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Gen-X Cops

Gen-X Cops

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a fun action flick
Review: "Gen X Cops" isn't quite your average Hong Kong action movie, adopting instead the look of a low budget Hollywood summer flick. A trio of young cops with an attitude tail gangsters all while looking pretty damn cool at it. Jack (Nic Tse), Match (Stephen Fung), and Alien (alien-like Sam Lee) find themselves kicked out of police academy only to be picked up by Officer Chan (Eric Tsang), himself on the outs with his unsympathetic superiors. Chan wants their help on a dangerous undercover mission, one involving gang bosses, gang betrayals, and rocket fuel (??) They're joined by Y2K (Grace Yip) whose sole purpose it seems is to be the tough girl of the group. Everyone's got a little something to prove and set out to get a little respect. Balletic gunfights, questionable English, and the explosion of a Hong Kong landmark ensue.

The formulaic plot satisfies for the most part and makes sense in that action movie sort of way. Nothing is too over-the-top, equaling harmless fun for all. Clearly no one is taking themselves too seriously, and director Benny Chan was smart in throwing in a healthy dose of humor. The end result is a slick, satisfying 1 1/2 hour reality break.

The cast consists mostly of young talents but the older actors turn in some scene stealing performances as well. Francis Ng, who owns every role he takes, stands out as gang boss Lok. He possesses an intensity that keeps his character believable without giving into parody. (Beware Jackie Chan fans; he produced the movie and only appears for a one minute cameo at the end.)

The DVD extras won't disappoint either. In addition to the Coming Attractions, the Special Features include cast and credit info, a production diary, a film magic sequence exhibiting storyboards and special effects, a Making Of, additional footage, and trailers and TV spots. There are Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks with traditional, simplified, and English subtitles. There is also a great in-depth commentary (w/ subtitles) from the cast and crew. Unfortunately some of the special features do not have subtitles, though you won't miss much. Another drawback is the overall sound quality of the Cantonese track, which is uneven at best.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a fun action flick
Review: "Gen X Cops" isn't quite your average Hong Kong action movie, adopting instead the look of a low budget Hollywood summer flick. A trio of young cops with an attitude tail gangsters all while looking pretty damn cool at it. Jack (Nic Tse), Match (Stephen Fung), and Alien (alien-like Sam Lee) find themselves kicked out of police academy only to be picked up by Officer Chan (Eric Tsang), himself on the outs with his unsympathetic superiors. Chan wants their help on a dangerous undercover mission, one involving gang bosses, gang betrayals, and rocket fuel (??) They're joined by Y2K (Grace Yip) whose sole purpose it seems is to be the tough girl of the group. Everyone's got a little something to prove and set out to get a little respect. Balletic gunfights, questionable English, and the explosion of a Hong Kong landmark ensue.

The formulaic plot satisfies for the most part and makes sense in that action movie sort of way. Nothing is too over-the-top, equaling harmless fun for all. Clearly no one is taking themselves too seriously, and director Benny Chan was smart in throwing in a healthy dose of humor. The end result is a slick, satisfying 1 1/2 hour reality break.

The cast consists mostly of young talents but the older actors turn in some scene stealing performances as well. Francis Ng, who owns every role he takes, stands out as gang boss Lok. He possesses an intensity that keeps his character believable without giving into parody. (Beware Jackie Chan fans; he produced the movie and only appears for a one minute cameo at the end.)

The DVD extras won't disappoint either. In addition to the Coming Attractions, the Special Features include cast and credit info, a production diary, a film magic sequence exhibiting storyboards and special effects, a Making Of, additional footage, and trailers and TV spots. There are Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks with traditional, simplified, and English subtitles. There is also a great in-depth commentary (w/ subtitles) from the cast and crew. Unfortunately some of the special features do not have subtitles, though you won't miss much. Another drawback is the overall sound quality of the Cantonese track, which is uneven at best.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a fun action flick
Review: "Gen X Cops" isn't quite your average Hong Kong action movie, adopting instead the look of a low budget Hollywood summer flick. A trio of young cops with an attitude tail gangsters all while looking pretty damn cool at it. Jack (Nic Tse), Match (Stephen Fung), and Alien (alien-like Sam Lee) find themselves kicked out of police academy only to be picked up by Officer Chan (Eric Tsang), himself on the outs with his unsympathetic superiors. Chan wants their help on a dangerous undercover mission, one involving gang bosses, gang betrayals, and rocket fuel (??) They're joined by Y2K (Grace Yip) whose sole purpose it seems is to be the tough girl of the group. Everyone's got a little something to prove and set out to get a little respect. Balletic gunfights, questionable English, and the explosion of a Hong Kong landmark ensue.

