Let me keep this review shorter than most of my other detailed long ones. This is a classic action film produced in Hong Kong by the master John Woo and it’s definitely one of his better works to date. When I say action, I target every meaning behind the word. This is the epitome of the action genre that puts the majority of Hollywood action films to shame.
Is there a plot? Not really, is there realism? Heck no! The guy fires hundreds of bullets without even reloading, what common sense are you talking about? But who cares about that? The lovers of the genre don't watch for the plot or for realism, what matters in action films is the intense style of violence, bullets flying and once again violence! This is an extreme action film where everyone holds a gun (or two) and fire until they die. People are everywhere, explosions, motorcycles blowing up in the air, cars exploding and bombs. It’s all there, the camera was everywhere and those slow motion scenes are just magnificent. Nothing less from John Woo’s explosive directing style.
The main leads are cool just like John Woo’s typical main leads. The acting is superb, on one hand there’s the great Chow Yun Fat that lacks recognition and on the other hand, there’s the well-known great Hong Kong star Tony Leung. It’s a dreamy powerful combination that allows John Woo to make use of the brotherhood theme that he loves so much. There’s also a nice performance from Anthony Wong as the bad guy but he falls behind compared to Yun Fat and Tony.
Watch this if:
-You love action films because this is one of the best.
-You’re looking for action entertainment.
-You like John Woo’s films (especially his HK ones).
-You like any of the cast.
Do not watch if:
-You dislike violent films because this is the essence of violence.
-You’re looking for a certain plot because there’s nothing special in this film’s story.
-You dislike the genre action.
So why does this get a 9/10 from someone who’s very cheap with his ratings? It’s because I am an action junkie and Hard Boiled is one of the best Action films ever made in the history of cinema, PERIOD.
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"Don't ever bite your own tail again!"
Hard Boiled was John Woo’s death filled cops and gun-runners ode to action films. A completely over the top, unrealistic, thrill a minute bloody carnival ride.Officer Tequila Yuen is determined to bring down the Triads running guns that caused the death of his partner. A loose cannon who doesn’t play by the rules, he ignores his boss’ warning about staying off the case. It’s not long before he runs into Alan, an origami making Triad assassin. He deduces Alan’s secret and the two reluctantly work together to bring down the deranged Johnny Wong’s gang.
What I liked:
What’s not to like about a Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung Chiu Wai pairing? The screen could barely hold their bromantic charisma. I could watch these two in about anything. Phillip Kwok (Lizard Venom) as Mad Dog was right up my kung fu movie loving heart. Lo Meng (Toad Venom) made a brief appearance before he like hundreds of others-died. Kwok was also the action choreographer. Stuntmen flew through windows and fell off buildings, and with all of the bullets hitting and grenades exploding they rolled and were flung about the sets continuously. Chow Yun Fat’s signature move of diving through or over something with both barrels blazing was used several times. Bruce Law was the guy often called for car stunts and there were cars and motorcycles flying, flipping, and exploding everywhere. The stakes were high with hundreds of civilians and a nursery full of new born babies to worry about. Will someone please think of the children!
What I didn’t care for:
It was almost like John Woo wondered how many senseless deaths he could get away with. The gruesome deaths of innocents fleeing a hospital were disturbing in particular and also all the friendly fire deaths. One friendly death was caused because Tequila couldn’t stop taunting Alan instead of guarding the person relying on him for survival! I knew some film nerd would count the casualties for me-thank you Collider!: The body count for Hard Boiled was 305. Honestly, after the first 100 deaths it became monotonous watching the bad guys mow people down with automatic weapons or with RPG fire. Some of the fire fight casualties were funny. I understand a bullet can go through two as easy as one, but not when the people are standing side by side! It's apparent that the carnage had gotten out of hand when the bad guy named Mad Dog complained about the overkill.
While many people enjoyed the reckless slaughter of the masses, it didn’t work for me. I would have rated this film much higher if Woo had showed a modicum of restraint instead of characters gleefully gunning down anyone moving. Despite having some cute babies in the film to lighten things up, Hard Boiled was the kind of relentless gun porn that might have the average viewer wanting to take the dream trip to Antarctica that was talked about in the film. A place where there was always light after living with so much darkness. *
20 March 2024
*(Scientific quibble-Antarctica has light for six months out of the year, it’s dark the other six)
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Rewatch value: I don't neccesarily rewatch action flicks. But I'll rewatch this one.
This was just a great action flick. The biggest mistake John Woo ever made was to come to America to make movies. His movies lacked storyline and substance here. Even the action is mundane with all the CGI effects and watery blood. It's when you see films like this do you understand why the American Hollywood community courted him in the first place. But when you compare any and I mean absolutely ANY of his Chinese flicks to his American ones, you'll understand true art and storyline when you see the Chinese films.
