protect a Triad boss who is repeatedly attacked by gunmen. The plotting is as simple as that. What matters here, as in any other To film I've seen, is the style and the contemplative pacing. Sure there are shootouts galore to quench the thirst for lead of the action fanatics but they're not all out bloodbaths or elaborate stuntwork. They're carefully choreographed and subtle in execution. The pacing might appear slow to people used to the spastic editing of Hollywood action fare like Bourne Ultimatum but therein lies the power of The Mission. You get to spend time with the characters, observe the camaraderie that develops between them, share the mundane parts of their job - it's not all glamour and glitz in the work of the bodyguard. In that aspect, I believe Johnnie To to be equal parts Howard Hawks circa Rio Bravo and Jean-Pierre Melville, albeit with a slick layer of HK style on top; nice suits, fancy cars, cool glasses et al.

The cast deserves a mention though. Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Rony Leung, Simon Yam, they're all great in their respective roles, understating things enough to fit with the contemplative pace of the movie. The score deserves one as well; it's cheese-tastic in all its casiotone synth glory. I laughed the first couple of times the music cue played but then warmed up to it until I realized it's an integral part of The Mission's peculiar charm. If anything it lends character.

All in all this is a subtle action film, but thoroughly enjoyable. For a much superior execution of the same idea check out Johnny To's Exiled from 2006.

Five bodyguards find out who plotted the abortive attempt to kill their boss. Their quest in nocturnal Kowloon stands out from most Hong Kong gangster movies. Beautifully shot in widescreen format it has a repetitive score that emphasizes the camaraderie between the five main characters.

i saw this movie at local festival named "the art of enmity", playing several well-known hong kong flicks. those i already knew were the popular "bloods & guts & dance & fight" type. so i expected "the mission" to at best be an entertaining action movie with lots of stereotypes.

it turned out to be quite different, and i felt pleasantly surprised.

the basic plot is rather classic: 5 guys are hired to protect a triad boss, who is assaulted on a regular base.

the difference to other movies from this genre is that none of the 5 turns out to "the hero" (they work as a group), there are no ridiculous stunts, stupid over-reactions, or silly pride (they calmly do their job), and the main character is not the boss or his right hand (his bodyguards are).

of course there is some fighting and shooting, but with comparably small amounts of bullets and blood. the highlight is a scene in a mall, where the bodyguards and the assassins are only a few meters apart, and calmly wait for each other to make the first move. several minutes of people standing around and smooth music in the background - and yet, more tension than in any hollywoodesque thriller.

occasionally, there are small scents of humor (for example when they start a soccer match with a paper ball while waiting for their boss), but no "fun".

we often see the boring side of the work as a bodyguard: drinking coffee, watching surveillance cameras, walking circles, driving the wife shopping. these sequences are short enough to not bore the viewer, but long enough to make him feel glad not to be in their position.

on the negative side, i found that it took the movie unnecessary long to get going. there's not much interesting happening before the 5 get together. clearly, the movie is about their relationships among each other, and their behavior as a group. so the short introduction to the characters alone didn't really add much.

if you are just looking for yet-another-hong kong-flick, you will be disappointed. i myself am glad it didn't fulfill my expectations. 8 of 10.

As the movie began, I heard some cheesy, yet haunting, music sounding off. "Oh, great," I said. "Another lame Hong Kong shoot-em-up flick!" This film is definitely not that. The story may be simple, but that fine. It's solid. It's more of a character driven film anyway. I really liked the characters a lot. The gunplay was realistic for the most part and provided good action. The ending is excellent.

Having sworn to never watch Hong Kong films, save those by Wong Kar Wei, the only reason I saw this film was the good reviews it received from the Hong Kong Film Critic Society. And I must admit it was a most pleasant surprise.

The film is a slick and well packaged story of five strangers in gangland coming together to get a job done, namely that of keeping a triad boss alive. The characters, while still stereotyped to a certain extent, are not the usually uncontrolled triad powermongers that are often portrayed in other less palatable fare. These people are professionals, and they knew how to get a job done. Faced with a sniper, none of them panic, and each of them know exactly what to do. The scene in the mall was tightly controlled and well orchestrated, with minimal movement and gun fire adding more to the tension then any hail of bullets can.

The direction of Johnnie To evokes images of films by John Woo, whose scenes of gun fights have always, in my opinion, verged on poetry in motion. To's characters are restrained, while the same degree of subtlety is employed with the plot. The audience, in my opinion an often mindless group who are unwilling to think and must be spoon fed every little detail, are left to find meanings and hints in little gestures.

