7-Up'S (Lau Ching Wan), gangster Blind Chiu's (Francis Ng) and Inspector Huang Jiang's (Anthony Wong) meeting on a rooftop results in only Huang coming out alive and being blamed by the family of 7-Up for the death of their beloved one. 7-Up was an fellow officer and his youngest son, Cola (Raymond Wong) follows the same career path. Eventually, years later, he crosses paths with Huang again on an assignment. A meeting that stirs up emotions of revenge and at the same time he's approached by the son of Blind Chiu, business man and triad Ray (Jordan Chan). He wants Cola to join him on a mission to destroy Huang's life, like he has destroyed theirs. As Cola and Huang get to know each other, the good hearted side of the older officer leads to Cola having to make his decision of where his loyalty lie...

Adequate. Colour Of The Truth is adequate, decent, well worth a watch. Review isn't over but I wanted to establish that from the getgo. Starting with Wong Jing's script, in all honesty, there isn't much of true interest here. It's Citizen Kane compared to what he's supposedly written in the past but on the whole, it's not remarkable work. Wong gets plus points for maintaining audiences interest to a good degree when it comes to the main conflict where Cola is torn between different loyalties. Two loyalties that tell him to take revenge without question and one towards his choosen profession in life. He's been brought up to hate Huang but he's also grown into someone who can make his own decisions. The tension of which path he will follow is done fairly well but way before the end, I think even the smartest viewers will have figured one or two things out regarding Cola's mindset. In between this heart of the film there exists some rather dull subplots. The mystery surrounding the missing cocaine and the attempted assassination of Wang's family serves as a way of diverting our attention plot wise but by the time we get to the end, at least I didn't really care for the twists that had occurred. If it hadn't been for the fact that the directors does tie it all together, albeit rather shallow, the turns in the story would be uninteresting. Other elements such as the conflicting drug gangs, the love interest for Raymond Wong's character in the form of Gillian Chung shows that Wong can plot out decent structure but is so far from a polished screenwriter for this genre.

From a directing standpoint, the script is realized well but I've opted to focus more on the work of veteran editor (also for this movie), turned director Marco Mak. It's not hard to notice his choosen style as a director. Director of photography Edmund Fung, first of all, wisely chooses a subdued colour template, not falling victim to using excessive colours for this genre and is called upon to jazz up the visuals under the guidance of Marco Mak. I'm not a fan myself of employing unnecessary camera language where not suited and when looking back at Colour Of The Truth, few camera tricks like the ones we see are actually needed. However, despite being biased since I'm already a fan of Mak's work, he's one of the few directors who think through aspects such as sped up shots. There's a few instances where the on screen tricks are actually really cool and others that genuinely are a creative way of taking us further in the story or a scene. It's subtle use of it compared to A Gambler's Story but when used, the movie did become elevated slightly. Tension is in the movie but rarely successfully done. The directors try their best at amping moments of confrontation but since the plot isn't that involving, we sometimes have very little emotions invested in what's going on. It all comes off as forced and flat. However where they do succeed are in the shoot-outs at Wang's and Huang's house respectively. Combining the documentary style camera language with a few interesting visual tricks, these non-stylized action scenes become memorable in our slightly confusing trip towards the end of the film.

Acting wise, early on we're lead into a confrontation between key characters and between Hong Kong's finest male actors. Lau Ching Wan & Francis Ng logs cameo roles that will set in motion the main events in the plot and while not short, terrific performances per say, they're not wasted either. Anthony Wong then continues to lead the pack and he brings the professionalism, the ability of naturally melt into character and veteran screen presence to deliver another fine performance. Not on par with his 2002 output though which included Just One Look and Infernal Affairs. He does nail the part of being the world's smartest cop and Wong Jing's script gives him a nice human side when we see him taking care of his disabled father. We're not talking award winning or reference book acting but Tony can do very little and still come out on top. There's not much competition in the film though.

Raymond Wong have mostly been seen in supporting turns in Milkyway productions and even there, he wasn't more than a pretty face to garnish the film with. Upgraded to a leading man, he does try but his acting is bland. The inner conflict his character has does reach the audience but this young kid has a long way to go. The teenage crowd fell and probably will fall for this 'macho' performance though. Jordan Chan appears as the son of Francis Ng's triad character, very suave and reciting the bible. The bible aspect is a script aspect I could've done without and it's more silly than an original trait to the character. Jordan has proven he can be more versatile than this. Also starring Patrick Tse, Terence Yin and our favourite HK cinema expert Bey Logan stops by for a short cameo. Finally, Chapman To represents the true Wong Jing element of this film, the so called comic relief. Tastes may differ and certainly his comedic routine is ultra subtle compared to previous Wong Jing outings. It's so intrusive though and unfunny that I wanted to shoot the man myself. It's not too detached from the tone of the film but ultimately holds no quality. Anthony Wong's short comedic scenes though ultimately proves that you have to be a good actor to truly be funny. The grenade scene at his house being a great example.

