Joseph_Gillis A police captain assigns his unit to help a colleague retrieve his gun, lost in an altercation with a street-gang, before a reporting deadline expires.Just as much as the style and the look, it's the choreography and orchestration - and the way To shuffles the characters and objects about on his late-night chessboard; and the sound-scapes, in addition to the glorious night-lit streets and skyline which delight almost to the extent that the opening restaurant confrontational, ultimately tragic, musical chairs and climactic set-piece shoot-out serve as mere book-ends for what comes between. Or even, as brief irritants.The characters don't particularly matter either - although there are some particularly wonderful-looking villains - because they're all just pawns for this visual, and aural feast.You've seen plenty of tyre-squealer car-chases - maybe you've seen too many of them; To's come up with a new angle: the cars that glide at intervals through city streets, unobtrusively, apparently disinterestedly, and almost noiselessly - perhaps just to get you thinking "now I wonder what they're up to'? A crime film where all the cars keep within the speed limit? Shurely shome mishtake? And then there's the kid on the bicycle: by the time of his third sighting you're wondering is he a midget gang member, or undercover cop - or afterhours drugs mule, even; and will it be his fate to be ripped apart with bullets, by all sides? How cruel could that be, for somebody so young? It's all about building tension, and keeping you on edge - or maybe filling in the spaces on that chessboard.There are some great scenes and ideas, too - of course: as with that opening restaurant scene where various customers get re-assigned according to their place in the hierarchy, and phone messages that we only later become privy to, have fatal consequences. Then there's the tense confrontational scene in the video-game arcade, with the array of flashing video screens vieing for our attention with a synchronised symphony of unanswered cell-phones; and there's the men in cages, bent over almost triple.Thematically, it reminds me of Kurosawa's 'Stray Dog' - and there may have been more than one scene of that classic referenced; visually; and to a certain extent narrative-wise, it reminded me of Scorsese's 'After Hours'. The boy on the bicycle reminded me of the boy in 'The Third Man', and also of 'M'. But these were only in passing: To obviously has his influences, but his style is all his own. And, sometimes, style matters.

dumsumdumfai To be almost have it but not. To almost know the complete picture but still missing some pieces. To fear but you must go on. Don't we know this is the way most of us experience life?You can get frustrated by some of the more nuance Johonnie To films. They may not be about the ends but the means. They may not be about plot lines but plot circles. And PTU is about as round as you get. But notice the cool eating places, the explicit and yet natural lighting, the play of light and shadows. It is a poem more than a story, almost.Maybe it is not important who lost what or who gain what in the this one single night within the movie, but drink in the atmosphere, walk with the people of the night, see their world, worries their worries, and live another life!

massaster760 P.T.U. is not the type of film that springs to mind when someone mentions a "feel-good" film, it's also not really an "action" film. What it is, is a slow paced, dark, gritty, and perilous journey through Hong Kong's night life. Complete with gangsters, cops, dirty cops, and the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) run by a charismatic Simon Yam.To be exact, P.T.U. is pretty much Johnnie To's take on film's like Lock, Stock, and two smoking barrels. But this time the focus is less on gangsters and more on law enforcement agents. Also, unlike Lock, Stock, PTU is virtually humorless, and more on the depressing side. It's not a completely original concept, but in the hands of Johnnie To it manages to entertain. Mind you, it's not as bleak as other recent films to come out of Hong Kong (Dog Bite Dog comes to mind) but is definitely not a film one would describe as uplifting or funny.Seargeant Lo Sa (played brilliantly by Suet Lam) is having a bad day. After eating at a local diner he walks outside and finds a "punk" keying his car. Angered, Seargeant Lo chases to culprit straight into an ambush. He awakens in an alleyway beaten, bloody, and missing his police issue revolver. Not wanting to lose a promotion he's up for, Seargeant Lo enlists the help of Mike Ho (leader of the PTU played by the always awesome Simon Yam) to help him find his gun before the night is over. Over the course of the night, Seargeant Lo finds himself stuck in the middle of two warring gangs, while also being investigated by a pesky CID inspector. On top of all that, he must desperately recover his lost revolver before the morning.Those who are familiar with Johnnie To's direction (and like his films) will love this flick and the slow paced punch that it packs. PTU is shot with an almost noir feel, although it's technically in color. The cinematography is beautiful and meshes perfectly to capture the film's dreary moods, juxtaposed with shot's of gloomy cityscapes, streets, and alleyways, PTU leaves it's mark artistically.In PTU, the performances are good all-around. Simon Yam is great as a calm, reserved, leader of the PTU who sticks his head out for Seargeant Lo. Ruby Wong is also good as Leigh Cheng leader of the C.I.D. unit although she's not given much to do. Lastly, Suet Lam is perfect for the role of the bumbling Seargeant who looses his gun and starts a sequence of events which leads to the film's ultra-violent ending. After seeing Suet in many films with smaller supporting roles (Dog Bite Dog, Election 2) it's nice to see him casted for a major role, and he does a good job of it.PTU is a good all around film but has it's share of faults; chiefly the film's score. I don't know what Johnnie To was thinking when he scored the film with 90's guitar rock. The score was way to lively and jubilant for the films dark mood and slow pacing. It nearly ruined a few parts for me because it takes the edge of some of the dramatic scenes. Other than the score, Ruby Wong is underused and the film tends to slow down in certain points. Fortunately, the films opening scenes and violent conclusion help to make up for these issues... although the film needs a new score either way.Bottom Line- PTU is a must for Johnnie To fans. New-comers will also find it entertaining and accessible due to it's re-cycled plot. A good film, just short of a masterpiece but really need a new score.

