A movie about three childhood friends who have grown up to be professional thieves, and their misadventures when they get mixed up with gangsters who are after a priceless painting. It's probably the most light-hearted John Woo movie I've seen, with at least 90% of its runtime being all-out comedic (even much of the action). That said, I don't think it's his funniest movie, because Face/Off exists.
If IMDb's trivia is correct in saying that this movie premiered only 10 weeks after it started shooting, I can see it. Besides the final 10-15 minutes of action, a lot of it feels a bit slapped together. Even the earlier action, while good, isn't as tight or exciting as most John Woo action scenes manage to be (thinking about a good deal of the car chase at the film's halfway point).
The comedy doesn't always work, but stars Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung are both very charismatic, and through their talent and collective screen presence, do make some of it work. The romance is a bit strange and underdeveloped, but that's okay- didn't really come to a John Woo movie for that.
A good deal of the action at the end is amazing. A lot of it rides the line between ridiculous and cool perfectly, but eventually, it gets a touch too silly, and it's not the kind of dumb slapstick that works perfectly. I wonder if the comedy in general would have worked better if this has been a Jackie Chan-led movie, but maybe the problem is more with the screenplay and the (alleged) rushed shooting schedule.
So overall: some of it really delivers. Some of it's not great. It's a lesser John Woo movie, but it seems even his not so great movies still have plenty to offer.
If IMDb's trivia is correct in saying that this movie premiered only 10 weeks after it started shooting, I can see it. Besides the final 10-15 minutes of action, a lot of it feels a bit slapped together. Even the earlier action, while good, isn't as tight or exciting as most John Woo action scenes manage to be (thinking about a good deal of the car chase at the film's halfway point).
The comedy doesn't always work, but stars Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung are both very charismatic, and through their talent and collective screen presence, do make some of it work. The romance is a bit strange and underdeveloped, but that's okay- didn't really come to a John Woo movie for that.
A good deal of the action at the end is amazing. A lot of it rides the line between ridiculous and cool perfectly, but eventually, it gets a touch too silly, and it's not the kind of dumb slapstick that works perfectly. I wonder if the comedy in general would have worked better if this has been a Jackie Chan-led movie, but maybe the problem is more with the screenplay and the (alleged) rushed shooting schedule.
So overall: some of it really delivers. Some of it's not great. It's a lesser John Woo movie, but it seems even his not so great movies still have plenty to offer.