Colour Of The Truth possesses more than a few watchable traits and the dual directors deliver a fairly tense and exciting action-thriller that wouldn't even come close to the quality it has if Anthony Wong wasn't involved. No need to rush out and get this but looking at the output in Hong Kong cinema throughout the genres, Colour Of The Truth stands out currently.

As the film opens a young boy narrates, showing us the last time he sees his father (A cameo by Lau Ching-wan). His father and mother are arguing, and his father buys the boy all of the balloon vendor's balloons. His father's friend is a notorious gangster (cameo by Francis Ng). His father is going to warn his friend that special inspector Huang and 200 men are coming to take him in, one way or another. As father and friend are trying to escape on the rooftops, Huang (Anthony Wong) blocks their path. What happens next is not clear, but suddenly Huang is crouched over the lifeless bodies of the boy's father and his friend.

As the boy grows up he finds he has a protector who seems to be a triad member. This protector (Jordan Chan) appears at different and opportune times when the young boy, nicknamed Cola (Terence Yin) seems to need help the most. The protector is, of course, the son of his father's friend, the gangster. And Cola not only vows revenge upon his father's killer, but becomes a cop of some notoriety, just like his father. The real test comes when Cola is promoted to Huang's Special Crimes Unit. Suddenly the young man finds himself in an odd and confusing situation, especially since Huang appears to be anything but the vile and evil killer the boy has imagined all his life. Adding to his confusion is the introduction of an attractive young woman who is the daughter of a retired mobster he and the team must protect.

Terence Yin is likeable enough and he does a fine job as the vengeful youth. But it is Anthony Wong who shines as the ambiguously good Inspector Huang. Wong's performance is so good you're never sure whether his character is a complete fabrication or if he's the real deal. Wong is so good in this film that he is worth watching all by himself.

There there is Jordan Chan as the son of mobster Francis Ng. Chan can do more acting business with a stern look than any 10 film stars in any country. With an actor of Chan's ability in a supporting role, any film's quality is bound to improve. However, it amplifies the weakness of a lesser actor in a starring role, such is the case with Yin.

Lau Ching-wan and Francis Ng are old pros and work exceptionally well together here as they have in the past. Like Chan, their presence enriches the most mundane roles.

A quality film with a solid script and excellent characterization, The Colour of the Truth is one of the better Hong Kong police dramas in some time. I recommend it highly.

The movie opens with a rooftop shootout between a cop (Anthony Wong), a Triad (Francis Ng) and an undercover (Lau Ching-Wan), with Anthony ending up being the last man standing. Fast-forward fifteen years, and now Lau's son (Raymond Wong) is a rising detective under Anthony's wing, and Francis' son (Jordan Chan) is a young Triad hell-bent on revenge. During an operation when Anthony and Raymond are protecting a top gangster (Patrick Tse), the ghosts of the past come to haunt Anthony and set the stage for a final showdown.

Yes, the plot does hold some similarties to Infernal Affairs, but, come on, the whole "undercover cops versus the Triads" scheme is about as common to HK movies as the "mis-matched buddy cops" are to US action films. I will grant that the way the plot unfolds does get a bit muddled at times, but Wong Jing -- despite what his detractors might say -- can write good scripts and things gel together nicely at the end. Even when matters get a bit confusing, the film's visual style (through excellent editing by co-director Marco Mak) and bits of classic Wong Jing ultra-violence help keep things going, especially when bolstered by the top-notch acting.

Francis Ng and Lau Ching-Wan (as could be expected) are flawless in their painfully small roles, but it's Anthony Wong's work which really holds Colour of the Truth together. I am so glad that he actually seems to be trying nowadays, instead of just phoning in his roles as has been the case for much of his work the past few years (perhaps not coincidentally, he was also great in Infernal Affairs -- maybe he's found his new niche as the slightly dirty cop in HK movies). Other standouts include Raymond Wong, who actually makes a likeable character out of a standard "pretty boy" role and Patrick Tse, who demonstrates why he was condisidered such a bad-ass back in the day. Hell, even Chapman To does a good job, bringing some comic relief without being annoying.

Despite some minor problems, Colour of the Truth is a fine movie that even the biggest Wong Jing haters will dig if they're willing to relax their standards a bit. True, it's no Citizen Kane or anything like that, but it's a really good movie in its' own right. Even though there's no gratuitous nudity or violence, Colour of the Truth will likely be one of the most exciting times you'll have watching a movie this year.