Review of Hard Boiled (1992) by Ben M — 16 Dec 2010

This is the first John Woo movie I have ever seen, and I must say that I am impressed. This guy sure knows how to direct the hell out of a shootout. This is definitely one of the better pure action movies that I have ever seen. Where this movie goes light on story, it makes up with pure testosterone-fueled and explosive mayhem on screen. This was a perfect way to spend a morning cooped up inside, just two hours of pure entertainment to help kill some time while I am still under the weather. What I expected to be just a waste of time turned out to be one of the most purely entertaining pieces of filmaking I have ever seen.

The story is right in the title, Inspector Tequila is a badass cop who plays the clarinet and socializes with the ladies when he is not blasting away mobsters and criminals with a bottomless gun in each hand. But when his partner is killed by a syndicate of arms dealers, he soon has to team up with an undercover hot shot to take down the evil organization. The film is certainly light on plot and story, but come on! Who would want silly character development in between the gunfights? Well if the action in this movie was awful than yeah I would be complaining about the weakness in the story but Woo will certainly make you forget all about that when the guns start blazing. The action in this movie is brillantly captured and almost poetic in its delivery. Some of the stunts are so improbable but they are so captivating that you almost don't notice how that guy just got shot three times and somehow jumped through a plate glass window simultaneously. The action is evenly spread out between the investigation sequences in the first half, but in the second half all hell breaks loose and the last 30 minutes of the movie is basically just an extended shootout that I seriously had to pause to catch my breath a couple times.

The script in this movie is really cheezy even for a 90s action movie, the dialogue is really put on but Chow Yun Fat manages to remain cool as can be even with his awful lines. He was born to play roles like Tequila and he certainly gives an enjoyable performance. The rest of the characters are sadly forgettable and didn't really leave any impact on the movie as much the main character. The film itself isn't exactly one of the better looking movies out there, the footage is murky and grainy even on the remastered version I watched, although it would be hard to make a movie that looks that bad look any better. The soundtrack is just as cheezy as the script, with a whole bunch of synthesizers to be the backround of the fiery gunfights and explosions.

This is definitely one of the best and most influential action movies of all time. This is one of those thrillers that doesn't require to pay any extra attention but it its thrills are more than enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you want to spend a a lazy afternoon entertained to no end, than this movie is a good choice. If you are a fan of Hong Kong movies or just action movies in general, than this is required viewing.