'2002' is an interesting combination of 'Ghostbusters' and 'Men In Black' which also manages to mix in traditional Chinese magic and folklore. Nicholas Tse is the (rather young) head of the 2002 department of the Hong Kong police responsible for investigating supernatural crimes. He is aided by his ghostly partner played by Sam Lee. The department has always been run as a human/ghost partnership but this tradition changes when Stephen Fung transfers from traffic duty after realising that he is able to see dead people. Sam Lee only has a cameo appearance here and is replaced by Stephen Fung who, with Nicholas Tse, runs around the city investigating spooky happenings. The central plot concerns an evil water spirit that comes for revenge when Fung and Tse dispose of his fire spirit girlfriend.

The central characters are developed quite well with Stephen Fung playing a rather lonely (and quite sad) character who is so desperate to find love that he cares for a girl in a coma in the hope that she will fall for him when she wakes up. Nicholas Tse is also lonely but with good reason. He is cursed with the 'mark of death' which means that anyone to whom he becomes close will die; case in point being Sam Lee who was actually his police partner when alive. When things get tough Nicholas turns to his uncle and former department head Law Kar Ying who acts as a mentor despite being in retirement.

The film keeps elements of the supernatural classics (such as 'Encounters of the Spooky Kind') with references to Chinese magic rituals and also the 'anything can happen' unpredictability. The style is also quite reminiscent of films like 'The Matrix' and 'Blade', especially as Nicholas Tse storms around, generally looking cool, in a long black trench coat. Things seemed to slow a little in the middle but the time taken here to develop the characters pays off in the end with a finale that manages to deliver an emotionally charged punch.

There is some nicely choreographed and edited action in the final reel in which the two leads come across as impressive screen fighters (even with obvious doubling and wires - ah, the magic of movies). Although there is plenty of fast editing we are allowed to see quite a few nicely executed martial arts techniques (although nothing too complicated) and this is certainly one of the better fight endings I've seen in a movie made in the last couple of years.

The story revolves around a unit of the Hong Kong police force designated “2002”. It is a task force of Spirit & Paranormal Investigation with it’s principle duty to rid the world of evil ghosts. We are introduced to Tide (Nicholas Tse) and Sam (Sam Lee), a spirit himself, investigating a strange death of a young woman. Tide helps to keep the girl’s spirit from becoming an “angry spirit” while Sam handles the ghost of the girls teacher that was responsible for her death. When the evil ghost overpowers Sam, Tide suavely defeats it. As the film progresses, Sam leaves to be re-incarnated. This leaves Tide waiting for the partner that destiny will assign to him—Fung (Stephen Fung). Paper Chan, a former member of 2002 that now runs a store of things to burn as gifts for a dead loved one, instructs him in the requirements of his new partner. Once Tide and Fung have met up, they have a scene of utterly hilarious dialogue before confronting their first ghost together. They split up, with Fung checking out the rave where the disturbance occurred, and Tide checking out the dead body. When Tide returns to Fung, the beautiful woman Fung is dancing with (Anya) suddenly transforms into a Fire Ghost and the people at the rave disappear, replaced by fire. It is here that we are exposed to Fung’s fear of ghosts—an ironic fact that adds even more to the humor of the film. Fung eventually defeats her, but after their departure her lover (Alex Fong) comes to see that her spirit has been obliterated. To tell much more beyond this point would ruin some of the wonderful things that are done plot-wise in this film.

First off, the writing of this is ingenious. One would assume, and it is often the case, that humor rarely retains its quality through translations. However, the humor written into this film is so universal and so damn hilarious that even through the (fairly typical for a HK DVD) translation you will laugh uncontrollably at points. And in the midst of this humor, a wonderfully complicated story is weaved. Tide cannot love because anyone he loves or befriends is doomed to death not long after. This presents a major problem when he falls in love with Danielle and is forced to end it before it can begin. All of the relationships are true and heart felt, and though much of that comes from the performances, such detail and strength must be rooted in the screenplay.

The acting, as I have mentioned, is stunning. Nicholas Tse truly shows his talent as an actor (But not as a singer... more about that later) through this film. In the situations he is presented with, we can see his turmoil, pain, and even guilt without him having to talk about it. He shows them through everything he does. He truly becomes Tide, and he never falters. Stephen Fung has an even more difficult challenge than Nicholas Tse, because his character requires a range that cannot be comprehended until you see the film. But he plays both extremes on the spectrum so well that it is hard to believe that it is the same actor.

