Hard Boiled (Laat sau sen taan) (1992)

Posted : 3 months, 4 weeks ago at Jul 11 23:51

"Give a guy a gun, he's Superman. Give him two and he's God." John Woo's Hard Boiled is a scrumptious feast for action lovers - an explosively visceral, operatic tour de force of amazingly choreographed violence and blistering pyrotechnics that's iced with Woo trademarks. At its core the film is a fairly standard cop drama with a limp emotional hook and cardboard characters, but with action extraordinaire John Woo at the helm, Hard Boiled is pumped up several notches. Woo grasps the conventional framework of an over-the-top action-thriller before adding a dense layer of visual artistry which is supplemented with meticulous choreography and the visceral punch of innocents in harm's way. Altogether, it's the perfect recipe for a John Woo actioner, and if this isn't his masterpiece then it...Read more

Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago at Mar 9 17:05

When I finished watching this film I needed a car-jack to wrench my jaw off of the floor and return it to its rightful place, it was absolutely amazing. It's not the greatest film ever made, not by a long shot, and my use of the word 'amazing' might need elaborating on. Basically, this film is unbelievable. To be honest, I didn't see the ending scene coming, despite the big build up, and when I got to it I was just left utterly gobsmacked. This film must have the highest body count of any film I've seen in a long time. The most extraordinary thing is, those murdered are usually innocent bystanders! There is no real kung-fu in this film, it's just a classic 'renegade cop who gets into huge gun-fights and ices an entire army before emerging unscathed from the carnage' type affair. But...Read more

Rating : 8/10