morrison-dylan-fan Giving the house a massive spring clean,I started gathering up DVDs that I've been meaning to take into the local CEX for cash/credit for far too long. While getting the discs in order,I spotted a Hong Kong flick which I had completely forgotten about having purchased! With a Hong Kong Challenge taking place on ICM, I took advantage of this good luck and met the heroic duo.View on the film:Looking back towards the Heroic Bloodshed sub-genre of Hong Kong's last Action boom, the screenplay by Alan Yuen & Adrian Kwan welds the major bond/loyalty in blood theme of the genre with the slick complexities of the modern psychological Thriller. Peeling away in flashbacks at the final to what triggered the events, the writers give the movie a slippery, unpredictable atmosphere,lit by absurd slides into "mindhunting" and hypnotism,which are solidly held by Ken and Lai's exchange in mind-games. Running the action scenes with an earthy grit from being filmed on streets, director Benny Chan and cinematographer give the movie a glossy appearance,with darting whip-pans hitting the targeted mind-games of the heroic duo.

Leofwine_draca The hypnotism angle adds a fresh spin to this otherwise familiar Hong Kong-set story of cops 'n' robbers and one dedicated detective's fight for justice. The complex, nothing-is-what-it-seems storyline involves police collaborating with an imprisoned former colleague who has a talent for hypnotism; together they must track down a criminal mastermind who seems determined to get his hands on some ultra-valuable gemstones.What follows is an action-packed movie layered with an effective story and some finely-directed moments of mayhem and high-rise peril, all handled by genre maestro Benny Chan. HEROIC DUO is slightly cheesy and dated on occasion, with dollops of overladen melodrama thrown into the mix and lots of extra emoting, but in the end it proves to be a film that's never less than an enjoyable experience.Former popstar Ekin Cheng acquits himself well as the dogged detective, banishing memories of his overt posturing in the likes of TOKYO RAIDERS in favour of something a little more mature and mannered. Leon Lai is given a better role as the conflicted hypnotist, torn between family ties, pressure from an unwelcome source, and doing what's right; he does a decent job of it. Francis Ng's bad guy is extremely one dimensional but fun, while the female characters aren't given a great deal to do; still, you can't have everything. HEROIC DUO is an above average film for the genre with bags to energy to keep it flowing merrily along.

JoeytheBrit Heroic Duo is a Hong Kong action flick with an intriguing storyline about a battle of wits between two master hypnotists that sadly goes awry as the plot becomes increasingly convoluted before falling apart completely. It's a shame, because most other aspects of the movie are good: the cinematography is crisp and clear, the acting is acceptable overall (Francis Ng as the bad guy takes gold for his charismatic performance in this one), and Benny Chan's direction is bold and energetic.When a police officer sets fire to the contents of his station's safe after stealing some documents, police officer Ken discovers that he was hypnotised into committing the act. When the officer then commits suicide, Ken enlists the aid of Jack Lai (Leon Lai), a hypnotist and former officer now languishing in prison for murder. Lai tells Ken the only person who could have perpetrated the crime is "The Mindhunter," Lai's former tutor. Only Lai can identify the Mindhunter so Ken has him released into his custody to help solve the case. Things are more complicated than they seem, however, and Ken soon finds himself on the run from his own officers…There's enough plot in this movie for half-a-dozen movies, and it grows increasingly silly as it goes along. Twists and turns are thrown into the stew with every second scene and the stakes are repeatedly upped until the villainous Ng's wicked deeds begin to resemble the kind of actions committed by a Bond villain. It's a common flaw of Asian movies, where credibility is sacrificed for the sake of cool images and situations that have to be shoehorned into the plot until things become so far-fetched that you begin to wonder whether you're watching some kind of spoof. I swear every main character gets shot about three times apiece in the last ten minutes yet they're all still leaping about as if the bullets have simply bounced off them. This uncontrolled enthusiasm for thrills and spills certainly makes for entertaining viewing, but a Western audience's enjoyment will be tempered by the silliness of it all.And couldn't someone have come up with a less naff title than Heroic Duo?

NIXFLIX-DOT-COM HEROIC DUO is visually stunning. The film has the feel of a South Korean drama, which in this day and age is a very good thing. There's a slick quality to the movie, and the script is oftentimes clever and assured. The only bump in the road comes toward the ending, with a Third Act that gets thrown out the window in favor of contrived melodrama. Had the film remained clever and intelligent, it might have been another in a short list of Hong Kong revivals that have gone for brains rather than brain. DUO is in the vein of RUNNING OUT OF TIME, with an emphasis on being clever, but it doesn't have that movie's follow through. Even so, the leads are quite engaging, even Ekin Cheng, who I do not find to be very engaging. Leon Lai once again turns in an excellent performance.6 out of 10