Review of Hard Boiled (1992) by Juan C — 13 Feb 2011
A John Woo tour de force of balletic gun-toting sequences. All parts of his styling is here from the love of birds, the slow-motion sequences and the dreadful close-up crash zoom.
The plot itself has some fascinating components but manages to stay wafer thin in the character development ranks. It is the action sequences that are the star of the show, no matter how illogical they become. There are pieces of great creativity including the sequence where Chow Yun Fat glides down the staircase railing blasting away.
The hospital sequence does start to drag and it is quite hard to ascertain the purpose of events. Then there is the ending in which the one of the main characters appears to have departed before clumsily making a return.
It is strange that films such as this used to be the fare of the cinematheque. Even more so that this genre created Infernal Affairs, which in time lead to The Departed. Between the multiple action sequences, the blueprint for The Departed is clearly evident.
This review of Hard Boiled (1992) was written by Juan C on 13 Feb 2011.
Hard Boiled has generally received very positive reviews.
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