The film also reminds me of Things To Do In Dallas, When You Are Dead. Five strangers, called together to serve a mob boss who is past his prime. And again, there is conflict among members of this special 'team'.

In the end, aside from a less than believable plot line, The Mission scores high on its entertainment value, both in its visual style and delivery.

"The Mission" is a slickly made and always watchable Triad movie. It is funny in parts and even manages a couple of tense shoot-out scenes. Fans of John Woo or heroic bloodshed might be disappointed however - this isn't the balletic, guns blazing action scenes fans of HK crime cinema might expect. These scenes are nowhere near as athletic. Dare I say they are more "realistic"?

Gentlemanly Triad boss Lung has an attempt made on his life that he barely survives. He hires five guys to look after him and find the killer. Among these is legendary HK actor Anthony Wong whose unusual and fearsome appearance changes the feeling of every scene he's in. Unfortunately none of the other four make much of an impression on their own.

For most of the film's length, I was aware that I wasn't entirely following the plot, but that wasn't hindering my enjoyment any. I mean, how many of these movies have a plot you can fully understand? I had to subtract a point at the end, however. The final act is played like it should have more impact than it does, perhaps because we are expected to understand something we missed. Or not? Who can say?

Many have lauded The Mission as a classic, and I don't deny that. However, as the unofficially loose precursor to Johnnie To's recent movie Exiled, The Mission did seem quite dated, but you can be dead sure that many of Exiled's plot points, characterization and stylistic influences, get established as far back to this 1999 movie.

A triad leader, Brother Lung (Eddy Ko), survives an assassination attack, and to protect oneself, you'll get together an A-Team of your merry men as bodyguards, entrusting your life to the skill of their gunmanship. His brother Frank (Simon Yam) gathers this team, consisting of your day to day average working professionals - Curtis (Anthony Wong), Roy (Francis Ng, somehow credited as Francis Wong), Shin (Jackie Lui), Mike (Roy Cheung), and James (played by the ever reliable Lam Suet, sans pencil thin moustache). While they are barbers, gangsters, valets and technical experts, they are as deadly with a loaded gun, and coordinate extremely well as a team, only that they don't know it yet.

Naturally there are existing cliques amongst the five, and their rawness in working together resulted in a partial failure of their very fist mission - the assassins escape, we journey together in their mission to protect, and see first hand how they command respect of each other, and how they befriend one another. In other words, the practice of the triads code of brotherhood and camaraderie, in trusting each other too with their lives, as they seek an end to their mission, to return to their normal lives.

The Mission is a visual treat to action fans, though as I mentioned, the action itself might look dated. What's key here, and extremely well done, is the buildup. The anticipation of the prey, the feeling of the unknown, the entire setup for the kill. Shootouts occur in a narrow alleyway, and in an abandoned warehouse amongst others, but my favourite would be the one in the mall. It might be strange that as a protection detail, they chose to leave in the open, and when the crowd is absent. Perhaps it's easier to spot suspicious persons? One thing's for sure, to enjoy the suspense, forget about the why and the what if questions (Where are the security guards? Where are the police), but just soak in the moment. I can't get enough of those ultra cool poseur shots, and the ones at the shopping mall were probably the best in the movie.

The somewhat trippy, somehow happy theme track made it seem a little awkward accompanying the plenty suspenseful build up, but strangely it all worked, even when it's used for light hearted moments. Written by long time collaborator Yau Nai-hoi (who this year had made his directorial debut with Eye in the Sky), the tale is not a gun battle a minute story, but a look at the code of brotherhood amongst the men - do they follow orders to a T because their boss orders it, or do they have it inside them to do what their heart tells them? If you've watched Exiled, this conflict amongst the team already had its roots here, and watching The Mission in hindsight, you could never had guessed that this theme could alone could spin off into its own separate storyline in Exiled.

My advice would be to watch The Mission and Exiled as a double bill - fans out there would probably not get enough! I'm sure I will pop both the DVDs into my player soon for back to back viewings! If you, like me, have watched Exiled first, then this movie surely is not to be missed.

The Code 3 DVD by Mei Ah Entertainment isn't really fantastic, but I suppose for the price I paid, you don't come to expect a chock load of extras. You get a choice of either the Cantonese language track or the Mandarin track, in either Dolby Digital or Dolby Surround 5.1. However at times, the audio does seem erratic and at certain points in dialogue, the audio level will fluctuate inconsistently. Subtitles come in traditional or simplified Chinese, and English. I watched the DVD with the English subtitles on, and though it's fairly good, there were minor spelling typos spotted every now and then. A letterbox version, the visual transfer isn't pristine as well, as it can get quite noisy and sometimes turn out to be rather blocky.

