Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Lawbolisted Powerful

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Jordache Wee A blonde wife advises her children not to run under the rain while her husband, a Chinese local returns from home. She was cooking spaghetti for dinner when someone rang at the door when her husband checked the peephole – a shotgun fired through the door without warning and shot to death by three unknown hit men.Forcing his wife and her two children into hiding upstairs in the master bedroom. Her children are kept safe inside the wardrobe while she gets her gun ready while one of the hit-man lean against the wall and she began to shoot and it hits his ear. She was gunned down and her children saw her on the ground.The children has seen the hit men faces and one of the hit-man has no choice but to assassinate them.The wife arrived in the hospital, still breathing but under paralysis circumstances. An elderly man touchdown in Hong Kong to visit the paralyze woman; who happened to be his daughter: Irene Costello (Sylvie Testud). The father spoke to her in French and she told him and she wants vengeance.François Costello aka Mr. Costello (Johnny Hallyday) went on his own investigation seeking for hit men for himself. Soon, he found Kwai (Anthony Wong), Chu (Gordon Lam Ka-Tung) and Fei Lok (Lam Suet) as his choice. Their reward would all his wealth and a restaurant in France. When asked about his background-he told them that he is chef but his former life was a hit-man back 20 years ago. But his weakness is his illness that he might not remember anyone or anything he does.Mr. Costello ran away from the scene and found himself loss and trying to recall his hit men.When their investigation starts to bear fruit, the hit men who kills his daughter family is none other than fishermen: Wolf (Eddie Cheung Siu Fai), Python (Felix Wong) and Crow (Ng Ting Yip).The standoff between the Mr. Costello's hit men and his enemies went awry when they get to escape. Mr. Costello was badly injured and Fei Lok got hit in his ass.Kwai received a phone call from his potential client, George Fung (Simon Yam); who direct the hit on his girlfriend and her lover when he found out the affair somewhere in the scene. Mr. Fung then ask him and his men to attend to another group of hit men who was shot by "3 Chinese men and 1 white man" which brings them back to them.Kwai, Chu and Fei Lok had decided to disobey their paymaster and helped Mr. Costello. Disagreement and disloyalty always ended up with the final showdown.

madrhetoric Though I agree to a certain extent of why you don't like this movie, you have some pretty weak reasons why. "you barely care about the family murdered in the beginning". You are not supposed to care about the family, you are supposed to care about Costello. You are supposed to bond with him, Kwai, Chu, and Fat Lok as a team. "his amnesia never presents itself at all until the end of the movie, and Fung just suddenly realizes he has it with no explanation how." Costello takes pictures of Kwai, etc. because he cannot remember. The amnesia doesn't get really bad until the end, after having shot at Fung (meaning he knows what he looks like), that he needs the sticker to remind him who Fung was, and since Fung is a smart guy (BOSS!) I'm pretty sure he doesn't need someone to tell him that Costello has amnesia. This movie has many similar themes to other Johnnie To movies, and although it's not his best work, he does a very good job. If you don't like the English dialog because it's not perfect of "silly" go move to HK and help them make a better script and teach them better pronunciation. Also, remember this is a French/Honk Kong production, not an American one, so things like "serious crimes unit" are OK, since most of the target audience doesn't speak English as well as we do. They don't know the difference, and it really doesn't matter. Check out To's other films, like the Mission, Exiled,etc. if you haven't.

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) Johnnie To's artistic style is beautifully displayed and brought to life in "Vengeance", from stand-offs, to shootouts with a myriad of automatic weapons and handguns-the bullet shells never stop hitting the ground. This stylish, revenge melodrama is one of Johnnie To's best, and is also his first English language film. The third part of an informal trilogy, with "The Mission" and "Exiled" being the previous installments sharing a number of noted cast members (Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Lam Suet) and locations. The films are primarily connected by themes involving brotherhood and loyalty; fatalism; and group dynamics. All three films also feature artistic, elaborate, over-the-top action sequences. In "Vengeance" an aging and retired French gangster, Costello (Johnny Hallyday), now working as a chef, travels to Hong Kong when his daughter, son in law, and two grandchildren are gunned down in a seemingly professional hit. Though badly injured, his daughter survives and begs her father to take vengeance upon the perpetrators. And so he sets out to do just that, even though he has no idea where to start in this unfamiliar country. Rather conveniently, he happens upon three professional hit men (led by the legendary Anthony Wong) who've just bumped off the unfaithful mistress of their boss. Tentatively, he approaches them and tells them of his needs. Hesitantly, and with little verbal communication, they take Costello up on his offer, which includes payment of cash and his restaurant in Paris. Once hired, he takes individual Polaroid photographs of each hit man and writes their names on each photo. Costello does this throughout his encounters, due to the fact that there is a bullet from days gone by lodged near his brain and causing the Frenchman rapid memory loss. He needs these photos so he knows his friends from his enemies and to never forget his daughter's tragedy. The film's plot serves the fabled Hong Kong director Johnnie To as an excuse to create arresting visual action set pieces with stunning results. Scenes like Costello wandering through the rain in confusion, trying to spot his targets by reminding himself with the Polaroids, look absolutely magnificent. Some of the major action set- pieces, especially one involving Anthony Wong, are positively stunning. But through all the gloom and doom, humor is not forgotten in "Vengeance", with some occasional tongue-in-cheek dialogue delivered completely deadpan by Yam and Wong in particular. Then there are other sequences, such as a shootout that takes place at a picnic area in the woods, where two groups of killers wait for a family picnic to finish. And as night to falls, the families depart and the shoot out begins.The cinematography is visually-striking, and plenty of style to spare. An exquisite, artistic blood bath.

fx peretmere Oh my - When Billy The Kid met Memento met Tokyo Eyes met The Limey on steroids… The only film ever in which I enjoyed watching Johnny Hallyday. Anthony Wong is just bloody amazing, as in everything I saw with him - not much I concede, according to his length impressing filmography on IMDb.I discovered Johnny To a few years back when The Mission came out, and since then, I am trying to watch anything he did. I skipped this one when it came out, being frightened by the infamous French/Belgian 60's idol presence - I just can't stand him as a public person. I was so wrong. Even though the first Hallyday's dialogue are just plain dreadful (the hospital scene at the beginning), Johnny To managed to take control and silence him. And the miracle works out. When you forget even about the meaning of the word, what does vengeance means ?