Reviews

Dennis Hopper is without a doubt one of the finest underrated American actors of our time, and it was interesting to see how he would play out his role as a cop on the case of a child serial killer. Most movies Hopper has always played to psychotic menace threatening to blow up stuff or go on a killing spree, but in this movie, Hopper tried his best to keep that intensity and emotion while carrying a shield. Once I got into the plot of the movie, I was hooked, but it's just the little things that ultimately murdered the film.

The concept of the film is great - not only are the cops on the move of catching the killer, but we get a chance to see how the gangsters operate in catching the killer. The subplot of the football stadium is kinda ridiculous, but necessary to involve the gangsters in the killer hunt.

That's about all that is good you can say about the film. Although Hopper did try to act like a tough, experienced street smart cop, I can't help but feel his acting was below par, and there wasn't enough conviction that he was truly attached to the case. The directing was also terrible - it didn't have the feel of a true film, but rather a TV-movie production. This is most evident when the gangsters meet for the first time to form an elite team to hunt the killer down. When the leading gangster shoots the other mouthy gangster in slow motion, the acting was weak, predictable and terribly unexciting. That's when I knew that 1st of all, the action is going to be atrocious.

The angling of the camera was amateurish, and the recalling scenes or haunting images of the killer's little sister had no true distinctive effect. If it was supposed to be scary, it wasn't. Everyone's acting was terrible, and even for Hopper, I didn't feel for his character, and I just didn't really care too much about his relationship with his daughter.

The final thing that bothered me the most is the swat team. Once I saw the swat team in action, I was thinking, finally, something good. But I was wrong. 1st of all, the entire swat team consisted of 4 guys. That is just impossible. 2nd of all, apparently the swat team has no training whatsoever because many times in the film they carry their HKA4 submachine guns with one hand. Had the killer been hiding near the staircase with a shotgun, these 4 idiots would've been blown to bits because they weren't even aiming at anything or paying close attention. They should have had both hands on the gun aiming forward, but it just looks like they're not taking the job seriously and are just flaunting around. 3rd, SWAT team members do not yell out commands such as "Keep your eyes open, watch out for yourselves, are we good to go...etc." In reality, they use hand signals or have radios. But they're literally yelling at each other - how are you supposed to catch the killer when he can hear you're coming??? And to top it all off, these guys have no plan - apparently they're just running up and down going on a wild turkey chase. Eventually they end up doing nothing. That was the last straw. I'm no expert on special forces, but basically what I've just outlined, is pretty common sense. When the audience knows the movie is terrible, the action pretty much becomes the life-saver of the movie - when you can't even make an effort to make the action great, the movie is lost.

I give 2 stars for the concept, but the rest cannot be credited. If you want to watch a crime thriller, don't bother with this one. There's plenty of crime in the movie - but it has the lack of thrill.

Tsui Hark should've stopped with the 2nd ABT. Even if he wanted to push the envelope on the series by making a prequel, he should've done a wayyyyy better job.

The storyline takes Mark back to Vietnam, where we learn his life as a younger, much less "gangly" individual. However, don't count out Mark when guns are ablazing wherever they may be. It also has a take on his romantic days with a mysterious mob boss' girlfriend, Anita Mui, and the love square they all shared with the Japanese boss and Tony Leung.

Let's talk what's important 1st in these movies. The action. Whatever you can expect in a late 80's, early 90's action Hong Kong film = it's all there. Tsui Hark definitely made it through with the gun fighting scenes. Yet - they weren't as stylish, and you could even say they can become boring once you recognize the similar scenes from other movies. Everyone's wielding an M16 or AK47 shooting the crap out of each other while Mark flies through the air with his signature double fisting handguns.

Where's the edge? Where's the coolness that Mark had from the 1st movie when he strolled through the restaurant nonchalantly dropping berettas everywhere, as he plans to slowly walk in to kill the boss while he's eating hotpot? Where's the climax that we felt in the 2nd movie where all three Ken, Lung and uncle Keen all dressed up and were ready to avenge Kit's death? Let's talk about the plot. Vietnam. WHAT?!? The 1st thing I thought of when I heard prequel was = How brother Lung and Mark started it all - from humble beginnings as street punks, to an established powerful gang where they both reign as kingpins. Or even how uncle Keen brought Mark and Lung into the gang, and how they became who they are today. However; what I found was a seemingly ridiculous plot where Mark is thousands of miles away fighting stupid wars that he got himself into. THEN he's somehow involved with Anita Mui. I'm sorry, but some scenes where Mark is caught up in love made me lose respect for the character of Mark that I know.

What makes these ABT films is through the theme of brotherhood - in this movie, there simply wasn't enough - or it just wasn't standing out. What your eyes see is romance romance romance. Not to say that a love story isn't nice once in awhile, but come on. As a prequel?! No - that just won't do.

If John Woo was involved in this movie, he definitely would've said - Ummm no - we're not going to shoot this movie because it's gonna be terrible. Looks like he dodged a bullet. (No pun intended) For an ABT fan, you might enjoy it because you get to learn more about Mark. But as a movie goer, avoid this one. It's a major disappointment and you'll be happy that you didn't waste 2 hours of your life.

Of course this movie will be compared to the huge mega hit "My Sassy Girl." Who wouldn't? Same actress, same director. Same plot? Perhaps. It's difficult to raise the bar when the bar is high enough, and simply put, Windstruck doesn't measure up, but you gotta admit, they tried pretty damn hard.

The story goes of Jeon Ji-hyun, a rough-em tough-em cop who bumps into the cute, friendly physics teacher, Cha Tae-hyeon. Needless to say they fall in love, not without crazy obstacles of course, that require investing craploads of time with each other in awkward situations. Soon enough they fall in love, only to realize it all has to end.

That's pretty much the story. Director Kwak Jae-yong tries hard in cranking up the emotional meter on this movie by making more touching scenes, that require Jeon Ji-hyun to stretch her acting chops and...well...cry A lot. At first it tugs on your heart strings, and at times, my eyes started to swell up. But she cries so damn much it almost becomes meaningless and makes you think, "Man, she's at it again?". Her obsession with losing her boyfriend almost becomes creepy, and you have to wonder if you really enjoy watching her freaking out every 5 minutes.

The problem with the movie is that it's TOO much like Sassy girl. Kwak Jae-yong's once used formula used in Sassy Girl has been done - and although it was a good formula, he should've read the label that says, "Use once only." The all too similar abuse the "cute guy" gets from the "sassy girl", was a bit too much, and the awkward situations Kwak Jae-yong put them together became too much of a cliché and becomes tiring real fast. But then again, it's difficult to find any 2 actors to find good solid chemistry - and in this case - these 2 fine actors just didn't have any. The emotional scenes became overbearing, and at times, you just wanted Jeon Ji-hyun to finally do the deed so she can join her boyfriend.

With all that said and done, I come with a mixed feeling about this film. The cute, and awkward scenes are funny at times, and the emotional roller coaster ride definitely hits a string or two, and the fact that Jeon Ji-hyun put on a extremely solid performance, does the film some justice, but overall, the tone is a bit better than mediocre at best. The new ideas aren't new enough, and the surprise element of the film doesn't even exist until the last minute of the movie. Which - by the way - swept me off my feet. At first, I thought it was pretty cool - but then I realized if the director did that try and compensate or have a guarantee that viewers will still walk away at the last minute thinking, "That was a pretty good movie but the ending was friggn' amazing!." Overall, I would still recommend watching this movie. But it's probably best to watch "My Sassy Girl" first. You'll know what I mean.