Connected (2008)

Powerful

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I do not usually watch HK movies due to it being filled with low quality commercial craps banking on famous celebrities.However, I was interested in this movie after seeing Barbie Hsu getting a nomination as Best Actress in HK film awards and knowing that it is based on Hollywood version "Cellular". I knew, I have to watch it.To my expectation, this movie did not disappoint. The directing and acting is pretty solid and Barbie Hsu does deserve the nomination. This one have more action than Cellular and to those who can relate to the HK culture of this movie will find this better than Cellular. There are movie subplots in this one than in Cellular which adds up a little more plot holes (or rather cheesy parts) but for the better.I also like the fact that the director decided to go with multilingual where some of the actors are allowed to speak their native tongue of Mandarin as to doing voice-over of Cantonese. It made the whole movie much more believable and watchable. The only part I really dislike is the voice-over for Louis Koo which was badly done and clearly is not his voice.Overall, this is one of the better movie I have watched from HongKong for a long long time. I cannot remember watching any action movie as good as this that does not sacrifice good acting and storyline.

I don't like remakes, whether they are American remakes of "Asian" films or the other way around. It's even worse when the original film itself was a dismal piece of cinema to begin with, and this seems to be the case here.Louis Koo plays a man who receives a random phone call on his cellphone from a woman (played by Barbie Hsu) claiming to have been kidnapped. He has to decide whether to try and help her or to ignore her and rush to the airport in time to say goodbye to his son, who is immigrating to another country with a relative. Apparently (and quite predictably), he has broken many promises to his son in the past, and if he does not fulfill this particular promise, the damage to their relationship may be irreparable. Predictably (again), he chooses the most implausible option, and begins a crime spree that involves reckless driving, vandalism, robberies, and more, in order to try and save the woman on the phone.Sounds familiar? That's because this film is a remake of "Cellular", which I have not yet seen. But after seeing this remake, I don't think I want to see "Cellular", because the reason it sounds familiar to -me- is because it is ultimately very formulaic. At every "twist" in the film, the character will not choose the most sensible option because it threatens to endanger the people he is trying to save. In fact, you know in advance that the character will choose the most unlikely and implausible option, which often endangers not only himself but random strangers (for example, driving dangerously in busy traffic and causing multiple collisions), in order to stretch a paper-thin plot into a "film." Even the ending itself was foreseeable almost from the very beginning (guess where the final "showdown" will take place? Hmmm....).Ye Liu's exaggerated performance as the villainous "Senior Inspector Fok" was particularly agitating to watch. Nick Cheung does his best to try and keep a straight face in what should really be a comedy rather than a thriller. Barbie Hsu is given no room to do anything except fulfill the stereotypical role of a hysterical woman who has just been kidnapped, even if she's basically MacGuyver and can build working telephones from smashed parts. Would Richard Dean Anderson just cry hysterically for the rest of the film after building a phone? No, he would have turned wooden planks and metal cans into a nail gun. That would have gave this film a pulse.

