Vengeance

Vengeance

Synopsis

A violent attack saw three person being killed, who is the daughter’s family of a French chef. The raging chef swore to find the killers, by hiring three local hit-men working for the mafia to seek justice for the death of his son-in-law and two grandchildren.

Official Site: www.mediaasia.com

Singapore Release Date: 5th November 2009, Thursday

Running Time: 108 minutes

Ratings: M18

Genre: Action | Crime | Thriller

Cast: Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Lam Ka-Tung, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Sylvie Testud

Crew: Director (Johnnie To), Producer (Michèle Pétin, Laurent Pétin, Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai, John Chong, Peter Lam), Writers (Wai Ka-Fai), Music (Lo Tayu), Cinematography (Cheng Siu-Keung) and Editing (David M. Richarson)

The Trailer

The Review

Watching Johnnie To and Wai Kar Fai films during the mid 90′s was one of my favorite memories for me, as these duo can really dish out some classics such as “A Hero Never Dies”.

And now Johnnie To has gone solo, but that’s alright, he still got it. Vengeance is To’s latest action thriller. It is the last of To’s gunman trilogy, The Mission in 2001, and Exiled in 2006.

To my satisfaction I wasn’t disappointed. Although the film is marketed to the European market for this Hong Kong-France production, no surprise with recruiting French rock star Johnny Hallyday as its lead, the movie has all the ingredients of To’s Asian trademark gunfight and edgy storyline.

The plot starts with a family, including two children, that is brutally gunned down by three hired assassins in Macau. There was a survivor Irene (Sylvie Testud) who was seriously injured.

Irene’s father from France, Costello (Johnny Hallyday) now wants to seek revenge, thus his decision to hire three professional assassins, namely Kwai (Anthony Wong), Chu (Lam Kar Tung) and Lok (Lam Suet) in tracking down the killers behind the massacre.

Costello himself is a person with a brutal past. A chef who owns a restaurant in Paris but was formerly a professional killer who has short lived memory as a bullet was left in his brain.

The movie climactic showdown is what I call a ballet of bullets. You’ve got to watch that. In the end the film is about killers who kills for obligation, and a quest for vengeance.

Acting wise, Johnny Hallyday’s acting is stiff, but that’s understandable, Simon Yam as usual is great in his bad-ass boss role, Michelle Ye and Maggie Shiu lent credible supporting role as the leading actress, and Anthony Wong, Lam Suet and Lam Ka-Tung who played the guns for hire was convincing as professional killers.

If massive gunfight is your cup of tea, this is the movie for you.

The Good

• Classic gun-fight
• Music score is MTV-licious like
• The part of the Polaroid use was original

The Bad

• Can be a tad too dark for some
• Johnny Hallyday acting

Editor’s Ratings