Triad Wars (2008)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

i must have seen a different film!!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Following a police raid on a triad drugs shipment which leads to the arrest of a drug dealer the man's wife decides to try to extort money out of the triads by suggesting they know the account details of where Triad boss Lin Ho-lung keeps their money. Unwilling to risk the possibility that the man might talk they take drastic action and launch an attack on the police station where he is being held. That isn't the end of their problems though; Lung's friend and financial backer is kidnapped and held for ransom. Lung doesn't realise that those responsible are working with people close to him and soon is involved in a full scale war with rival gangs as well as the police.If you want full on action this is probably the film for you; it is very violent with numerous shootings; limbs being hacked off with swords, explosions and a very gruelling torture scene that certainly made me wince! The basic story is simple enough although with just about every group having insiders they shouldn't trust there is always the possibility of sudden betrayal. The action set pieces are exciting and feel realistic; this isn't the highly choreographed action that approaches dance one finds in some Hong Kong films. Director Denis Law did a fine job keeping the action gritty while also having some more gentle moments; the scene where to senior triad members remember their childhoods while playing hopscotch was a delight. The cast did a solid job; particularly Sammo Hung, who impressed as Lin Ho-lung; Wu Jing, who plays his right hand man Lok Tin-hung and Tien Niu who plays Lung's wife and shows that women shouldn't be underestimated. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of full on Hong Kong action.These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.

Sigh.I have to admit that Simon Yam is my favourite actor in Hong Kong cinema. I'll now also confess that Jacky Wu (or "Wu Jing" as he's known in Asia) is simply fantastic to watch; and then we have Sammo Hung who is a legend...With this main cast and a violent, dramatic, martial arts setting then, one would naturally expect something great. Alas, this was not the case.It's difficult to say just went wrong with Fatal Move but the disjointed storytelling is definitely the main factor. Simon Yam's character starts out as having the potential to be compelling and Jacky Wu certainly looks to be the man with whom not to ***k (as his talent deserves), but things quickly fall apart as too many characters are chucked at us too quickly, for no real reason and after an hour or so of action scenes occasionally having been slotted in to keep our interest in an otherwise dull, difficult to follow film, I soon found myself scratching my head, wondering how the mess on screen before me escaped some serious script re-writes.Aside from men carrying out hits with ninja weapons in a ludicrous excuse for more M.A. choreography when a machine gun could have done all the work in half the time, there's also some truly awful CGI blood and gore effects which made me wonder why the art of film is de-evolving (compare Lord of the Rings to Ghandi; Lone Wolf and Cub to this), and to make matters worse, the dramatic element which had been so sorely lacking throughout, only graces us right at the very end when Sammo's wife, Soso, turns in a deft performance, too little, too late..No Simon Yam lines to justify wasting his talent; no unarmed Jacky Wu.Fair enough, Sammo still surprises us with a cool scene to show he's still got the moves despite his age, but nothing could save this wreck once it had been green-lit without undergoing serious surgery at a local script doctor's.It's unfair to say that there's no story, for as jumbled as it is, it's there, but the action just seemed to be tossed in for the sake of it for the most part, was unrewarding, and the total of this flick came up incredibly short given its concept, cast, budget and just about any other pro it had.

