Chow Yun Fat might be cool in a trenchcoat and shades, or a slick suit and tie, wielding his double 45's and chewing on a matchstick, but as a bandana wearing, tattoo sporting, motorcycle riding, balisong twirling badass bouncer, he truly takes the cake--and eats it. To oppose him, nothing short of Simon Yam, as an evil, fashion concious gay gangster full of magic tricks, would do. And I don't ever remember seeing a movie where the villain had the hots for the hero, and would admit as much. At least not one where they were both dudes.

This is not your standard HK gangster action flick, for sure. Most of the characters are actually pretty out there. Anthony Wong plays a great coward gone mental. And check out Bonnie Fu as a crazy, bloodthirsty nympho, and the mammoth Frankie Chin as a muscle bound dimwit, sporting the baddest mohawk combo since Mr. T. They are a riot, and add a lot to the proceedings.

The action is pretty over the top stuff as well, at times bordering on gory (at least in the uncut version). There's enough stylish gunplay, bullet POV, explosions, stabbings, bloody limbs, and nice juicy close ups of entry and exit wounds of all shapes and sizes to keep even the most jaded action fans happy. It is glorious. All set to a rocking score and haunting electric guitar riffs, just to underline how fuckin' rock n' roll this movie really is.

This is not Ringo Lam at his most subdued. And some may claim that it is a case of style over substance. But I think the story is tight, the acting is good, and the action is on point. So if that is indeed the case, then I don't really care. This is one of those movies that kicks you in the balls and reminds you why you got into HK cinema in the first place, in case you forgot. A wild ride from start to finish. And if you're willing to hang on, you won't be sorry.

Ringo Lam did an excellent job for the most part especially in the action scenes, but what this movie lacks is character depth and a strong musical score to emphasize the seriousness of certain scenes, broaden the graphic detail of sheer violence, and elaborate on the demented nature of Judge (played by Simon Yam). Perhaps this was due to budget restraints, however this in part makes this movie fall short of being in the same level of classics like HARD BOILED, THE KILLER, BULLET IN THE HEAD, and SHIRI. Overall a very good movie, worthy of a rental.