Wu hu jiang zhi jue lie (Jin pai wu hu jiang) (1991)

Director:

Eric Tsang

Writers:

Yin Nam (writer)
James Yuen (writer)

Release Date:

3 July 1991 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

An all-action tale of police corruption in Hong Kong.

Plot:

Cops find their careers and their lives in jeopardy when they spend a gangster's bribe money after releasing him from custody during a drug bust. |

Plot Keywords:

Police Officer Killed | Male Nudity | Steal | Police | Suicide

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Andy Lau	...	Lt. Lau Chi-Ming
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Tau-Pi
Felix Wong	...	Bong
Kiu Wai Miu	...	Wah
Ken Tong	...	Fong Heung-Tung
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Philip Chan	...	Supt. Tsao Siu-Ping
Kuan Tai Chen	...	Hon Wai
Michael Dingo	...	Defense Attorney
Lee Fung
Yung Kwan
Kit Ying Lam	...	Wah's Wife
Ka-Yan Leung	...	Sgt. Lam Hoi-Tim / Uncle Tim
Lieh Lo	...	Chiu Chow
Yin Nam
Wang Ban Poon
Fui-On Shing	...	Shing Sha-Pi
Joan Tong Lai-Kau
Eric Tsang
Irene Wan	...	Shirley Lam
Kam-Kong Wong	...	Tam

Also Known As:

Ng foo cheung ji kuet lit (Gam paai ng foo cheung) (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
The Tigers (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Concorde Hotel, Singapore

Company:

Media Asia Films

Trivia:

This movie is based on the television series known as "The 5 Tigers" which aired on TVB and starred Tony Leung Chiu Wai, 'Felix Wong', Kiu Wai Miu, Andy Lau, and Ken Tong in the 80s as the five tigers.

HK Neo Reviews: The Tigers

Tagline: A star-stunned cast spoiled by a mediocre script… Review by Neo: Imagine the 5 biggest TVB actors at the time starring in a movie together and within the five, there are little names like Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. So what can possibly go wrong, maybe it is due to the all too ordinary direction from veteran actor Eric Tsang or perhaps we can just blame it on the routine and blend script. The film is basically trying to say that one wrong act will lead to another one and eventually to the point of no return. A bleak and dark look into police corruption, director Tsang fails to make use of his 5 tigers (Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Felix Wong Yat-Wah, Miu Kiu-Wai, Ken Tong Chun-Yip) and the result is a brutally average flick that never rises above its genre convention. While it is okay to be efficient, there are moments that the audience actually feels bored and it doesn't help when the running time is clocked at just a little under 2 hours. Perhaps 30 minutes too long, The Tigers is ultimately a missed opportunity and a waste of once in a life time chance to see all 5 tigers in action.

It is almost amazing to witness the annoying performance of two superstars of Asian Cinema. The unbelievable have happened, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Andy Lau are just plain annoying. Luckily, Leung manages to impresses in the scenes prior to his death in the car park and Lau manages to pick his act together and actually attempt to act upon the death of Leung. The second half provides an Andy Lau that shows glimpses of the actor Lau is right now.

As for the evil tiger (Ken Tong Chun-Yip), he never seems to be able to create anymore than a pretty much one-dimensional villain. Current TVB star Miu Kiu-Wai is dead pan wooden and Felix Wong Yat-Wah is just his typical angry filled face throughout. Shaw Brothers favourite Leung Kar Yan is the unlikely person to shine above the aforementioned tigers and his character is sympathetic enough for the audience to care about.

All in all, the star power of the 5 tigers is alone worthy for the price of the movie and while the movie is really like the case of an unfulfilling romance, it isn't exactly total downhill. There is no doubt that the script have let the 5 former and present TVB superstars down and for some of them luckily have gone on to better things. At the end of the day, The Tigers struggles to be average and all they are trying to say is that one mistake leads to another and eventually to the point of no return. Life as a corrupt cop sucks in The Tigers and so are the awaiting audience hoping for something better. With that being said, the film did gives the audience some answers to their questions, Tony Leung Chiu Wai can actually be annoying, Andy Lau showing glimpses of his future and Eric Tsang is a far better producer than director. Finishing off, The Tigers is really a movie that tries to be average and comes up falling short… (Neo 2008)

I rate it 5.75/10