I ordered this movie on Hong kong disc for a couple of British pounds so i wasn't expecting much. Needless to say i was pleasantly surprised, cause it was quite good. What i expected to be just another prison movie turned out to be a well acted drama with a few tender scenes. The film deals with police corruption inside and outside prison and how this affects the lives of the prisoners and their loved ones. The prison scenes are filmed in washed out colours as we are shown the cruelty and sadism of life inside, whilst the family scenes are shown in vibrant colours especially the nightclub scenes The story is your standard one of a man falsely accused trying to survive amongst the dregs of society. There are some comic scenes that are sort of hit and miss but thats HK movie humour, you either love it or hate it. The movie reminded me of Ringo Lams 'Prison On Fire' films and was well made without being fantastic. A movie that i would recommend to anyone who likes Wong Kar Wei's early films. Just don't expect a sleazy violent Cat III shocker. I will be watching this again soon.
6 Reviews
not bad, but not really memorable
dbborroughs28 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A crusading reporter is set up by some gangsters and ends up in prison. There he experiences the inhumanity of prison life first hand.
Well made and well acted film seems to be a slice of life in the prisons of Hong Kong. Never having experienced them (and hoping never to as well) this seems to be a rather realistic portrayal of life for a prisoner. Told with a voice over narration by our hero, the film is a simple chronicle of his life behind bars. I liked the film and was entertained by it. On a certain level I wish it had a tad more bite to make it memorable since I'm pretty sure that its the sort of thing thats going to fade in a few hours from my mind and until I see the VCD case I'll have forgotten that I've ever seen it.
Well made and well acted film seems to be a slice of life in the prisons of Hong Kong. Never having experienced them (and hoping never to as well) this seems to be a rather realistic portrayal of life for a prisoner. Told with a voice over narration by our hero, the film is a simple chronicle of his life behind bars. I liked the film and was entertained by it. On a certain level I wish it had a tad more bite to make it memorable since I'm pretty sure that its the sort of thing thats going to fade in a few hours from my mind and until I see the VCD case I'll have forgotten that I've ever seen it.
Predictable yet powerful
litok20 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Being a typical prison film, most of it's plot is easily predictable. The wrongly accused man, the humiliations or even tortures in prison, the inhumane prison officers and so on. Yet this film is very powerful and moving.
One of the motifs of this film is being told early in the film, that 'there is a enormous price to pay to be a hero'. Despite understanding this well, Ahn (the main character) kept fighting for himself or his cell-mates, with his solid belief that justice prevails. Every time he stands up for his belief, we fear what will happen to him and we feel the pain he suffers or feel relieved if he somehow avoid dreadful consequences.
Another very impressive message in this film is that prisoners are also profoundly humane. Watching Ahn slowly (with lots of struggles) befriends with the cell-mates, we kind of get to befriend of these fierce looking but funny characters.
Plus the top-notch performance by Tony Leung, this film is a very good HK film indeed.
8 out of 10
One of the motifs of this film is being told early in the film, that 'there is a enormous price to pay to be a hero'. Despite understanding this well, Ahn (the main character) kept fighting for himself or his cell-mates, with his solid belief that justice prevails. Every time he stands up for his belief, we fear what will happen to him and we feel the pain he suffers or feel relieved if he somehow avoid dreadful consequences.
Another very impressive message in this film is that prisoners are also profoundly humane. Watching Ahn slowly (with lots of struggles) befriends with the cell-mates, we kind of get to befriend of these fierce looking but funny characters.
Plus the top-notch performance by Tony Leung, this film is a very good HK film indeed.
8 out of 10
Not really anything special.
Pedro-3724 May 2002
"Chinese Midnight Express" isn't really a bad movie - but it's far from being a keeper neither. Actually, I'm writing this review a couple of days after viewing the feature and have already forgotten most of it. Tony Leung is solid as always. Not many complaints in the acting department - except for the comic inserts. I have a problem with those comedy moments in Hong Kong (Action)thrillers anyway.
As for the story, it is your typical prison flick. Nothing special there neither - but all the known ingredients are present: Male rape, shower scenes, violence against newcomers, violence by guards etc. Only that some acts are way more humilating than I've expected. As for the violence, it is rather tame, so don't be scared by the DVD cover.
Would I recommend it? No. Again, it's a solid movie - but not worth your time. There's more funny / disgusting / suspenseful / entertaining (whatever you desire) Asian films around. Try those instead.
