One Nite in Mongkok (2004)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of fun.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A simple street fight over a girl turns into a car chase which leaves one of the drivers dead. The dead driver is none other than Tiger, son of criminal gang boss Tim. Tim sits down with rival gang leader Carl, who's men caused the accident that killed Tiger. However a parley turns violent as Tim strikes out in revenge – killing Carl's man but letting him escape in the confusion. The police are called into the middle of the investigation as a dangerous standoff between the two gangs commences. Meanwhile Tim calls in fixer Liu to bring in a hit-man (Lai Fu) to take out Carl. The police get word and it is a race against the clock to stop Lai Fu as they know that another death will spill the standoff over into all out gang war.Although it benefits from praise and high voting from users who have mostly probably sought it out and thus have likely voted with the air of "everything foreign and little seen is cool", this thriller is still a solid proposition that is worth a look. The plot is a little messy perhaps but the layers of action are interesting as we follow hit-man, cops and criminals all living out slightly different parts of the same story. This creates a strong foundation as I found each character interesting and I was as taken by Lai Fu as I was by Milo. Likewise the film keeps a relative tension as the clock ticks down and the net tightens around Mongkok and Lai Fu.The downside is that both aspects take away from one another. It is not totally a character driven film because it is making sure that it remains a cop thriller; but conversely it isn't as tight a thriller as it could have been because it has the characters forming part of the narrative and does break up the flow and the urgency. This means it is not as good as it could have been but the two aspects do still work well together and it is engaging enough even if it does occasionally fall short of the mark. Director Tung-Shing does a great job in the delivery, shooting everything in a stylish fashion as well as using music (and silence) to good effect. The cast are mostly strong as well with Fong, Wu and Cheung tending to be the strongest turns. Lam's Liu is amusing while Milo's men are mostly well played.Overall then, perhaps not as strong as the praise here would have you believe but I suspect that the nature of it being foreign and not that well known has bought it some good will and forgiveness from those that have seen it. The mix of thriller and characters give it a good balance but one does detract slightly from the other, preventing the film from reaching its full potential in either aspect. Still good as a whole though and I found it a solid, if not brilliant, thriller.

After watching this film it left me with the impression that all the main characters were left in despair, there is tragedy at every turn. Before the film has started two brothers have fallen out over a death, then gang-warfare occurs and a tragic accident. The hero arrives seeking revenge for his brother's imprisonment and his lost love, even the cops have a tragic past. But aside from nobody having a happy ending I got to admit the style and edit of the film didn't leave me depressed and I would watch it again. I wonder if there are going to be any sequels or prequels to tie up the story of the two brothers and whether the cops ever get their men.

Asian cinema does it again. Whilst the rest of the world simple gasps at the quality of films the far east is churning out, they continue to let the stream of quality films continue, with this being near the top. The film follows the hunt by a set of policemen chasing a hit-man, who unbeknown to them is a young inexperienced hit-man. If he is not stopped it could lead to all out gang warfare, as he is hired to kill after gang tensions lead to the death of the son of a head gangster.The hit-man is though the main character ultimately, and he is tagged with a prostitute who by coincidence also comes from a poor region in China. Both contrast each other, but are two sides of the same coin with respect to their current roles. Film builds up using the surroundings of the congested dog-eat-dog world of Mongkok, and takes us on a blind tour of the district and its world where anything and everything is for sale.Its a film that will intrigue and disturb in equal measures, but don't let that put you off. The film is brilliantly acted, and it is hard to know at times who is on the side of right and wrong, reminiscent of Heat in that sense. Tense, twisting and intelligent, this is a must-see and surely must rank with some of the best that have come out of the HK stable this decade.

While long-time Hong Kong residents dismiss Dan Dan & Lai Fu as mainland country bumpkins, Dan Dan portrays herself as being a tough & sophisticated pro to Lai Fu. She mocks Lai Fu's sweetheart as a prostitute and at the restaurant she also brags about her own earning power where she claims she has already made $8,000 in 3 weeks. Of course all the while she is showing what a gold digger she is too. However after the purse snatching incident when Lai Fu says that he will pay Dan Dan for her trouble and time as his guide in Mongkok, she asks for $3,500 and is promptly paid. Dan Dan later suffers cramps during that fateful night and asks Lai Fu to buy Panadol at the drugstore and to get some smaller bills in her purse, Lai Fu goes to get the money and sees that she doesn't have a huge wad of $8,000, only the small bills and what money he had previously paid her. At the end of the movie when she departs HK territory, she looks in her purse and realizes that Lai Fu had given her all the money that he had. It basically raises the possibility that Dan Dan had never even turned a trick while in Mongkok, that she was exaggerating her own past history, or that at the very least she may have prostituted herself but never made any substantive profit to take home to her village.