The formulaic plot satisfies for the most part and makes sense in that action movie sort of way. Nothing is too over-the-top, equaling harmless fun for all. Clearly no one is taking themselves too seriously, and director Benny Chan was smart in throwing in a healthy dose of humor. The end result is a slick, satisfying 1 1/2 hour reality break.

The cast consists mostly of young talents but the older actors turn in some scene stealing performances as well. Francis Ng, who owns every role he takes, stands out as gang boss Lok. He possesses an intensity that keeps his character believable without giving into parody. (Beware Jackie Chan fans; he produced the movie and only appears for a one minute cameo at the end.)

The DVD extras won't disappoint either. In addition to the Coming Attractions, the Special Features include cast and credit info, a production diary, a film magic sequence exhibiting storyboards and special effects, a Making Of, additional footage, and trailers and TV spots. There are Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks with traditional, simplified, and English subtitles. There is also a great in-depth commentary (w/ subtitles) from the cast and crew. Unfortunately some of the special features do not have subtitles, though you won't miss much. Another drawback is the overall sound quality of the Cantonese track, which is uneven at best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Japanese Main Villain (Toru Nakamura)...
Review: ...is what makes this film an unforgettable HK-action experience! (by the way, there's the answer to your question). This is one of my favorite HK films next to "The Killer" and "A Hero Never Dies". One thing that really got me was Jaymee Ong (Aussie Asian model who plays Daniel Yu's girlfriend - she is....beautiful - one of the reasons this film got five and not fours stars!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Trio Saves the Day!
Review: A big time gangster in Hong Kong is wanted by the police for weapon smuggling, and the clues lead to death and destruction. At the same time there is a disagreement between two inspectors within the police force on how to approach the case. Inspector Chan wants to get someone young inside the crime syndicate that does appear or behave as a police officer. This is when he stumbles across Match, Alien and Jack who are three rejects from the police academy. The trio approaches the syndicate and somehow gets into something very big where the Japanese Yakuza is involved. Gen-X Cops is an entertaining film that produces some laughs and thrills, but not more.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Trio Saves the Day!
Review: A big time gangster in Hong Kong is wanted by the police for weapon smuggling, and the clues lead to death and destruction. At the same time there is a disagreement between two inspectors within the police force on how to approach the case. Inspector Chan wants to get someone young inside the crime syndicate that does appear or behave as a police officer. This is when he stumbles across Match, Alien and Jack who are three rejects from the police academy. The trio approaches the syndicate and somehow gets into something very big where the Japanese Yakuza is involved. Gen-X Cops is an entertaining film that produces some laughs and thrills, but not more.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kicks it hard
Review: A great film. What the Mod Squad should have been. While high on flash and low on content, it is a blast to watch. Nic Tse and Stephen Fung are a joy to look at, and Sam Lee is hilarious. A cast of young, handsome and talented actors, in a film that raises the bar for HK's new group of actors and directors. New wave director Benny Chan does a great job with an average plot, and, again, Stephen Fung and Nic Tse make it worth the price. A must see for anyone exploring the always-changing arena of Hong Kong films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: gen-X-cops DVD Review: Absolutely Awesome!
Review: Absolutely awesome! This is how I felt about "Gen-XCops". A story about three rebellious generation-x cops hired toinfiltrate the underworld. I recall several director's discussing about the current situation of HK films and how there is not enough originality and they tend to copy or redo something that was popular on many other films.

Gen-X Cops is different. Police Academy this is not. You get three talented young no-named actors who really kick ass in this film. Notably Nicholas Tse who plays the character of Jack. In the featurette included in the DVD, Jackie Chan even gives respect to the man because he also does his own stunts. There is one scene where he comes out of a swimming pool with gasoline on top of the pool on fire and he emerges out of the pool. These are just a few scenes that you see Nicholas Tse do. Pretty boy? This guy is not afraid to take on risks and this person is definitely a rising star to keep your eye on.

One of the things that makes this movie rock is the dedication of the director Benny Chan (Big Bullet, Who am I?). Although he admits that it was difficult to film the movie because the three gen-x actors loved to play around the set and are loud, he knew that was the chemistry that made these guys click and the way the movie turned out, he definitely clicked with them.