First off, it's easy to over use and get tired of the triad fiasco, even though the idea of a dirty cop, undercover cop, cop goes on a rampage when partner dies because of a triad member or leader---you can't help to bring yourself to watch the films because you know you'll be introduced to super cool guys. Almost superhuman. They're like the East Asian version of Batman without all the toys but awesome gun or martial arts fighting. You'll still get the rich storyline even if it's over used. Because despite all the action and honest to goodness gore/bloodletting---you are getting a worthwhile use of your 2 hours.
This film has it all. The acting is great----not even... phenomenal acting. Now, I'm a massive Tony Leung fan. But seriously...after watching ALL his films with Wong Kar Wai---I have to say that I never pictured him the action kind of guy. It's not my first time watching this film...thanks Cinemax...but every time I see clean cut and soft spoken/all around nice guy and perpetually EMO Tony Leung in an action film, my mind is blown. Why? Because he does it so damned well!!
In this he's Emo--Check, he's clean cut--Check (as far as appearance--hardly seeming disillusioned), nice guy--Check. He managed to still bring this sort of naivete, sensitivity, and alluring danger to an action packed film where he's doing a nice set of blood letting. It's very interesting to see this seemingly quandary of performance played out--because it's done so well.
Chow Yun Fat---I mean really. Are there any words? He's the king of action and just like John Woo, he should have stayed in China to do it. That's why I liked Jet Li. Jet Li realized when he got to the US he was just making stupid films. They were pawning him off like a Jackie Chan clown. Don't get me wrong....Romeo Must Die was great, but the subsequent films were crap. He went back home. Chow Yun Fat experienced the same stereotyping unfortunately. However, they recognized their status and who they are turning into a caricature they go back to China and these guys are once again making powerful films.
This oldie but goody, shows you the real skill of the Chinese actor to portrayal a dramatic role and do it well even when a film is action. Because in China they don't stereotype on skill, unlike the US. Thanks for this John Woo. Thanks for this Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung, because I loved it.
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Woo at his finest
Unquestionably the crowning jewel of John Woo's filmography, Hard Boiled is a film that doesn't have anything to prove and Woo's last hurrah to the industry that brought him lasting vitality as a filmmaker. Mayhem has never looked better. So many films owe their origins to this movie and Woo himself, his shootouts are a ballet; his firebombings are poetry. And while he lets the body count get away from him, he constantly fascinates, through a combination of chaos and an excruciating control over what we're allowed to see.Boasting some of the finest action sequences ever filmed and beautiful emotional resonance Hard Boiled is a powerful thriller that hits hard in more ways than one. It's the very definition of an action masterpiece; Heroic Bloodshed that only Woo could deliver, give him a gun, he's Superman. But give the man two and he's a God.
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PROS:
+ Decently well casted action film with a likeable protagonist (Chow Yun-Fat)
+ LOTS of crazy gun fights and explosions, especially the during finale
+ (Mostly) cheesy tone that has its charming qualities [full of attitude and quippy rhetoric]
+ 90s hyper-violence galore
CONS:
- There is a lot of room for improvement in the editing department [some cuts/transitions even give off a SEGA CD "full motion video" game attribute]
- While the plot is simple enough to figure out once it gets started, it can be a mess to follow in the beginning
FINAL THOUGHTS - Well, there isn't a ton to say about Hard Boiled besides it is a John Woo movie that ticks most of the boxes.
What Hard Boiled lacks is the finesse that normally accompanies Woo's signature style. The one positive aspect to take away from this fact is that the movie is chaotic and less predictable.
This will be best enjoyed by 90s action fans who want to see the early legacies of action pillars, John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat.
7/10
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John Woo has crafted an action masterpiece that is undoubtedly one of the greatest gems of the genre. Chow Yun-Fat is impressive as Tequila and so are the other cast members. The pacing initially feels a little slow, but the film grips you with nonstop action sequences and tension-filled moments.
The story at first seemed like another cop vs criminals battle, but turned out to be a lot more than that as it unfolded. I was impressed, especially since it's a very old film but is still very fresh as per modern action filmmaking standards. Each and every action sequence is outstanding... I think even outstanding is a smaller term for that. I have really not seen action as exhilarating as this, ever before in a classic actioner.
And I can assure you that when the famous hospital action sequence will start unfolding, you'll be nothing but excited. It'd be like watching a completely different film as the action touches unprecedented heights from there. Hard Boiled is very easily a breathtaking, eye-popping and still fresh action film that needs to be seen as soon as possible. It's one of those films you must watch at least once in life!
10/10. (deserves even more!)
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