Rating: 
Summary: A warning about the DVD subtitles
Review: I loved the film, but a word of warning about the english subtitles. The translation is very strange in parts - substitution of completely wrong words with a similar spelling. Also the subtitles linger only just long enough for you to be able to read them if you happen to be looking at the bottom of the screen waiting in anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: A warning about the DVD subtitles
Review: I loved the film, but a word of warning about the english subtitles. The translation is very strange in parts - substitution of completely wrong words with a similar spelling. Also the subtitles linger only just long enough for you to be able to read them if you happen to be looking at the bottom of the screen waiting in anticipation.
Rating: 
Summary: Intense stylish unfogettable movie!
Review: I loved this DVD, I bought it because I liked Roy Cheung - he plays the quiet bleached hair hired killer who knows exactly how he likes his guns to shoot. I liked Roy Cheung because of his versatility - from the screaming bombasity of his characters in Young and Dangerous to his quiet intense part as a solemn holy priest in StormRiders, so here he plays a solemn quiet person struggling with what his heart wants to do when ordered to kill a fellow team member, and what he is called to do. But then, I found out the film was so much more than Roy Cheung - it is really quite outstanding in the male buddy/teamwork is forefront genre, not to mention it is also a great film. You watch it and almost sleep through the beginning, but then the action gets so intense you have to go back to the seemingly unrelated stuff at the beginning of the film to have it make sense, and when it makes sense, for example, I had to replay the shopping mall escalator shoot-out scene (what a shoot-out - it is incredible)again and again to figure out where everyone was standing and gaurding and there are still surprises. Wow! What filmmaking! For a 1999 film, what surprises me is the grainy poor picture quality with uneven contrast so that you are struggling to make out the images, but then again, it could be the Director's intention and eveything looks harsher under florescent lighting. It could also be the ditributor- MeiAh, who also does not include chapter numbers for their dvds. Most of the MeiAh films that I own seems to have a less than perfect picture quality, a little washed out, but this should not stop you from buying this film! This is a really unusual film with some really neat action - I think of it sort of as a Men's action flick.
Rating:
Summary: Its Good but.....
Review: I think the story is good. The action is a little lacking though. I thought the musical score was a bit unprofessional as well. Another problem is I don't speak Cantonese which made reading the subtitles a chore because they move really fast. Good movie though. I liked it.
Rating:
Summary: One Good Reason To Start Watching HK Action Flicks
Review: Nearly every frame of this film is celluloid done perfect.Much like a violent twist of THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE MISSION tells the story of the best hitmen brought together to protect a crime boss from rival assassination. They do succeed after some typical gunplay, but the story isn't quite over as a set of circumstances -- one of them slept with the boss's wife -- sets in motion the final third of the story, pitting killer against killer in a bold, dramatic finish. What works here, though, isn't so much the action or the acting ... it's the film's construction. The scenes are photographed so well, edited so wonderfully, and laced together with such ease that you hardly notice the ticking of the clock inside your head as long scenes of drawn out suspense go by. The viewer gets drawn up into the structure of a scene -- the way the killers stand poised ready for action, the way the men start to bond with one another in clever little ways of playing with a wadded up a piece of paper -- rather than pointless, meandering dialogue. The moments of silence in this film are just as powerful and important to plot development and progression as are the action pieces. Any serious student of film should sit through several viewings of THE MISSION. There is plenty to learn here that isn't a part of American action or suspense films on an artistic basis. One truly great little nifty surprise.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best in the genre
Review: This film is a fresh breath of air, and renewed my faith in the Hong Kong crime thriller genre. I grew up on Hong Kong films, as any other Chinese kid has, and over the years, I've become jaded with the high volume of crap put out by untalented hacks in that industry. This film has a sleek elegance and subtlety that carves into a whole new territory that hasn't been explored before. Hong Kong actions films are generally cheesy, over the top, badly written, badly filmed, and copies each other, not to mention foreign films. This one rises above that mediocrity and despite its low-key attitude, manages to kick some major [butt] with its realism, superb acting, and wrier humor.
Rating:
Summary: Great Hong Kong drama
Review: This is a great Hong Kong drama as opposed to one of those Hong Kong shoot-em ups. The action sequences aren't over-the-top John Woo catharsis. They're taut, paced and intelligent sequences. The way the characters all come together to form an elite bodyguard team is handled subtly. But the way friendships are portrayed between cold-blooded killers is portrayed real well.
Rating:
Summary: Modern day Samurai's
Review: This is an excellent movie. Johnny To's direction has a understated style which I really liked. It is a story about 5 guy's hired to guard a triad boss who someone is trying to kill. They develop a kind of friendship based on respect. There is some dark humor and a overall sense of reality. Anthony Wong and Francis Ng give especially noteable performances. The subtitles are for the most part very good (a problem in a lot of HK movies). If you enjoy gangster movies with a good plot and excellent acting you will certainly enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Unexpected but very pleased
Review: This is why we love Hong Kong movies. Very stylish, excellent pacing, scenes that have never been done before. One of the premier action sequences or scene is the Shootout in the mall. If you are a fan of this genre then RUN out and BUY this DVD.The actors and the overall style of the movie will wow you from beginning to end. Pure Quality Hong Kong Cinema. Very Fresh and Exciting
Rating:
Summary: Great cast, but a little weak with the action.
Review: This movie was worth the money, but don't be fooled because it might not be as action packed as most of you are expecting. Johnny To is a great director and knows how to display a unique sense of style that is really fun to watch. Francis Ng is one of my favorite actors and his character is really hilarious to watch because he's so serious. Overall, this is a good movie and most of you won't be dissapointed.
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