I thought this movie had a lot going for it. It's full of novel touches, nice little moments, and a lot of the scenes worked well individually. But as a whole, the movie didn't really gel. It's not a bad movie. It just feels somewhat disjointed, and rushed in some places. And what you end up with is another uneven Wong Jing actioner--one of many. But one thing you can always count on with Wong Jing is that he rarely leaves you unentertained. And that is also true with this one.

Nic Tse and Edison (shouldn't have brought my computer in for repair) Chen, are a good screen duo. And when they are not busy looking cool, they collectively deliver some decent dramatic performances. Simon Yam is always good. And he more or less plays the same role here that he did in twenty other movies. But he's never bad, so why knock it? Gillian (Edison shouldn't have brought his computer in for repair) Chung (or Ah Gil, if you will) doesn't really have much to do in her wallflower role here and merely serves as eye candy. Rounding off the cast are Ken Tong and Roderick Lam as two stereotypical triad brothers. And the ever present Lam Suet chimes in with another quirky and tragic character.

The action plays well. Semi-stylized gun play, mixed with brutal beatings. Not much intricate martial arts choreo on sight in this one, and the movie is better for it. Wong Jing also plays around with all kinds of film techniques here, such as slo-mo, rapid rewind, morphing, picture in picture, etc. And it works to greater or lesser degree. He doesn't go overboard with it though, just enough to give certain scenes a boost of energy through editing, without it becoming distracting or disorienting. ("Dragon Squad" anyone?)

All in all, a decent, yet structurally flawed, cop/triad flick from the master of the cheesy, the sleazy, the awful, the awesome, and the uneven. This one falls into the latter category.