Review of Hard Boiled (1992) by Dustin G — 15 Apr 2010

John Woo's best film and one of the best action movies of all time.

That pretty much sums up Hard Boiled. A cornerstone picture in Hong Kong action cinema.

The action scenes in this movie are so intense and frenetic, it's hard to take them in and process everything that's happening.

The tea house scene at the beginning, the drug raid scene, and especially the big hospital set piece at the end are all classics in their own right. The sheer amount of bodies that fall is almost boggling. And call me heartless, but I'm kind of glad the cops occasionally shoot one of their own in the midst of these ruckus', because, honestly, how could you not with all the guys popping out of every corner and doorway and the thousands of bullets flying everywhere. It's a little welcomed logics in all the over the top bravura.

As with Woo's The Killer, I am also somewhat in awe of how hard edged and ballsy the action gets at times. Consider the big hospital battle for instance. You've got a madman, a sociopath the likes of which would fit nicely alongside Hitler during the Holocaust (except for the fact that he's the wrong race) killing innocent patients for no apparent reason, waging war on everyone, including, most shockingly, the babies from the maternity ward, who need to be rescued amid the bullets and explosions happening all around them. And if a silly little scene where a baby pee's on Chow Yun Fat's leg to put out a fire is the film's only misstep, we quickly forgive and forget it because the enormity and intensity of what surrounds it is all encompassing.

This movie isn't ALL action though. Not quite. There's a nice little subplot involving Fat's character's love of jazz and includes the beautiful and well shot scene that starts the movie. And the cops and crooks story is familiar (especially for Woo), but well told and easy to follow, touching on those well worn themes of loyalty, trust and betrayal among both the cops and crooks.

So track the movie down if you like your action films, even a little bit, and get past the fact that it's in Cantonese (there's a typically cheesy sounding English Dubbed version if you're really bothered by subtitles) and witness Woo at his best, for this is his Godfather.