Genre: Action/Thriller
Running Length: 1:58
Cast: Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung, Shawn Yue, Wang Xueqi, Janice Man, Ji Jin-hee, Choi Siwon, Yoon Jin-yi, Josephine Koo, Feng Wenjuan, Chang Chen
Director: Longman Leung, Sunny Luk
Screenplay: Longman Leung, Sunny Luk
Too many cooks spoil the broth. You know you're going to expect mediocrity when in the opening credits of HELIOS, we have rows and rows of production companies backing this Hong Kong crime action thriller movie. The film makers would definitely need to compromise their story telling to please the different parties. Or maybe the shoes were just too big for the film makers to wear. With a much heftier budget than their earlier directorial debut Cold War, they just decided to blow more things up, hire more regional cast (Korean, China, Caucasian, Middle eastern and Indian, besides the HK cast) and have more countries as the backdrop. It just doesn't work. Although it's a technically well executed film, the plot is just over complicated and some scenes are plain logic defying. And the acting is wooden. The writing is predictable and boring eg. To demonstrate the villain is really bad to the core, he executes civilians in cold blood and walks away with the evil look. Plus, the views of the political power dynamics is so ill-informed and shallow, most viewers will be scratching their head throughout the movie. Nevertheless, if you need a fix on some Asian cinema action, you'll have a good time. I seriously think that Hong Kong action/thriller movies should just stick to what they do best (small budget, raw and gritty and built around the themes of loyalty, brotherhood and sacrifice, with tight closed up action scenes) and stop venturing into huge international themes such as nuclear-mass destruction-arms trading. And to confirm my "too many cooks" argument, the closing song (sung by Jacky Cheung - they could have at least gotten another singer, as Cheung plays a prominent character in the movie, but I digress) has Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and English lyrics. -___- C'mon!
Screenplay: Longman Leung, Sunny Luk
Too many cooks spoil the broth. You know you're going to expect mediocrity when in the opening credits of HELIOS, we have rows and rows of production companies backing this Hong Kong crime action thriller movie. The film makers would definitely need to compromise their story telling to please the different parties. Or maybe the shoes were just too big for the film makers to wear. With a much heftier budget than their earlier directorial debut Cold War, they just decided to blow more things up, hire more regional cast (Korean, China, Caucasian, Middle eastern and Indian, besides the HK cast) and have more countries as the backdrop. It just doesn't work. Although it's a technically well executed film, the plot is just over complicated and some scenes are plain logic defying. And the acting is wooden. The writing is predictable and boring eg. To demonstrate the villain is really bad to the core, he executes civilians in cold blood and walks away with the evil look. Plus, the views of the political power dynamics is so ill-informed and shallow, most viewers will be scratching their head throughout the movie. Nevertheless, if you need a fix on some Asian cinema action, you'll have a good time. I seriously think that Hong Kong action/thriller movies should just stick to what they do best (small budget, raw and gritty and built around the themes of loyalty, brotherhood and sacrifice, with tight closed up action scenes) and stop venturing into huge international themes such as nuclear-mass destruction-arms trading. And to confirm my "too many cooks" argument, the closing song (sung by Jacky Cheung - they could have at least gotten another singer, as Cheung plays a prominent character in the movie, but I digress) has Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and English lyrics. -___- C'mon!
Rating: 5/10
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