Review of Hard Boiled (1992) by Peter G — 23 Nov 2009

Hard-Boiled is one of the best action movies of all time and even eclipses a few Kung-Fu movies I love. While the plot isn't the strongest thing ever, it definitely isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Hard-Boiled stars Tequila (Chow Yun Fat) and his search for vengeance and redemption after his partner is killed in a raid. The plot also involves Alan (Tony Leung) and how his life as an undercover agent is getting to him.

These two people's worlds collide after Tequila run into Alan during a gun raid. Unaware that Alan is undercover, Tequila seeks to end this man and hopefully stop crime once and for all.

What turns out is that Alan and Tequila are working for much the same thing, so an inevitable friendship evolves. They quickly become partners and start devising schemes to take down the real criminal.

During all of this chaos comes some of the greatest action scenes I've ever seen. Slow-motion dives, flying debris, chaotic sparks from broken wires; Hard-Boiled includes all the American action cliches, but blows them up to 50.

Nothing in this movie is ever kept realistic, which in turn makes everything so much more amazing. How Chow Yun Fat can wipe the floor with 50 people in a warehouse is beyond me, but dammit if I wasn't intrigued about who he would kill next.

Tony Leung doesn't get alot of action until the end, but he definitely can hold his own (I've seen him in other movies, as well). When he does finally get to have an entire scene, it culminates in one of the best shoot-outs ever put on camera.

John Woo did a smart thing by keeping everything overblown, but making the finale completely plausible. The final shoot-out is kept in a constant, 4 minute extended take. The camera never leaves a single angle and makes everything seem gritty.

When the bullets connect with people, blood sprays in every direction and dust flies out from their clothes. Windows break with a raw intensity that I'm not really sure I could replicate in word and the explosives are just massive. This is just classic action cinema at it's finest.

So if you really enjoy action movies (especially crappy Segal or American made ones), then you owe it to yourself to watch Hard-Boiled. You will not regret taking the time to experience this movie.