Directed by:
John WooScreenplay:
Barry WongCinematography:
Horace WongComposer:
Michael GibbsCast:
Yun-fat Chow, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong, Phillip Kwok, Stephen Tung, John Woo, Pai Wei, Jun Kunimura, Philip Chan, Teresa Mo, Pau-chung Tong, Fa-yuan Li (more)Plots(1)
Violence as poetry, rendered by a master—brilliant and passionate, John Woo’s Hard Boiled tells the story of jaded detective “Tequila” Yuen (played with controlled fury by Chow Yun-fat). Woo’s dizzying odyssey through the world of Hong Kong Triads, undercover agents, and frenzied police raids culminates unforgettably in the breathless hospital sequence. More than a cops-and-bad-guys story, Hard Boiled continually startles with its originality and dark humor. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (9)
Had I seen this film at the time of its release, I would have gone higher with the rating for sure. Today, however, the film doesn't offer much anymore, the competition is really strong! There is not much of a story to speak of, at least there's a decent portion of action that is very brutal, clear and very innovative for the 90's. Today only 75%.
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If Killer has an action drive and narrative poetics that are hard to describe and put into words, there is simply no name in the known universe for the breakneck pace of Hard Boiled. I guess that if all those who couldn't shoot their way through the story and stay alive were Jews, this would have been by far Adolf Hitler's favourite film (if he had the chance to see it, of course) :D You just don't see this kind of disrespectful deprivation of life not only of hundreds of bad guys, but also of dozens of innocent civilians – almost untouchable in Hollywood conventions – anywhere else. Though I'm probably one of the few who didn't fully enjoy the nature of the final hospital shootout, which at times descended into heavy parody, the level of experience of the cinematic action with its grandiose visuals and cleverly upgraded "background" story remains as pure and intense as in few other action films of the 1990s and all the years since.
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Hard Boiled is a perfectionistic work that overshadows all other action movies. It is perhaps impossible for a film that is so long and packed with shootouts not to come across as over-the-top and spasmodic and not become boring after some time. But this one does the exact opposite. The last half hour is proof that John Woo is not from this planet.
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It's excellent, perhaps the best among all the films where John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat collaborated, but I can't help feeling that when you've seen one of their films, you've seen almost all of them. The gunshots are absolutely captivating; here, you really feel like human bodies are being torn apart. Especially at the end, it's a violent orgy. Otherwise, it's not a film that would make me orgasmic. It’s action-packed, but I might have expected a bit more from it.
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At my age, a person usually already knows what brings them joy and what they should avoid. However, it doesn't hurt to confirm one's priorities and prejudices from time to time. A film in its genre rated as top quality should serve for that. Action films are not my cup of tea, but why not try one of the highest-rated films in its category for a change? Well, I won't lie, in a way, it was quite a spectacle. Action completely devoid of any dependence on physical laws, guns with eight rounds that fire fifty times in a row, a simple story without any elementary logic, flat characters that fit perfectly into their boxes, fighters who take out ten opponents without even breaking a sweat - and so forth. Thank you, I have confirmed all the negatives I feel toward such productions, and if I ever feel the need to be distracted by an action film in the future, I'll watch The Bourne Identity. Practically no genre is as overrated on FilmBooster as East Asian action films. In any other genre, whether it's horror, fantasy, sci-fi, or anything else, there are enough naysayers who can tarnish the enthusiasm of uncritical fans. Surprisingly, it doesn't work like that in this group. Hard Boiled is a one-dimensional film without any significant impact, but it is filmed with professionalism and actors who behave with absolute certainty within the confines of the script. Overall impression: 25%.
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