The direction of the film is spectacular. Wilson Yip makes the universe truly believable, this world in which spirits that few can see walk among us. He handles both the tender scenes and the dazzling action scenes with a keen grasp of his craft. America could use some filmmakers like him. Particularly, the final fight scene that takes place in the rain is so incredibly beautiful and well shot that, though the fight scene is rather short and not in any way physically spectacular, his visuals make it by far my favorite part of the film.

However, that scene is also one of the reasons the film doesn’t get a 10/10. There are cuts to flashbacks that are unnecessary and hurt the flow of the film. The fight must be very short, and the majority of what should be a tense, big, exciting action moment is dragged out with lots of slow takes and about a minute of a half of them standing looking at each other while we see some of these flashbacks. Throughout this, a song (sung by Nicholas Tse) plays. It really feels like a bad music video, and why it is in this movie, I don't know. It really brings the film down... Basically, Nicholas Tse sounds like an un-constapated, high-pitched Roger Waters, except without anything positive about his voice. The other song in the film that he sings, except for the chorus, is completely out of place. It is placed in a tender love scene, and the first verse includes “too much pot and heroin, to much crack and cocaine, I am waiting, devastating, ooooh.” That speaks for itself, doesn't it? Just wait until you hear him sing it... or perhaps, mute your sound system at that point. It would save your ears.

Potential, potential, potential. The first half of this film is perfect. Maybe even better. Even when it starts taking itself seriously, its great. But then, it just takes itself too seriously and adds terrible elements into the visua. It is a very cool movie, but towards the end it tries to be cooler than it is. In the beginning, when this is done, it is obvious satire. But in the end, its just painful. Still, watch it for the performances and the fine direction. It's better than nearly anything you could go see in an American movie theater.

Nicholas Tse plays a cop with psychic powers (say it with me, he sees dead people) who is the only member of a police squad called 2002. Along with his ghost partner Sam Lee, Nic manages to bust quite a few ghosts and send them to hell for good, with the aid of some unique weapons. However, it is Sam's time to reincarnate, and so Nic must find a new partner, who turns up in the guise of Stephen Fung. The problem is that to do Nic any good, Stephen must be dead, so Nic tries to set Stephen's life in order while still battling a fierce water spirit (Alex Fong), who wants revenge after Nic killed his girlfriend (Anya).

This would make for an interesting take on the ghost genre, but apparently the film-makers decided that this wasn't enough, and so they added in a romantic subplot -- well, actually two of them. The first has Stephen falling in love with a coma victim (Rain Li), and Nic falling for a nurse (Danielle Graham). Problem is, Stephen knowing he's going to die sours his relationship with Rain, and Nic's carrying of a "death star" marks bad things for anyone he gets close to (how then he can keep a relationship with Law Kar-Ying, who plays a sort of mystical Q from the James Bond movies, is a mystery or just a bad plot hole). I don't mind a bit of romance, but the stuff in 2002 is so heavy-handed, it really grinds the movie down. A good case in point is the climatic battle. It should be exciting, but the use of a cheesy Nic Tse ballad and musical montages really degrades the power of the fight.

On the positive side, the rest of the action in 2002 is well-done. Matrix was definitely an influence -- right down to the leather trenchcoats -- but the style of fighting fits in well with the film, and the CGI is integrated well enough that 2002 doesn't look as fake as some other recent action movies. The young leads also do a good job. Nic Tse and Stephen Fung display their usual winning chemistry, and the supporting cast does a good job as well -- especially Sam Lee, who even though he seems to be fufilling his quota for "goofy sidekick" roles, manages once again to create a very likeable character from next to nothing. Especially surprising is newcomer Danielle Graham. While no one is going to mistake her for Brigitte Lin anytime soon, she does a fine job, thankfully forgoing the Chinglish that seems to be in vogue for young actors in Hong Kong.

Overall, 2002 is an entertaining -- if forgettable -- movie that should satisfy fans of the stars, as well as provide a quick fix for action junkies.

