Synopsis:
After the hugely popular Election series, Johnnie To offers Exiled, another astounding piece depicting triad characters. The film was rumored as the sequel to To's acclaimed The Mission which features the same cast and a similar situation of brotherhood running into conflicts with triad regulations. Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, and Lam Suet from The Mission return to team up with Nick Cheung, who has gained much acting experience through his supporting roles in Johnnie To movies like Breaking News and Election.
Wo (Nick Cheung), a gangster who went into exile for a few years after attempting to kill Boss Fay (Simon Yam), returns to Macau with his wife (Josie Ho) and their newborn baby, hoping to settle down. There he meets his four friends, two commissioned by Boss Fay to kill him and the other two coming to aid him. The five hitmen open the film with a carefully designed gunfight that brings out both enormous tension and peculiar elegance. The brilliantly choreographed gunplay in Exiled promises to offer a stunning experience.
Apart from the action, Johnnie To's strength lies in bringing out the humane side of the action heroes, who in this film are doomed to be Exiled with their buddies. The strong bond among them simultaneously manifests in hard-boiled masculinity and sentimental emotions, a theme that is apparently contradictory but indeed recurs in many acclaimed Hong Kong action movies. From John Woo's A Better Tomorrow to Johnnie To's The Mission and Exiled, the alliance among action heroes remains a fascinating subject in Hong Kong cinema.
Mini-Review:
I have been waiting for Exiled to come out for along time. It is billed as The Mission 2. The Mission and Full-Time Killer are the movies that made me a Johnnie To fan. Over the years, I realized that as a director, he is pretty hit or miss. But, when he’s on, HE’S ON!
I heard rumblings about this movie being made a couple of years ago, and was very excited. I knew this would be one of his best. Then when it came out last year in Hong Kong, it started to get much praise and winning awards. My excitement to see this grew even more. Luckily, in the last couple of years, Hong Kong started putting DVDs out sometimes a couple of months of it’s theatrical release (America could learn something from this). I got my copy right before the New Year.
If you know my tastes in movies, there are many things that will really peak my interest. In Johnnie To’s case, it’s some of the coolest hitmen and lots of slow motion well choreographed gun fights! This film has all of this and more. It is a good idea to watch The Mission first, but this movie would also stand on it’s own. Seeing The Mission will just help you understand the camaraderie and friendships between the 5 hitmen. It starts off with one of them getting a hit put on him. Two of the guys are sent to kill him, the other two to protect them. This starts off with an awesome gunfight between the 5 friends. Things progress, and the main villain messes with the wrong killers. They unite and fight as one to rid the world of the bad guy. I don’t want to say how it ends, but it has one of those endings that I love. Basically, not usually what you expect.
The DVD packaging is unique. It is a single disc that comes with a “three-ring diary, featuring many photos, a full 2007 calendar, and even Exiled-branded note paper!” I ordered it, because it was the only one available, and I REALLY wanted to see this. My disappointment is the disc itself goes in a very tight little sleeve (see picture). This will allow for scratching when taking it out and putting it backing. The size of the packaging looks like it’s a 3-disc set, as the diary is not small. I think I will end up selling this one, and getting the 2-disc set, when it becomes available.
After the hugely popular Election series, Johnnie To offers Exiled, another astounding piece depicting triad characters. The film was rumored as the sequel to To's acclaimed The Mission which features the same cast and a similar situation of brotherhood running into conflicts with triad regulations. Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, and Lam Suet from The Mission return to team up with Nick Cheung, who has gained much acting experience through his supporting roles in Johnnie To movies like Breaking News and Election.
Wo (Nick Cheung), a gangster who went into exile for a few years after attempting to kill Boss Fay (Simon Yam), returns to Macau with his wife (Josie Ho) and their newborn baby, hoping to settle down. There he meets his four friends, two commissioned by Boss Fay to kill him and the other two coming to aid him. The five hitmen open the film with a carefully designed gunfight that brings out both enormous tension and peculiar elegance. The brilliantly choreographed gunplay in Exiled promises to offer a stunning experience.
Apart from the action, Johnnie To's strength lies in bringing out the humane side of the action heroes, who in this film are doomed to be Exiled with their buddies. The strong bond among them simultaneously manifests in hard-boiled masculinity and sentimental emotions, a theme that is apparently contradictory but indeed recurs in many acclaimed Hong Kong action movies. From John Woo's A Better Tomorrow to Johnnie To's The Mission and Exiled, the alliance among action heroes remains a fascinating subject in Hong Kong cinema.
Mini-Review:
I have been waiting for Exiled to come out for along time. It is billed as The Mission 2. The Mission and Full-Time Killer are the movies that made me a Johnnie To fan. Over the years, I realized that as a director, he is pretty hit or miss. But, when he’s on, HE’S ON!
I heard rumblings about this movie being made a couple of years ago, and was very excited. I knew this would be one of his best. Then when it came out last year in Hong Kong, it started to get much praise and winning awards. My excitement to see this grew even more. Luckily, in the last couple of years, Hong Kong started putting DVDs out sometimes a couple of months of it’s theatrical release (America could learn something from this). I got my copy right before the New Year.
If you know my tastes in movies, there are many things that will really peak my interest. In Johnnie To’s case, it’s some of the coolest hitmen and lots of slow motion well choreographed gun fights! This film has all of this and more. It is a good idea to watch The Mission first, but this movie would also stand on it’s own. Seeing The Mission will just help you understand the camaraderie and friendships between the 5 hitmen. It starts off with one of them getting a hit put on him. Two of the guys are sent to kill him, the other two to protect them. This starts off with an awesome gunfight between the 5 friends. Things progress, and the main villain messes with the wrong killers. They unite and fight as one to rid the world of the bad guy. I don’t want to say how it ends, but it has one of those endings that I love. Basically, not usually what you expect.
The DVD packaging is unique. It is a single disc that comes with a “three-ring diary, featuring many photos, a full 2007 calendar, and even Exiled-branded note paper!” I ordered it, because it was the only one available, and I REALLY wanted to see this. My disappointment is the disc itself goes in a very tight little sleeve (see picture). This will allow for scratching when taking it out and putting it backing. The size of the packaging looks like it’s a 3-disc set, as the diary is not small. I think I will end up selling this one, and getting the 2-disc set, when it becomes available.
Rating = Keeper (Well, when I get the 2-disc S.E. of course)
CROSE
2 comments:
Cool. What's the diary like?
The diary is blank. Thought about writing my thoughts in there, but figured that would depreciate the value.
Post a Comment