INTEGRITY (廉政風雲 煙幕)

Release Date: Malaysia, 14 Feb 2019

Genre: Thriller

Running Length: 1:54

Cast:  Sean Lau Ching-wan, Nick Cheung Ka-fai, Karena Lam, Alex Fong Chung-san, Anita Yuen Wing-yi, Deep Ng

Director:  Alan Mak

Screenplay: Alan Mak

When INTEGRITY, soared to the top of the Hong Kong box office during this Lunar New Year, I had to check it out because it's not your typical type of genre to be released during the Chinese New Year period. 

The holiday period is usually reserved for light-hearted comedy family type of blockbusters, not something so serious which involves corruption, crime, money laundering and cryptocurrency. Just check out the trailer below and you'll know what I mean. 

And I was also looking forward to see Sean Lau and Anita Yuen reunite on screen after 26 years. They appeared in 1993’s C’est la vie, mon chéri <新不了情> as a pair of lovers but in this movie, Sean's character will be going head on against Anita Yuen's character in court. 

Not a spoiler: Although there is only one scene they shared together in this film, I must say it was very memorable. 

With regards to the plot, I actually don't know where to start. But I'll try. King (Sean Lau) is an anti-corruption officer in Hong Kong’s ICAC (our equivalent of MACC), who is in the heat of investigating a high-profile corruption case involving a tobacco company and the customs. A key witness, the whistle-blowing accountant Jack (Nick Cheung) who is about to appear in court decides to flee the country. Another officer Shirley (Karena Lam), is tasked to look for him. 

Sounds simple enough, right? NOooo~ 

Nothing is simple when it comes to Alan Mak, the co-director of the acclaimed Infernal Affairs trilogy and the Overheard trilogy. The plot is heavy and convoluted but thankfully fairly easy to follow (at times it tries too hard to be too smart. Reminds me of last year's Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok's Project Gutenberg). 

His signature atmospheric build-up and tension with the occasional humour are all present in this film  

I am really glad that Hong Kong is not giving up and is still producing such gritty drama which relies on its intricate plotting instead of the staple gun-toting loud action scenes.  Unfortunately, the film falls apart at the end leaving me unsatisfied and questioning what's the purpose of this whole movie.

But thanks to the A-list actors, this film is more than watchable. The performances from the three main leads; Sean, Nick and Karena are very good. There is a sub-plot involving King and Shirley's relationship which I thought was a nice break from the film's weighty plot. 

Also, this movie also gave me a glimpse of the intricacies of finance and creative accounting. As the film was unspooling, I just couldn't help but compare it with our very own 1MDB scandal and the integrity of every party, big or small, who was involved in it. 

RATING: 7/10

HELIOS (2015)

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!

Rating: 5/10