Tide's parents died when he was young, and all his partners have died in the line of duty, so he assumes--based in part on advice from his mentor--that everyone he cares for will meet with an untimely demise. Consequently, he leads a solitary life, actively avoiding friendships, dating, and meaningful interaction. As you can imagine, his fear of connecting with anyone gets difficult to handle at times--like when he falls in love with a girl, and does not dare pursue her for fear that she may die as a result. He's got troubles.

His only confidant is a shopkeeper named Paper Chan--so named because he sells the paper trinkets that people burn for the dead. His shop carries an excellent selection: everything from paper guns to paper scooters to paper cell phones to paper mansions--when a living person burns such an item for a departed loved one, the loved one receives the "real" thing in the afterlife. This idea--based on ancient customs still widely practiced--has a lot of possibilities in a film where the main characters are both ghost and human. In addition to running his paper goods shop, Paper Chan serves as Tide's mentor and pseudo-father-figure.

According to Paper Chan, Tide's current ghost partner, Sam, is just about due for reincarnation. Tide, it seems, will then have to find a new partner very soon. When he finally does find his new partner, Wind (Stephen Fung)--the guy who meets all of Paper Chan's criteria--it turns out that Wind is quite useless in high-stress situations. He becomes paralyzed out of fear and lies prone on the floor during ghost attacks. Quite a partner...

The premise is excellent--the perfect backdrop for action, comedy, or an interesting romance. The real problem with this movie is that it lacks a heart--it lacks a meaningful central story. Perhaps in an attempt to "keep you guessing"--or perhaps as the result of poor editing--the film changes directions regularly, leaving old stories behind and poking around at new ones. The end result is that--yes--we were guessing all along; but we also just didn't care so much when it was over. The film tries to do too many things in too short a time and ends up undermining almost all of them--truly a perfect example of catering to an MTV/short attention span target audience. The characters' motivations and personalities were never clear, and so we never felt like we connected with any of them enough to really care about them. Likewise, the characters' interactions with each other were never meaningful or substantial enough for the audience to become invested in their relationships. For example, all we have to determine that Tide has met the "girl of his dreams" is his word that "she's the girl of my dreams". They don't know each other, they're awkward and say boring things to each other, and they're secretive and dishonest with each other. Sorry, but that relationship doesn't quite cut it in the post-junior-high-school world.

Furthermore, the film--like nearly all Chinese films about the supernatural--fails to properly establish rules and explain the situation before plopping us down into it. Our protagonists are ghost hunters, but their tools and methods are never discussed, and a typical work day for them includes goofing off and lounging around. Every once in awhile they take care of a malicious ghost, but even the ghosts feel arbitrary and two-dimensional--who are they? what makes one more powerful than another? etc. When someone dies, they don't disappear, they become a ghost and can interact with our main characters effortlessly. Consequently, the impact of "death" is entirely eroded, and it honestly wouldn't matter if any of the main characters died or not--they would probably lead very similar lives either way. And so, by the time we get to the big finale--a major brawl with a bad-ass ghost--we really have no investment either way in what happens. The movie gets a lot of mileage out of the concept that being a ghost isn't so bad--in fact it often seems quite fun--but then it expects its audience to forget all that when the protagonists are "in danger". Sorry, no.

The film is packed with cool CGI effects and elaborate CGI-enhanced hyper-supernatural-martial-arts sequences and camera moves galore. The 2002 duo is super-cool with their all-black outfits and black leather trench coats. Nick Tse is indeed like a little Ekin Cheng strutting around with wisps of long hair covering his face, too cool to be taken seriously. While it's all somewhat fun to watch, we can't help but feel a bit let down at its lack of originality. It feels almost like watching a highlight reel of "The Best Of Andrew Lau CGI", only without the character of an Andrew Lau film or Centro's CGI.

Now, to add insult to injury, we must mention one last thing about the soundtrack. Nick Tse should NOT be allowed to sing in public. Ever. His two ballads in the film were flat-out embarrassing, and should absolutely not have made it into the final cut. Ever seen those Levi's commercials with the horrible karaoke singers...?

In the final analysis--though we've bitched and moaned a lot--the film does get under your skin somehow. We wouldn't have bothered to examine the different aspects of the film in such detail if we didn't feel that they all had potential or some style. Perhaps the reason this film left such a strong impression on us was that it was so close to being right that we could almost taste it--but just ended up wrong.