Sam Lee who plays the character of Alien is so weird and very funny, you can't help but like his character. Then there is the "playboy" Stephen Fung who plays the character of Match. According to Tse, a person playing himself...a playboy. These guys get along so well and are a perfect click which makes this movie even more enjoyable. One scene has the three friends outrunning blasts in a building. A scene that they can only shoot once with no mistakes. The only time the three were ever quiet on the set according to Chan.

The movie also features our favorite gangster guy, Francis Ng who is a great gangster guy in movies such as "Young and Dangerous" and comedy movies such as "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star". It was a pleasure to see him in this movie as Lok.

You'll notice that three languages are used in this movie (Btw, I watched it in Cantonese in English subtitles, I'm not into dubbed in English movies): Cantonese, English and Japanese. The Japanese star in this film is Toru Nakamura. Popular for his awesome work in Japanese dramas such as "Nemureru Mori" (The Sleeping Forest) and "Ko-ri no Sekai" (The Ice World). He speaks in English and in Japanese in this movie but I think it was pretty cool they included him in this movie trying to attract Japanese viewers. In this movie he plays Akatora. The bad guy! For those who followed his works, he can definitely play a hardcore bad guy! The man is definitely a talented actor.

It was also a pleasure to watch Grace Yip who plays Y2K and the introduction of model, Jaymee Ong (who plays the character, Haze) of Australia. Last, you can watch the special cameo of martial arts star, Jackie Chan.

It also helps that you have people involved in this movie such as the special effects team that blew up the White House on Independence Day and a professional aerial team who worked with Chan to make one hell of a movie.

Some people might get upset about the use of English. It's not the best and if you watch a Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chow Yun Fat American movie, you are either used to it or your a person that moans about the English. Just sit down and watch the movie without zoning in on the language, let the story and the action be the main thing you are watching this movie for. I'm sure this movie was expensive to make as well and Gen-X Cops in my opinion has a much more of an interesting storyline.

I think one of the reason why I like this movie is because I can identify with the three actors and I like how hip this movie really is.

The video quality in the film is pretty good and I was happy top see the widescreen version done anamorphically! YES! Also, the sound is presented in 5.1 (Cantonese and also in additional languages) and trust me, it was a great experience to hear those sounds from all sides of the room.

Are there many extras on this DVD? At first, I quickly glanced at the menu before the movie and I said to myself...probably not. I was wrong! After enjoying the movie so much, I then checked out the extras included on the DVD. Bare in mind it was 10:30 p.m. when I finished the movie. It was cool to see the trailers but then I watched the deleted scenes and oh my! It's about 40 minutes long? Well, ok...it's mixed with parts of the film, so I guesstimate that it was 30 or so minutes of extra footage. Most movies with deleted scenes are about 5-10 minutes long or even shorter. It was a pleasure to see the extra scenes. Some I felt would have been nice for the movie but I wish there was a director's commentary to explain why he took it out...but what the heck, they jammed some scenes into this deleted scenes segment already. Very cool to watch!

Now, it's almost 11:30, I have yet to watch the making-of documentary. This one was pretty long and it was very...I mean VERY awesome! You actually get to see Nicholas Tse perform those risky scenes and you also get to see/hear the comments by the director and by others of each other. Also, a comment at the party by Jackie Chan who says something about Nicholas Tse. Overall, the extras are pretty damn good! To end the documentary, you get the music video performed by Tse, Fung and Lee.

It's almost 1 a.m. now and I'm just pumped up! This movie was very awesome! It was definitely much more than I expected. Also, it is pretty cool to see a DVD out in department stores with Asians on the front cover. I hope Media Asia Films releases another DVD and I can't wait for Gen-X Cops II.

This DVD is highly recommended for action movie viewers.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a little too much gen-x attitude
Review: for the most part, this movie was fun to watch. the only real problem i had with it was at times it had a little too much "gen-x" attitude. i guess it was made with young people in mind. the story deals with a group of 3 young undercover cops who ary trying to stop a japanese man from blowing up the hk convention center. the movie has the feel of big-budget summer entertainment to it. but, i think most people will enjoy it. the dvd version of this is packed with extras that warrents a purchase. watch the cantonese version instead of the english version

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Gen x cops was recommended to me from a Hong Kong news group. but - Sorry, didnt like it too well. I wanted a tight, well directed movie. Nope - the direction is sloppy. As well as the writing and acting. ON the plus side, There is a large cast and some of the locations and shots are nice. But I was bored every other minute. The fight scenes are unconvincing. Most of the actors vary from over the top to out of character. The whole thing looks slapped together. Maybe tighter editing would have helped. If this is the best HK has to offer - sheesh!

Is this the same director who did rumble in the bronx. - that was better, but sloppy too.


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