Jiang Hu (Blood
Brothers) (2004)
With the film panned with
negative reviews, the newly hyped, Jiang Hu, with the audience overwhelming
expectation of it being the next Infernal Affairs, I must say one thing; the
film should not even be compared to it. The reason, I am saying this, is saying
Jiang Hu is not a good film, but the fact that they are two totally different
movies. Sure, the premises are immensely similar to Infernal Affairs 2, but the
movie is a totally different one. With this in mind, one must think that I am
going to pan this movie like the other critics, but in fact I actually
thoroughly enjoyed this movie, from the very first minute up till the very end.
The final black and white sequence actually makes me ponder on one point and one
thing that will raise questions among viewers, or may be I just misunderstood
the B/W ending: are Edison and Shawn young versions of Andy Lau and Jacky
Cheung?
Sure the director,
Wong Ching-Po
is only directing his second film, but without doubt he does have tricks up his
hands. The direction is not only stunning, but is actually beautifully shot,
except for maybe the slightly overused slow motion near the end fight scene.
Without doubt the standout performances here is Jacky Cheung and ever since a
break from movies with a serious comeback performance in July Rhapsody, Cheung
has mature a lot as an actor and his at time comical appearance adds to his
menacing presence. His eyes of anguish are terrific to watch. A somewhat layback
performance may actually be a lesser role for newly crowned best actor, Andy
Lau. His performance is very stone faced throughout, and probably gives out one
of his lesser performance out of his impressive last couple of years. However,
his role and presence still makes his presence somewhat adequate. Of the biggest
shock, is the acting chops shown by the two youngsters. The worst actor ever in
the world, Edison, impressed me for the first time in his large body of wooden
and wanna be cool roles, with his first role that is actually show his more
relax nature and slightly comical. Without any doubt this is Edison by far best
performance to date. One actor of notable mention is the scene stealing Shawn
Yue, who portrayed his character to his best potential that may one day land him
the stance of the next Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Although he is still a long way from
that, his performance here is of standout and the scene where, Edison stop Shawn
from rushing to help his brother, is one strikingly memorable scene, as his eyes
actually glows and gives a layered performance that remind me with a hint of a
younger Tony Leung in Hard Boiled.
The premises of the story is
indeed slightly similar to Infernal Affairs 2 and it goes like this
after the baby is born, Hung, the
Kingpin of the triad society has decided to retire for a simple life. However,
if he ever steps out from Jiang Hu, gang leaders from different branches would
all rise to fight for the throne. Rumors swirling that in less than twelve hours
there will be bloodshed everywhere due to Hung's departure. Two young gangsters
are struggling for power in the underworld, hungry for fame, Wing is nominated
by gang leader for the job, carrying only a cleaver as weapon, he asks his sworn
brother, Turbo to join. When night falls, their mission begins but eventually
collides with a mysterious woman that caught Wing in his eyes...
That summary is
from the official site, but now comes to the reason whether this movie is
actually any good. From its panning reviews, I actually watched this movie
without the same type of expectation as I watched Infernal Affairs and the
result is that Jiang Hu is an engaging action drama that captivated me from the
very first minute. I read that many found the slow motion shot of triad entering
cheesy, but that’s just personally opinion, as I felt that it was adequate and
quite stunning cool, expectually the opening entrance of Jacky Cheung. The
performance of the supporting cast is also terrific, some notable would be the
face switching emotions of Eric Tsang and also the prostitute that Yue falls
for. The movie is surprising not lead by Andy Lau or Jacky Cheung, but instead
Shawn and Edison actually moves the story along. It is of notable mention that
the toilet scene between Lau and Cheung is one of the best scenes and also with
some comical touches. The kau lui situation of Yue and the prostitute is also
sparking up the screen and showing signs of hope in this very break epical triad
drama.
Overall, Jiang Hu
is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed in the first viewing and without doubt I
will definitely watch it again for a deeper meaning and sections that I didn’t
or may have misinterpreted it. Despite the numerous negative reviews, I found
Jiang Hu the best movie of the year so far, and if you really have to compare it
with Infernal Affairs 2, of which I also rate quite highly, Jiang Hu may have more
plot holes, but on this very personal opinion, I liked it better.
I rate it 9/10
| Product Title |
: |
Jiang Hu |
| Artist Name(s) |
: |
Jacky Cheung | Andy Lau | Edison Chen | Shawn Yue |
| Language |
: |
Cantonese, Mandarin |
| Duration |
: |
84 minutes |
Reviewed by Neo (Andrew) - May 2004
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