R E V I E W :   Option Zero 

Reviewed 5/2/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

 Background 

Mega Star / 1997 / 96 minutes
Directed by Dante Lam Chiu Yin
Written by Chan Hing-Kar

Dante Lam Chiu Yin worked for years with veteran producer/director Gordon Chan before directing his first film. He was credited for most of that time as assistant director but also as an associate producer. Chan Hing-Kar's name appears on the credits for scripts ranging from A Better Tomorrow to Vampire's Breakfast to Alien Wife to First Option to Task Force.

The film was released in Hong Kong cinemas in late November 1997.

Director Lam subsequently directed Beast Cops (with Gordon Chan), When I Look Upon the Stars, Jiang Hu: The "Triad" Zone, and Hit Team. Writer Chan has scripted Hitman, Beast Cops, Okinawa Rendez-vous, and Jiang Hu: The "Triad" Zone.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: As the film begins, Hong Kong is one month from the 1997 handover. The Special Branch of the police force has the responsibility for all internal security for HK. Ben is a team member in the Special Branch; his team is assigned to investigate some shady characters from Taiwan. His personal life is beginning a new chapter with the recent move-in of his girlfriend, Kelly. Ben's team is led by veteran cop Ah Sing (who takes his long-time girlfriend Grace for granted) and includes family man Joe, tough female cop Mon (short for Monica, who harbors a crush on Ben), and Jim (or Chi, I've seen the film twice and still can't be sure of his name; in any event, he harbors a crush on Mon). The personal lives of Ben and Ah Sing (and their respective love interests) are shown in contast with their danger-filled jobs. Eventually the Taiwanese criminals are shown to have a connection with arms dealers in Korea, and the danger level is ratcheted up.

Performances: Julian Cheung Chi Lam is not completely convincing as Ben. He lacks the requisite toughness, but he moves well and looks like he can handle firearms. Anthony Wong Chau-Sang conveys in the right measure both authority as a cop and resignation as a man responsible for and stuck in a stagnant relationship - not only does he not know what to do to change things, it's not clear that he actually wants to do anything about it. Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung has the thankless role of Kelly. Most of her part consists of looking cute and complaining about Ben's job. Since an early scene makes it clear that she chose Ben over another man, it makes one wonder - did she have no clue at all about what police work entailed? Monica Chan Faat Yung possesses the grit and determination to make her tough cop ("one of the boys") believable as well as the vulnerability to pull off her emotional scenes. I was not able to identify the actor who played Jim/Chi, but he made a favorable impression. So did Farini Cheung Yui-Ling as the desperate Grace and Nancy Lan Sai, who provides most of the film's few humorous moments as Kelly's friend Amy. Michael Wong has a small cameo as a police instructor.

Production: Director Dante Lam learned well from Gordon Chan how to pace a film. The action sequences are edited (by Chan Kei-Hop, another in his long list of exemplary credits) and choreographed (by Chin Kar Lok) to within an inch of their life. The camera is constantly moving during those scenes, but wisely is much more restrained during the relationship scenes. Horace Wong Wing-Hang served as cinematographer; Wong shot all of John Woo's classic HK films and has also worked with Johnnie To, Gordon Chan, and, most recently, Jackie Chan (The Accidental Spy). The script by Chan Hing-Kar is a bit disappointing, however, because the bad guys are never brought into focus (I never could figure out what exactly they were trying to do and why) and the relationship scenes are paint-by-number. The musical score by Umebayashi Shigeru was very effective: aggressive and minor key without sounding too dark. Director Lam used the music wisely. Sometimes it added to the tension, and other times action scenes (or parts of scenes) play without any music.

Rating: Category IIB. Several extended scenes with explicit gunshot violence and blood spray; a couple of discreet sexual situations.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The letterboxed (approximately 1.85:1) presentation looked very good for the most part. Some sections of the film appeared a bit soft; in others the black levels were sufficiently deep. The color palette used seemed to reflect the filmmakers' intention to make a realistic contemporary police story -- no garish colors, but neither did it look like a faux-documentary.

Sound: I listened to the DD 5.1 Cantonese audio track and was very impressed. The plentiful gun battles and explosions were reproduced in full glory; the music and dialogue also sounded natural. Also included is a DD 5.1 Mandarin track.

Subtitles: The white removable English subtitles are easy to read and well timed with the usual number of grammer and spelling mistakes -- nothing too distracting. Also provided are subtitles in traditional and simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Bahasa (Indonesia), and Bahasa (Malaysia).

Features: Nine chapters can be selected from a still-frame menu. "About the Film" contains filmographies for producers Gordon Chan and John Cheung, director Dante Lam, and stars Julian Cheung Chi Lam, Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung, and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. The original theatrical trailer is included; "More Attractions" is the oft-used Media Asia promotional commercial. The disk does not have time coding.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. The action scenes are quite gripping; the relationship scenes are a bit predictable but are reasonably well-handled.

 

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