| Kenichi (Takeshi Kaneshiro) finds himself in the middle of a gang war between the Chinese, 3 days prior to the New Year. He's on a reluctant mission for Shanghai crime boss Yuan (Eric Tsang) to find an old partner Yuan needs to exact revenge on. In comes the mysterious Natsumi (Mirai Yamamoto) who's offering Kenichi his target...a little too easily perhaps.
Lee Chi-Ngai (Lost And Found) once again utilizes Takeshi Kaneshiro to excellent effect in this Hong Kong/Japanese co-production. Largely set in Japan, it's the award winning technical merits to shines the most in this rather ordinary and overly complicated noir piece. Cinematographer Arthur Wong gives the perfect polished surface for the gritty gangster world while Lee makes Takeshi Kaneshiro and Mirai Yamamoto an effective couple. All up till the end, we're never sure of their loyalty towards each other and with that achieved chemistry, Lee Chi-Ngai gets some grade A remarks sporadically throughout. Although the standard he set for himself with Lost And Found is obviously lacking though. However, The Sleepless Town contains genre standards in a slick package which is a ride worth taking. Also with Kathy Chow (Beast Cops) and Ang Lee regular Lang Xiong. |
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