Gong yuan 2000 AD (2000)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Gordon Chan

Writers:

Gordon Chan (screenplay)
Stu Zicherman (writer)

Release Date:

3 February 2000 (Singapore)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Plot:

The Y2K Bug. Real Warfare vs Electronic Gaming. Peter Tong, a carefree Hong Kong youngster, finds himself...

Plot Keywords:

Conspiracy | Singapore | Death | Self Inflicted Gunshot Wound | