Having starred in the "A Better Tomorrow" series, "Tiger on Beat", and "God of Gamblers", Chow was one of the main action stars of the late 80s and early 90s, rivaling Jackie Chan and Jet Li despite not having any comparable martial arts prowess. Indeed, most of his films relied on blood-soaked, bullet-riddled finales, but this was much to the delight of any fan of gritty gangster epics.

His character, Mark Gor, is still one of the most memorable characters in Hong Kong cinema and influenced a generation of anti-heroes in the Heroic Bloodshed film sub-genre.

Although more renowned for playing a gangster, "Hard Boiled" saw Chow Yun-Fat in yet another memorable role as Tequila, a no-nonsense cop who dispatches gangsters with his own brand of two-gun justice.

Filled with brilliant set-pieces, the film culminates with a spectacular final shoot-out in a hospital where the two leads--Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung--take on all comers in a spectacular display of bullets and explosions.

Never has choreographed gunplay looked so good, and it is here where "Hard Boiled" succeeds where so few actioners do. The film itself is perhaps the best John Woo-directed action extravaganza; and upon watching this, the uninitiated will agree that "Hard Boiled" is the ultimate action film for all ages.

Call it heroic bloodshed, call it bullet ballet, call it gun fu...call it whatever the fuck you want! As long as you acknowledge that "Hard Boiled" is king, and reigns supreme in said genre.

This one may not have as much heart as some of Woo's other movies. However, "Hard Boiled" does supersede them all in the action department. Actually, it supersedes pretty much any movie in the action department, in both quality and quantity. Just the sheer amount of firepower, squibs, stunts and pyrotechnics here is enough to put most other action flicks to shame. But it is far from mindless action. Woo makes sure to inject his usual trademark humanity into the characters, and have a tense, dramatic narrative backing up the awesome action.

Chow Yun Fat is actually cooler as a cop than he is as a gangster, if that is at all possible. He is so cool that he can break frame and look directly into the camera without losing authenticity. His name is Tequila, he drinks tequila slammers, yells at his boss, plays the sax, saves babies, and spits out his matchstick with unequalled contempt, before blowing someone's face off. Where else are you gonna' see a character like this but in a John Woo movie?

Tony Leung gives the best performance in the film as the conflicted and tortured undercover cop that can almost be seen as a precursor to the part he played in "Infernal Affairs". And if you wanna' see what real acting is, then watch the forced smile he gives Anthony Wong before blasting his "old gang" to bits with an Uzi. And speaking of Anthony Wong, well, he does what he does. He can play everything, and despicable villain is only one of many strings to his bow.

Final honorable mention goes to Kwok Choi. Philip, if you will. Yes, "The Lizard" himself, as uber badass henchman "Mad Dog". He is such a cool character here that he should have had his own movie. He also served as action director, much like he did on Woo's "Once A Thief", and is only one of three "Venoms" featured in this movie. Feel free to play "Where's Waldo" with the last two--"The Snake" is a bit tricky.

This is the kind of movie that makes you drop to your knees and thank Buddha for HK cinema. Like Mr. T, I pity the fools that haven't experienced the balls to the wall wonder that is "Hard Boiled". Just watch the damn movie if you haven't. And if you have, go watch it again.

Either way, HB is a film that sees John Woo at the peak of his action powers. The action is so loose, so massive, and so intricate that it may never be matched again. What's funny to think about is that this film only has three action sequences. That's it. It just so happens that the first one is about the size of any other major action film's closing action finale. After that, they just get bigger. Once you get to the third one, you can sit back and just watch the genius unfold for over 30 minutes solid.

But there is more to this film than just the action. The story is pretty engaging. I've always thought "The Killer" had a bit of a silly story. The hitman doing one last job so as to pay for eye surgery was always a little cheesy (don't get me wrong, it is probably the movie that would be occupying the "greatest action movie" slot had "Hard Boiled" not been made). But the story of a rogue cop and an undercover cop playing cat and mouse and eventually coming together to set it right plays out brilliantly. Also, one thing I rarely see mentioned is just how excellent Tony Leung's performance is. *mild spoiler* When he has to kill his own guy in front of the boss to keep his cover, and walks toward his boss in slo-mo with the smile on his face and then, as soon as he passes the boss, instantly goes to the verge of tears, that is incredible. That is first-rate, all the way. No amateur or stock action star could pull off that performance. *end spolers*

While I've always thought that the action in "The Killer" had a little more artistry and grace to it than "Hard Boiled", HB's action is pretty much fueled by rage and testosterone. It's possible that there have been modern-era wars that had less shots fired than this film. But the action in this film has what must be the most creative "bullet ballet" sequences ever. It's one thing to just have big and long action spots. But the massive puzzle that John Woo assembles here is like a "how-to for gun-fu". The centerpiece of this all being the several-minute, uncut, hand-held single shot that follows our two protagonists through the hospital, into and elevator, up a floor, and out onto a new floor, all while firing guns, reloading, diving, grabbing more guns, dodging, co-ordinating, etc... It must have taken a week just to set that shot up and rehearse it. That shot should go down in the history books.

There's really nothing more to say than just buy it. Seriously. Do you like action movies that have people shooting at one another? Great. This is the best one ever made. When I dropped this movie on the arthouse dorks in my film school, even they had to admit that it surpassed any and all other action flicks ever committed to celluloid (or digital, nowadays). See, the fact that it's Asian and subtitled means you can slip it past your artsy friends. So it's a win/win for everyone. Oh yeah, and Chow has to work on keeping his girlfriend happy, too. So, it's a romance as well. Now you can watch it with your girlfriend, too. It's such a brilliant movie that everyone wins. See, how can you go wrong?

One last thing I forgot to mention, if you have a "Y" chromosome, it is mandated that you see this film. I heard a rumor that Jewish boys have to watch this after their Bar Mitvah to fully complete the process of becoming a man. Some African tribes send their boys into the wilderness with nothing but a spear and a portable DVD player with this film on it in order to attain the "rights of manhood". It doesn't matter how old you are or what you do for a living. If you haven't seen this, you're not a man, yet. I think you get the point.

I decided that I would come back large by reviewing the undisputed champ and all time greatest action movie. Yeah, that's right, I said it. All time, bitches. There are only really two types of people that can reasonably disagree with the previous statement: 1. those that have not seen it and 2. those that do not know what the word action means. I honestly have not met anyone that has seen this film and cannot admit that it is the best action flick around. Ever. This flick packs way more bang for your buck than anything that you have previously encountered in the States. Gratuitous, balletic, wild firefights are interwoven through a well designed story that is pumped full of not only ammunition but stellar performances from an excellent cast. Tony Leung is enigmatic. Chow Yun Fat is a brooding, unhinged wrecking ball. Anthony Wong is fucking Tony Montana. Phillip Kwok is that killa. This is the apex of cop/crime/noir/action entertainment. Saying that the action sequences are phenomenal would actually be making a vast understatement. The action is so plentiful and just unstoppable. Expect a variety of violence goodies involving not just wild gunplay but also quality stunts, explosions when needed and of course one straight up dope throwdown that brings as much hardcore noise as any trigger pull. "Hard Boiled" is the action gift that keeps on giving. Make sure you own this because you are a man and the absence of this in your library could bring that fact into question. This is Bastard Ronin delivering the goods the way you won't shut up about. Light some fires, kids. I'm 'bout to raise hell...

Highlights:

1. Tony Leung plays a decent role as an undercover triad
2. Lots of gunplay. The scenes where we see Tony Leung's betrayal to his boss in the warehouse is awesome.
3. Phillip Kwok completely owning on the bad guy role
4. Nice to see Lo Meng make a cameo role, although he doesnt add much

1. The baby getting its ears plugged with cotton balls and not crying to the gun shots and explosions is a bit farce.
2. The Dragon Dynasty version contains dubtitles so theres a lot of lost in translation involved.
3. The fact that the triads have a weapons armory at the bottom of a hospital is ridiculous.

One of those "near future" thrillers (released in '92, set in '97), Hard Boiled looked dated as soon as it was released, with its "Miami Vice" fashions and jazzy score. It didn't do very well in the Hong Kong box office, which isn't very surprising when you consider how "Hollywood" it is (this was, of course, well before HK movies became as glossy as Hollywood productions, themselves). In some ways, Hard Boiled seems like Woo's demo reel for Hollywood producers, sort of like a "look what I can do" project. Every gun fight is stretched to its limit, explosions are aplenty, and everything from the lenses used to the angles chosen seem more like something framed by a Western director than Hong Kong's finest. But beyond all of this, I think Hard Boiled is one of the best action movies ever made, if not THE best.

Sure, the story isn't too involving, the drama isn't as gripping as "The Killer" (which, movie-wise, is the superior film, but the action scenes in Hard Boiled are just staged better), and in some instances it's just too chaotic for its own good, but if you crave action (and by that I mean countless gun fights, slow-motion escapes from death, possibly the coolest henchman in film history, masked and armed SDU guys adding to the chaotic mix, and two lead heroes who kill more people than the average dictator), then Hard Boiled is the perfect fix.

Tony Leung pulls off one of the most impressive acting jobs I've ever seen. The image that has always most struck me about Hard Boiled is the slow-motion facial expression Leung goes through after killing his kind-hearted boss, as he walks by Anthony Wong. Chow Yun-Fat doesn't get as much room to show off his skill as he did in other Woo films, but still he's effective as the superheroic cop Tequila. Anthony Wong goes over the top as the villain, and Kuo Choi is probably my favorite character in the movie; Woo further proved his genius by having Kuo, who was always the hero in Shaw Brothers movies, play Wong's deadly henchman Mad Dog. I'd say my favorite action scene in Hard Boiled is the warehouse attack, mostly because we get to see Kuo drive around on a motorcycle and blast guys apart with his Mac-10.

The gun battles are staged with a lover's care. No detail is spared. Another thing I've always liked about Woo is that he's never limited himself to just showing one type of gun in his movies. Most heroic bloodsheds feature guys who only carry around handguns; very rarely will you see any heavy duty equipment. But just about every gun (from single-shot to automatic to missile launcher) is employed in Hard Boiled. I like it.

I've read online speculation that Tony Leung's character dies in the end, and the mock funeral Tequila et al have for him in the police station is the real thing (in fact, they're just having a funeral for Leung the cop, not Leung the man, who's started a new life). So according to this speculation, the shots we see at the very end, of the bandaged Leung at sea, are apparently glimpses of Leung in Heaven. But let me ask you this: why would you wear bandages in Heaven?