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?