As mentioned, it's a bare bones version, consisting of a Data Bank with a very scantily written synopsis which can also be found on the back cover of the DVD sleeve, and the Cast and Crew credits, which can be obtained from the actual end credits from the movie. The Data Bank comes in both English and Mandarin texts.

Besides the stylish theatrical trailer (1min 25sec) with no dialogue, but just the pulsating soundtrack from the movie, a chapter selection is included (9 chapters in total), and a "Best Buy" section featuring the trailer for Ringo Lam's movie "Victim" starring Lau Ching Wan and Tony Leung Ka Fai.

HongKong best cinema ever!.. I love this movie's.

You should watching this cinema.

The third Johnnie To film to be released this year (following "Where A Good Man Goes" and "Running Out Of Time), "The Mission" is surprisingly different in a lot of respects. Beautifully photographed but slightly underwhelming, "Mission" features a simple storyline about 5 bodyguards protecting a triad boss in his daily endeavors.

The film is defined by gorgeously stark cinematography and visual framing that utilizes wide angle lenses effectively. Just check out the sequence at a mall where the bodyguards are all focusing on different unseen targets. It all resembles a whacked-out target-shooting video game. There is also some solid performances, esp. by Anthony Wong as Curtis, one of the bodyguards.

Unfortunately, the story is a little underwhelming since we're now accustomed to seeing Milky Way films that feature interweaving tales that deal a lot with fate and consequence. While this one does have a certain element of that, for the most part it's about both the loyalty and monotony that is inherent in the bodyguard profession.

While "The Mission" is slightly lacking in certain respects, it is still a solid Milky Way production and a good capper to To and company's good year.

The Mission is a very Man-ly movie. All about doing their job and keeping a good reputation and status while maintaining your friends. Johnnie To gives the audience such subtle hints about how the characters are feeling that it took me a couple of viewings to pick up most of it. This is not your average gun fight and explosions movie. Great guy flick.

There is always an imagination space for you when watching Johnnie To's movies. The shots are incredible, this is artistic.

Eddy Ko is a high-ranking member of the triads, with four body guards. They regularly save hais life, and they have a lot of team camaraderie. So when Ko orders three of them to kill the fourth because he is carrying on an affair with Ko's wife, they have issues.

Johnnie To's breakout international hit is a black comedy set in the nights and long afternoons of Hong Kong. Siu-Keung Cheng's bright-lit cinematography shows up the opulence and grit of Hong Kong to the movie's advantage, as does the blank-faced acting of the cast. Lot of gun battles, lots of little gags keep the tone of this movie a constant surprise.

The First movie of his Brotherhood of Assassin's Trilogy

Tale of Brotherhood surrounding 5 hitmen who's been tasked to bodyguard a Triad Leader . They must find the conspirator and eliminate him. Later, they're put in a jam when the youngest member of the crew has an affair with the Boss's wife .

Mainly because of the technical issues of the DVD = the captions last for 3 microseconds so it is almost impossible to know (unless you understand one of 2 versions of Chinese)what are they saying. And they are forunatelly not talking too much. I rented this DVD because of the comments here on IMDB. Damn, pleople! What the hell did you see inthis movie. Every half-drunk drama/film student can shoot 88 minutes of this thing in 44 minutes. With lunch break included!!!

Scenes are slow so without any loss you can watch it on fast-forward. I'm not kidding.

For the life of me, I have no clue why I added this to the watchlist...but I trust "me" from the past and also wish to thank him because this was pretty cool...like in the cool way.

It takes its time, that's the important thing. It lives room to breath, even in the action scenes. Cool music is playing, the camera is moving slowly, the actors are mostly posing, firing sporadically and calculated. And contrary to popular belief, they are not one-shot-men, they miss, they make mistakes...all while keeping their cool 😎 . Guess what I was whistleing at the end?

I liked this Hong-Kong gem and will look for other Johnnie To creations.

Undoubtably,it's my favorite movie.I really love Anthony Perry and Francis Ng.They are so glamorous.And the relationship between the five men is subtle and special.The code of the brotherhood is fascinating.

The Mission(1999) is the most entertaining Johnie To movie i ever seen.For years i tried to watch many of his movie to know what the fuss about him and why he gain so much love in Western but every movie leave me with an unsatisfied feeling.Luckily this movie finally open my eyes about his direction style.Describe as a action crime movie with heroic bloodshed spirit to the core the movie is very relaxing.Sure there are many shootout in this movie but it never feel over the top like John Woo shootout.The bullet sound when it hit very realistic and add so much tension to the scene.There are many moment which make the characters stand out and shine in their own right when facing enemies or overcome each other differences.It a good watch and i highly recommend it