Rating: 4/10
As for the story, it is your typical prison flick. Nothing special there neither - but all the known ingredients are present: Male rape, shower scenes, violence against newcomers, violence by guards etc. Only that some acts are way more humilating than I've expected. As for the violence, it is rather tame, so don't be scared by the DVD cover.
Would I recommend it? No. Again, it's a solid movie - but not worth your time. There's more funny / disgusting / suspenseful / entertaining (whatever you desire) Asian films around. Try those instead.
Rating: 4/10
Hong Kong movie?
alexferdman-9860221 September 2017
No, I don't have much of opinion about this flick and my point is completely different. Supposedly this story is about regular citizens and government officials, right? That's maybe main problem. I visit Hong Kong every year for fun and try not to be involved in anything beyond normal touristic stuff and later on compare what I see with my experience in US and I see there is no difference at all. Both countries claim they are democracies and in my book they both are regular dictatorships. Why? Precisely because their government officials are not elected and their laws are not approved by citizens, yes, exactly as in Cuba or Korea. Have a nice day everybody and think--its not illegal yet.
Better-than-average prison drama
exploding_durian_fist2 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I picked this one up recently on a cheap Mei Ah VCD. Prison dramas are not my favourite genre of Hong Kong film, so I wasn't sure about this one. However, having read some positive reviews elsewhere, and noting that several of my favourite actors were cast in this one, I decided to go for it. Similar to Ringo Lam's Prison On Fire", this one is in some ways more brutal, but less brutal in others.
Featuring the always excellent Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, as well as those familiar "Triad actors" Ng Chi Hung and Lee Siu-Kei, the film also features an excellent performance from Ng Man Tat, who many will know better from his mo lei tau films, and a slightly out-of-place yet surprisingly good Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong!
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I love watching films where multiple Triad choppings take place, but I try and avoid watching torture or rape scenes - as a result, I have managed to avoid several Category III films, even though many of my VCDs/DVDs are Category III. This is one of those films which I probably ought to avoid (some of the punishments are definitely not what I enjoy watching); fortunately, most of these scenes are brief, and are arguably necessary - unlike in, say, "1941 Hong Kong On Fire", where the torture and rape scenes really are somewhat gratuitous.
As is often the case in HK films, genres are mixed-up, and some of the scenes and dialogue may appear inappropriate to those not used to HK films. Considering the level of brutality, it may appear wrong to include a comedic subtext relating to the size of Elvis Tsui's character's "manhood" (let's just say that his character's name of Saam Chek Geuk is well-earned in this film!), but this is par for the course in HK films, and is one of the reasons I love them so much.
The ending is as brutal as one would expect in such a film, but is somewhat more original than the usual gunfire/chopping endings which are commonplace in HK films. And it's hard not to have sympathy for the prisoners, as it's the prison officers who are the truly bad guys here.
Overall, if you liked "Prison On Fire", you will probably like this one; but if torture, brutal violence and prison dramas in general aren't your thing, then it's best avoided.
Featuring the always excellent Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, as well as those familiar "Triad actors" Ng Chi Hung and Lee Siu-Kei, the film also features an excellent performance from Ng Man Tat, who many will know better from his mo lei tau films, and a slightly out-of-place yet surprisingly good Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong!
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I love watching films where multiple Triad choppings take place, but I try and avoid watching torture or rape scenes - as a result, I have managed to avoid several Category III films, even though many of my VCDs/DVDs are Category III. This is one of those films which I probably ought to avoid (some of the punishments are definitely not what I enjoy watching); fortunately, most of these scenes are brief, and are arguably necessary - unlike in, say, "1941 Hong Kong On Fire", where the torture and rape scenes really are somewhat gratuitous.
As is often the case in HK films, genres are mixed-up, and some of the scenes and dialogue may appear inappropriate to those not used to HK films. Considering the level of brutality, it may appear wrong to include a comedic subtext relating to the size of Elvis Tsui's character's "manhood" (let's just say that his character's name of Saam Chek Geuk is well-earned in this film!), but this is par for the course in HK films, and is one of the reasons I love them so much.
The ending is as brutal as one would expect in such a film, but is somewhat more original than the usual gunfire/chopping endings which are commonplace in HK films. And it's hard not to have sympathy for the prisoners, as it's the prison officers who are the truly bad guys here.
Overall, if you liked "Prison On Fire", you will probably like this one; but if torture, brutal violence and prison dramas in general aren't your thing, then it's best avoided.
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