Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Mike Keating We meet the PTU on one of their worse nights. Chasing a suspect, a police sergeant loses his gun, and streets away, the son of a crime lord is stabbed to death in a small restaurant. We follow the PTU in their attempts to both find the policeman's weapon and prevent the fallout from the murder escalating. While it sounds an intriguing premise, PTU is not the pacey action-thriller you might expect, but is instead a slow, dark, and tense journey through the HK underworld.Some scenes are brilliant, the use of harsh light and almost omnipresent shadow works well, effectively capturing the mood of the underworld. There's some real artistry here, and it's for that reason that the pacing frequently seems to be a little slow; the scenes look so good that the camera lingers on them for perhaps too long, causing pacing issues in some sections. However, it does work well in terms of suspense as the film builds towards its inevitably violent conclusion.On a negative note, the music is terrible, and significantly dates a film that's only four years old. You have to wonder if they ran out of action movie ambiance sounds and just hit the classic cheese guitar button instead, but I guess that's just an Eastern film meets Western audience convention clash. It does however, in my opinion, completely undermine the final scene, which comes across as faintly ridiculous instead of as a dramatic release.While it suffers from pacing and score issues, PTU's style and sense of tragic irony are enough to make it enjoyable if not quite essential viewing.

massaster760 P.T.U. is not the type of film that springs to mind when someone mentions a "feel-good" film, it's also not really an "action" film. What it is, is a slow paced, dark, gritty, and perilous journey through Hong Kong's night life. Complete with gangsters, cops, dirty cops, and the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) run by a charismatic Simon Yam.To be exact, P.T.U. is pretty much Johnnie To's take on film's like Lock, Stock, and two smoking barrels. But this time the focus is less on gangsters and more on law enforcement agents. Also, unlike Lock, Stock, PTU is virtually humorless, and more on the depressing side. It's not a completely original concept, but in the hands of Johnnie To it manages to entertain. Mind you, it's not as bleak as other recent films to come out of Hong Kong (Dog Bite Dog comes to mind) but is definitely not a film one would describe as uplifting or funny.Seargeant Lo Sa (played brilliantly by Suet Lam) is having a bad day. After eating at a local diner he walks outside and finds a "punk" keying his car. Angered, Seargeant Lo chases to culprit straight into an ambush. He awakens in an alleyway beaten, bloody, and missing his police issue revolver. Not wanting to lose a promotion he's up for, Seargeant Lo enlists the help of Mike Ho (leader of the PTU played by the always awesome Simon Yam) to help him find his gun before the night is over. Over the course of the night, Seargeant Lo finds himself stuck in the middle of two warring gangs, while also being investigated by a pesky CID inspector. On top of all that, he must desperately recover his lost revolver before the morning.Those who are familiar with Johnnie To's direction (and like his films) will love this flick and the slow paced punch that it packs. PTU is shot with an almost noir feel, although it's technically in color. The cinematography is beautiful and meshes perfectly to capture the film's dreary moods, juxtaposed with shot's of gloomy cityscapes, streets, and alleyways, PTU leaves it's mark artistically.In PTU, the performances are good all-around. Simon Yam is great as a calm, reserved, leader of the PTU who sticks his head out for Seargeant Lo. Ruby Wong is also good as Leigh Cheng leader of the C.I.D. unit although she's not given much to do. Lastly, Suet Lam is perfect for the role of the bumbling Seargeant who looses his gun and starts a sequence of events which leads to the film's ultra-violent ending. After seeing Suet in many films with smaller supporting roles (Dog Bite Dog, Election 2) it's nice to see him casted for a major role, and he does a good job of it.PTU is a good all around film but has it's share of faults; chiefly the film's score. I don't know what Johnnie To was thinking when he scored the film with 90's guitar rock. The score was way to lively and jubilant for the films dark mood and slow pacing. It nearly ruined a few parts for me because it takes the edge of some of the dramatic scenes. Other than the score, Ruby Wong is underused and the film tends to slow down in certain points. Fortunately, the films opening scenes and violent conclusion help to make up for these issues... although the film needs a new score either way.Bottom Line- PTU is a must for Johnnie To fans. New-comers will also find it entertaining and accessible due to it's re-cycled plot. A good film, just short of a masterpiece but really need a new score.

tedg I'm convinced that much of film is reverberation from the phenomenon of noir. The key element of noir was a capricious fate that both played arbitrary havoc with lives and flavored the eye of the camera.I am not thoroughly steeped in Hong Kong work, but there seem to be three main communities: the deeply cinematic experimentalists led by Kar-wai, the stylistic ballet of Woo and company and the neo-noirists. Unfortunately, these can superficially appear similar in many respects. But I think here we have a clear case of the third.The game is dark. Everyone seems to think they are in charge, but no one is. Luck plays the key role and many coincidences appear. The camera eye is based on the long lens.I'm beginning to appreciate cinematographers who exploit either the long or short lens. I think it is impossible to do noir with a short lens because it is so obvious that the eye is within the space of action. But few noir films go so far, so long as this one.Forget the story, which is only to convey the accidents and lack of control (except for the central scene where one character tries to get another to rub a tattoo off his neck). And forget the characters; they are just tokens borrowed from other movies. Just revel in the philosophy here: why does a world exist where everything is a matter of chance, but you as the viewer always, always happen to be in the right place to see everything?Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Jason Gervais This is quite possibly one of my most favorite films ever. Johnnie To returns to the crime genre with a bang. Literally. Known for his "The Mission", Johnnie To takes us into the perilous night and folds us into his dark and rich world.The story follows a band of police tactical units, who keep order in the streets of Hong Kong during the night. Lam Suet plays anti-crime detective officer Lo, a cop who's night is about to go upside down. He gets beaten up by your regular triad gang, and he wakes up to find his gun is missing. Risking his job and lives, he must find his gun before it does any damage. He gets help from Mike (Simon Yam) and his party, the PTU, to search for his gun until dawn. The characters themselves are not quite developed. However, these characters need no words or development when it comes to this film. Much like, "The Mission", development is not needed to express themselves throughout the film. The characters are simple enough for anybody to understand. The film's music is also really well done and fits the mood of "PTU" very well.The effects used throughout the film are highly impressive. Johnnie To places us in some kind of magical world, painting Hong Kong in darkness and plays around in it like some kind of playground. The light on dark shots are very well done to say the least. Fans of the "Silent Hill" video games for example I think will definitely enjoy the scenery of the film.Highly recommend this film to you. If you haven't seen any Johnnie To film yet, this would be a good place to start. If you liked this, chances are you'll also like his "The Mission" film as well.