DICK STEEL The reason why I bought this was simple. Since I was on a DVD buying spree, and had picked up Johnnie To's The Mission (see review here), I thought I might as well pick up yet another of his movies which I have not watched, and so PTU presented itself because of the price, and the uber cool slip case cover.PTU, or Police Tactical Unit, is quite unlike To's movies like the Election series, or The Mission. Here, we look at cops. Ordinary cops, who like everyone else, just want to go home safe and sound after their tour of duty. The movie started off with the sounds of the bustling streets of Hong Kong, before we find ourselves inside a police truck, with everyone in sombre mood during their trip to their patrol grounds of Tsim Sha Tsui, and listening quite ominously to an announcement over the radio regarding the death of a cop.And so begins am eventful night, which is the time period where PTU takes place in. We follow quite a number of characters - Lam Suet as Lo from the Anti-Crime Division, whose firearm was lost during a scuffle with thugs, and forms the crux of the story in which the lives of everyone else in the movie revolves around, Maggie Siu as Kat, sergeant of her team of PTU cops, and Simon Yam as Mike, her counterpart leading the other team. It's a great character study piece of the three main characters, initially one who knows he's in lots of trouble for the loss, and desperately trying to recover it, in order to save face, and keep his reputation intact for an upcoming promotion, Kat's sense of doing what's right, following procedure, and Mike, who's willing to risk it all to help another of his own "for kay" (slang for cop).Under To's direction, PTU is a brilliant visual piece. Creative use of light and shadow illuminates PTU, making it a visual spectacle, so much that you'll still enjoy the movie even if you turn off the volume. I particularly enjoyed the rather quiet moments which were plenty throughout the movie, rather than the usual wham-bang kind of action with guns ablazing. In fact, a shot is never even fired, until the end-all finale, combining all the separate threads of the story into one heck of a finale. What could probably raise eyebrows, are the unorthodox methods employed by the upholders of the law. You can't help but ponder over the methods, and how the lieutenants either turn a blind eye to, or are in full agreement with the provocative procedures meted out by their captain. Surely a talking point, if fire should be met with fire when dealing with scum.There are many subtle touches in this compact tale of less than 90 minutes, with the ubiquitous mobile phone being so important as a plot element, and that strong sense of irony in the narrative. And again in To's cops and robbers / triad movies (though I may be wrong), it seemed that the cool soundtrack which is peppered throughout the film, seemed to stem from a single primary theme music, this time with some electric guitar riffs.PTU doesn't get bogged down by wasting time explaining the many whys and how comes, and prefers to zap you right into the moment. It's the sense of contemplative urgency that makes it compelling to watch, and every turn brings something unexpected. The ending is particular interesting too, especially for those who have written statements in uniformed groups - you surely know what they're doing!