Tagline: Almost as good as SPL… Review by Neo: Dennis Law have finally come of age and after 2 unfulfilled attempts, Law have strike third time luckily with Fatal Move. Fatal Move is not just a good movie, as saying that would be a clear understatement, but one that Neo can proudly claim as the best in 2008 HK cinema so far. Despite a few unnecessary parts in between and some moments of predictability, Fatal Move qualifies as an action movie with HK flair and almost matching the feat of 2005's SPL. It's been a while since Neo have witnessed a good HK movie and with it being so close to his 22nd birthday, Fatal Move comes just at the right timing.Director Dennis Law have previously debuted in the teenage targeted Love @ First Note and have since then gone on to make his first shot at action cinema with the above average Fatal Contact. There is no doubt that Law's career lies in action cinema and if this flick is any indication, his direction is only heading one way and that is up and coming. It is always refreshing to witness a new generation director producing a good quality flick and it is all the more exciting when it comes to action cinema. Law smartly casts a trio from SPL, namely Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wu Jing and the result is some quality martial arts sequence and lots of fun to be had.Also of special mention, it is probably the first time in years, where action flicks have succeeded without the involvement of Donnie Yen. Perhaps it is time to unleash Wu Jing on his first true starring in almost a decade since Tai Chi 2. Like his role in SPL, Wu Jing, the protégé of Jet Li is cool enough to rock the screen and likable enough to keep the audience attention. His fighting is slick and his youthfulness sets him apart from the rest of the aging cast. Still, these kinds of roles might make him look cooler than anyone deserves to be, but ultimately they are paper thin and not ones that allows Wu Jing to show his full potential. However, it is nonetheless a sigh of fresh air as the days of Sammo Hung is closer to retirement than debutant.Also in the mix is Lee Sir, Danny Lee and without a second though there is no doubt that Lee have aged considerably since his The Killer days and the sight of him with a gun is about as believable as a pensioner robbing a bank. With that being said, it is always a pleasure to see him back on the big screen and once again reminding the audience exactly how movies are used to be made. Sammo Hung almost reprises his role of SPL but this time with a degree of remorseless and thus allowing the audience to maintain interest in his character. Unfortunately one of Law's weak points is that he is no Wilson Yip, which means that he is not a character director. Luckily, the fight sequences more than compensate and the result are some quietly entertaining long takes of these coolly filmed scenes.Simon Yam also appears here and there, but is somewhat subdued and almost certainly a role more suited to the likes of Francis Ng. Veteran actress Tien Niu impresses the audience with a performance that is menacing yet understanding. Those final words of her are strong and her facial expression matched the strong dialogue given to her. As for Lam Suet, he is just himself, but for an actor that does so little, Lam is damn memorable and his acting is just priceless to laugh or cry for.All in all, Fatal Move is easily the best movie of 2008 so far and it is safe to say that it is a movie that Neo actually liked. I understand that the current reviewer has been a little too strict in recent times, but there is no argument that the quality being delivered so far this year has largely been disappointing. With that being said, it always feel good and makes Neo's day a hell lot better whenever he witness good HK cinema. Firstly, it is surprising, secondly, it makes him feel like his effort and passion for this industry isn't just going straight to the garbage dump and finally, it allows the current review to sleep well at night. So what's wrong with Fatal Move, the answer is that there is nothing wrong, but the fact that Neo got sort of over-excited like a little kid receiving a balloon… (Neo 2008) I rate it 9/10www.thehkneo.com

Put Sammo Hung and Simon Yam back together in this new Hong Kong action trial flick will not guarantee you much action and chemistry from their previous film, SPL (2005). Though it looks like a sequel of SPL in overall, unfortunately it lacks the punch that SPL has.While China born supporting actor Wu Jing (who also had a supporting role in SPL) appears as a supporting role in Fatal Move, it was somehow rather disappointing to see leading actor Donnie Yen (of Shanghai Knights, Blade 2 and Seven Swords) absent from the film. Instead, Hong Kong veteran actor Danny Lee moves in as his classic role of police detective that he had from years of acting. Another veteran actress, Kelly Tien Niu, finally made her big screen appearance again as the wife of Hung.In terms of story line, it looks like another 80's gangster flick from Hong Kong. Hung plays Lung, a trial gang leader who owns a firm that conducts illegal drug business. His younger brother Tung (Yam) and a group of followers pledge their loyalty to the firm, and of course, Lung's wife, Soso (Kelly). However, when a drug deal was busted by the police, an inner war broke out in the gang, where it was split into 2 sides, and both wants to get rid of each other. Detective Liu (Lee) stands aside and awaits to get rid of the gang when he discovers one of his men is a spy for the gang.Comparing Fatal to SPL, Fatal boasts a stronger appearance of veteran cast in a Hong Kong movie in the recent years. It is not that often where you get to see Hung, Yam, Lee and Kelly work together in a movie, not counting the number of other veteran actors making special appearance in the film. Another selling point of the film is the high amount of violence. If you are not prepare to see hand chopping during gang fights, sadistic torture ala Hostel liked torture or loads of throat slashing gore in the film, the Fatal is not the movie for you, even though the blood gushing scenes looks like some cheap CGI effects.For audience who missed the fighting between Hung and Yen in SPL, they will be fairly disappointed in Fatal, as Hung will not appear in any fights till the last 20 minutes of the film. And sad to say, it is the focus of supporting characters that has been placed too much, that it ends up both Hung and Yam had hardly any chance to explore their roles. To worsen this, Lee had hardly any appearance as Detective Liu, who wants to bring the trial gang to an end. Except from some explosive gun shooting scenes in the film, Lee has hardly any way to explore his role. It was Kelly with the role of Soso, that steals the limelight, as it seems that she was the focus of the film, compared to the rest of the male cast.Directer Dennis Law, who was the writer for Johnnie To's Election (2005) and Election 2 (2006) pens down the story, which he try to explore the ugly and violent side of the trial gang. But in the end, we got a movie that doesn't had the essence of Election, and lacks the punch of SPL.Fairly entertaining to those who do loves movie featuring trial gang, loads of bloodshed and violence.