SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) The First movie of his Brotherhood of Assassin's TrilogyTale of Brotherhood surrounding 5 hitmen who's been tasked to bodyguard a Triad Leader . They must find the conspirator and eliminate him. Later, they're put in a jam when the youngest member of the crew has an affair with the Boss's wife .

laura-magnus Johnnie To is one of the world's most underrated contemporary film directors. Working in Hong Kong he effortlessly switches between genre flicks (like The Mission, but he's equally at home in rom-coms (like Needing You or Love on a Diet) and weirder though sometimes even better material like 'Running on Karma' (or Heroic Trio is earlier times). The man is just as prolific as he is original, and even if he is derivative he is still a great, effortless entertainer. His Milky Ways production company makes studio and independent films with the same dedication. His latest film 'Election' is actually in competition in this year's Cannes. The Mission is the type of film Jean-Pierre Melville would probably make today. Its a mix of Hong Kong Noir and stylised set-piece. It boasts some of Hong Kong acting heavy-weights (many of which appear also in the Infernal Affairs trilogy). Dialogue is minimal, efficiency is the maxime. The music is so detached that the effect overall is almost hypnotising. The film is not perfect, and the flaws hurt because this could have easily been truly great. Still, it's way above average. Watch this and anything else by To you can get your hands on. It boggles

verenawee I really enjoyed this movie, from the first 5 minutes. It's an edgey, not very dialogue driven action movie, but the cast really did a great job. This isn't to say the movie was just one shootout after another.It isn't a mainstream "A Better Tomorrow" type Hong Kong gangster movie, and doesn't pretend to be. It's dark, the characters don't verbalise what they want to do or are thinking, but the nuances are all there. But it's befitting of the setting - they're Asian, male hired hands. It's not realistic expect them to be all philosophical and willing to wear their hearts out on their sleeve.I also liked the movie because it cast some of the finest Hong Kong actors who were really working as a team, and no one was really glamourised to be the hero. Anthony Wong epitomises cool as his character Curtis (in Chinese his character's name was really "Ghost") with more grunts than dialogue.Francis Ng does his edgey best, as does Roy Cheung. All three went on to make Infernal Affairs, one of my all-time favourites.

Karfoo Having sworn to never watch Hong Kong films, save those by Wong Kar Wei, the only reason I saw this film was the good reviews it received from the Hong Kong Film Critic Society. And I must admit it was a most pleasant surprise.The film is a slick and well packaged story of five strangers in gangland coming together to get a job done, namely that of keeping a triad boss alive. The characters, while still stereotyped to a certain extent, are not the usually uncontrolled triad powermongers that are often portrayed in other less palatable fare. These people are professionals, and they knew how to get a job done. Faced with a sniper, none of them panic, and each of them know exactly what to do. The scene in the mall was tightly controlled and well orchestrated, with minimal movement and gun fire adding more to the tension then any hail of bullets can.The direction of Johnnie To evokes images of films by John Woo, whose scenes of gun fights have always, in my opinion, verged on poetry in motion. To's characters are restrained, while the same degree of subtlety is employed with the plot. The audience, in my opinion an often mindless group who are unwilling to think and must be spoon fed every little detail, are left to find meanings and hints in little gestures.The film also reminds me of Things To Do In Dallas, When You Are Dead. Five strangers, called together to serve a mob boss who is past his prime. And again, there is conflict among members of this special 'team'.In the end, aside from a less than believable plot line, The Mission scores high on its entertainment value, both in its visual style and delivery.