Hard Boiled

Rating:
Summary: One of THE greatest action movies ever made!!!
Review: Arguably one of John Woo's best movies. The action sequences are amazing, shot from multiple camera angles in slo-mo, just a ballet of death. The opening scene, the shoot out in the tea room, is amazing.

Many of Woo's early films deal with male bonding and this one is no different. The plot is straightforward. The local mob is engaged in gun smuggling and a new, young guy is muscling his way up. Unbeknownst to him, one of his new trigger men is an undercover cop, deep cover. Meanwhile another cop on the force ('Tequila' played by Chow Yun Fat) is a Dirty Harry kind of cop who shoots first and asks questions later and keeps endangering the undercover cop and refuses to back off despite being told by his superiors. The two cops finally hook up, and in a massive fight in a hospital that is used as part of the gun smuggling operation, get the bad guy but in the process the undercover cop dies.

I have seen this movie a dozen times and never tire of the action sequences. I am surprised Tarantino hasn't ripped off err I mean 'been influenced' by this movie. I wish Woo would remake this in English, it would be much better than some of his more recent films.

If you like action films, GET THIS MOVIE. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY THE BEST...
Review: HARD BOILED IS AN ACTION FAN'S DREAM!! Yeah, i know, that's a cliche', but GOD is it true! This is the film that will make you think that Chow Yun-Fat is the coolest MUTHA' alive, and believe that John Woo is GOD!

Now a lot of people will say that THE KILLER is a better film because of the plot and blah, blah, blah, and in some ways it is, but the action sequences in HARD BOILED make THE KILLER look almost stupid(i'm overexagerating:-P). On top of that, there's no sappy love story to get caught up in...just action, from front to back. And it's not like the plot was a bad one. It's a tale of revenge..and don't we just tales of revenge?!

Quite simply, HARD BOILED is THE best action film i have ever seen. No Amercian film(or other John Woo film for that matter) can even compare...

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!
Review: In terms of action, this beats John Woo's the Killer by a mile. Excellent gun fights through-out the entire movies, about 3 times the action of The Killer, and the storyline is nearly as good. Probably the best action film I've ever seen and definately the best HK action flick I've seen. Makes hollywood action films look like walt disney.

Rating:
Summary: Woo's "other" classic
Review: While not quite as tightly plotted or emotionally compelling as John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat's magnum opus "The Killer," "Hard Boiled" is still sure to please fans of that movie. Much of what made "The Killer" such a great film is to be found here: flawed heroes, murky allegiances, and ambiguous morals are once again the order of the day in this tale of cops and criminals living on the edge. At the same time, "Hard Boiled" manages to ratchet up the violence even further from its "sister" film, resulting in the most prolonged and intense action scenes I've ever witnessed, all filmed in Woo's signature frenetic style. A tea house, a warehouse, and ultimately a hospital all become battlegrounds in all-out war as the cops face an enemy that makes the Mafia look like a group of middle-school bullies.

Once again, Chow takes the lead in the protagonist's role, this time portraying relentless Hong Kong inspector "Tequila" Yuen. In true Woo-hero fashion, Tequila can shelter a baby with one arm while shooting up a small army of bad guys with the other. Joining him in his fight against the triads is Tony (Tony Leung) an undercover cop who's spent so much time working among gangsters that the line between the right side of the law and the wrong one is becoming blurred. However, Tony looks like a choirboy compared to the cartoonishly villanous Johnny Wong, an up-and-coming Triad boss who would probably kill his own mother if she got in his way. Johnny also has himself an extremely menacing sidekick in the form of a glowering, nameless enforcer who spends much of the film with a patch on one eye and still manages to give Tequila and Tony a few runs for their money.

It all comes to a head in the climactic showdown in the hospital-turned-arsenal, with the scene gradually evolving from tense standoff to full-scale shootout as the lives of hundreds of hostages hang in the balance. As most of Hong Kong's police force provides support, the two detectives lead the way against Johnny, his cycloptic colleague, and dozens of other gun-wielding menaces. And did I mention they have to make sure no harm comes to the adorable newborn babies in the nearby maternity ward? Yeah, Tony and Tequila sure have their work cut out for them as they fly through the air and unleash zillions of bullets, but it makes for some scintillating watching.

On the whole, "Hard Boiled" is definitely an engaging experience that's more than worth the money I shelled out for it. Much like "The Killer," this movie manages to pack much more psychological depth than the typical Hollywood shoot-'em-up with its portrayals of compromised heroes in harrowing circumstances. And of course, it goes without saying that Woo is nearly unparelelled when it comes to putting together action set pieces. Woo has made some moderately entertaining movies here in the States, but he hasn't managed to reach the level of his twin Hong Kong masterpieces. So check them out, if you dare.