THREE (2016)

Genre: Thriller
Running Length: 1:28
Cast: Vicki Zhao, Louis Koo, Wallace Chung
Director: Johnnie To
Screenplay: Yau Nai-hoi, Lau Ho-leung, Mak Tin-shu

"Walking in a group of three people, I could surely find my own teacher. Indeed, I would take the two of them as my teachers. For example, there may be one person who is good and one who is dishonest. I should select the good things and virtues of the first person and follow by way of imitation. Also, I should silently observe and reject the vices of the other person, and if I discover the same mistake within myself, I should correct it." Confucius

Johnnie To's THREE finale is so baffling it immediately killed off everything good it was building up to. Every.single.thing. All.at.once.

It's not the script to the ending that was lame but the choice of how the filmmakers decide to treat it. Imagine any scene from a Quentin Tarantino film that involves a prolonged conversation during a Mexican standoff. The ones that keep building up the tension until it becomes too unbearable it just explodes in your face when the tension breaks with a shootout? Now, what if you were to replace these QT signatured shootouts with a stylistic OTT slo-mo tracking shot unfolding over a sentimental pop song by Ed Sheeran? WTF right?!

Although inconsistent at times, I loved everything about the movie - until of course the ending ruined everything. The film explores cinematically with the above teaching from Confucius (in my opinion, this story would have worked better as a stage play). What lessons would these three characters; Zhao the doctor, Koo the police inspector and Chung the chief villain, learn about themselves when their lives intersect over a day in a hospital? It's an interesting character study as we see the irrational choices our protagonists make when they are being forced into a corner.

As the premise of this movie relies heavily on the performance of its actors, all three leads are equally good especially Zhao. And they are effectively supported by the usual go-to Johnnie To's stable of supporting actors. The cinematography, sound and editing are really tight, thus giving it a tension filled atmosphere right from the start. The up-closed graphic images of scalpels slicing into flesh and blood squirting out during the surgery scenes fill the atmosphere with dread - as we know something bad is going to happen. It's like watching a ticking time bomb.

But the ending...

Rating: 4/10