Tagline: 2008 HK Cinema finally delivers… Review by Neo: Having not review a single movie for almost half a year, it is also about time that 2008 Hong Kong cinema, finally come up with something worthy of my time. Perhaps it all came at the right timing, with the end of my 1st CA exam out of the way, it is time for a little break. Watching Connected is like a rare occasion where one can truly enjoy themselves, involve into it and somehow ending up liking it as well. Let's ignore the fact that this flick is a direct carbon copy of a rare moment of creative script writing from Hollywood (Cellular, starring Jason Stratham). Perhaps, adding to the reason why the current reviewer enjoyed this flick more than he should, must be attributed to the fact that he never seen the original. Still, Connected works extremely well as a stand alone film and if Hong Kong is running out of ideas, which is certainly the case, 98% of the time, a welcome legal copying is not entirely a bad move.It goes without question that the film contains frequent product placement, but seriously, who cares, this is a piece of commerical film-making. I would be worried when a Benny Chan film comes with no Pepsi cans, no Tissot watches and Motorola phones. That would probably mean nobody watches HK films anymore. Take any James Bond movie and the amount of product placement by far exceed any commercial HK films. As long as it is not over done like 2007's Brothers, it is nothing more than a minor distraction. Not with holding, Connected is a well-produced, stylishly and commerically directed, capitalising on a creative piece of script writing and doing what 90% of Hong Kong movies can't do, by ending with film with an attachment with the audience.There is absolutely no reason to be negative about Connected, but then again, I might be the only one that actually liked it from start to finish. There is something about this film that kept be glued to the 40 inches Samsung LCD TV and the amazingly cosy sofa. Maybe, it is Liu Ye, cartoonish menacing performance, the sympathy gained with the constantly crying cute-eyed angel (Barbie Hsu) or perhaps the now acquired taste of Louis Koo's immensely likable over-acting (last scene in the excellent family/triad drama, Run Papa Run). Not to forget, the reinvented Nick Cheung, who has now become more than a handful of an actor, whenever he departs from chatting up Wong Jing. So what's wrong with Connected, well the answer, is that there is nothing wrong, and it is probably as good as it gets, after adding some weight to the current state of HK cinema.It is strange that the first and last movie, I reviewed are both associated with the Dark Chocolate, but one must admit that his over the top style of acting is of acquired taste. While it was used to emotional and humorous effect in Run Papa Run, here, it is more like allowing the audience to relate to him and the feeling of an accidental hero. There are times, when he breezes through the streets like a maniac crashing cars, people, buildings, concrete, stones and mountains along the way, but it is those little moments that all adds up to why the audience will end up relating to the man, Louis Koo.Now, it is time to move on to Taiwanese actress, Barbie Hsu or otherwise known as F4's squeezing teddy bear. It is without doubt that Neo always have a soft spot for cute looking chicks and luckily Barbie provided this and while, she doesn't entirely convince in opening stages. Luckily she manages to improve and settle into her role and eased into a fitting display by the time the credits is rolling. Next up is a glorified cameo from part time Wong Jing's best buddy and part time serious Johnnie To addict in Nick Cheung. Neo knows that Cheung has talent and it is no surprise that he somehow manages to steal his limited screen time, and managed to do more than given within the script. While not award winning, but certainly better than adequate. This leads to the best actor in terms of awards and acclamation in Liu Ye. Liu is a character actor and while he may seem wasted as a cartoonly villainous son of a bitch. Liu manages to outshine most of his co-stars, but somehow still ending up the most lacking. At the end, Liu Ye is a great talent, but sometimes, one must wonder whether this lad would be better suited in period dramas.All in all, Connected deserved its relatively successful box office run of HK$13 million. While many may be inclined to give Benny Chan the credit for creating such an entertaining piece of action/thriller, due to its carbon copying style or perhaps the over-drought of product placement. It is obvious that Connected is the kind of movie where you either believe in storyline and go with the flow and endure through the extreme and the predictability or quite simply just diss it as a stupid movie and end up just having half the fun. Honestly, I had a lot of fun watching this flick and the good thing is that I somehow got involved by it and somewhat emotionally embraced it by the time the credits appear with all those Motorola phones. Love it or hate it, or quite simply just call it stupid, Neo thought the idea and premises is smart and the result is a very satisfying movie experience… (Neo 2008) I rate it 9/10www.thehkneo.com

I have seen both the original and remake. It is based on Cellular. Cellular is intense and has lots of suspense. After a few years, it is remade by Chinese action director Benny Chan. His recent work, Invisible Target is quite good. Benny Chan cannot fail with fast-paced action mixed with martial arts. Connected is almost like the original, it is intense and has lots of suspense with some twists. Though, the remake is almost like the original, it is not boring. Its suspense is different from the original. I treat the original and remake differently. Both of them are of the same score.Te story: A debt collector receives a call from a woman who is kidnapped by an unknown gang. He thinks it is a joke but soon, he realises that it is not a prank. He hands the phone over to a cop. By then, no one answers and the cop asks him to go to a police station nearby. He rushes off and try to save her and her daughter. The question is whether he can break his promise to his son and save the woman he does not know. From there, there are chaos and intense action exploding into your way. It is another of Benny Chan's good work.Overall: If you are a fan of Benny Chan, this should not be missed. It also should not be missed for action and suspense fans. We can expect there will be more Asian remakes of Hollywood version.DVD: I would like to get hold of the 2-disc special edition (Hong Kong version). Singapore only gets the 1 disc edition. There are English and Chinese subtitles.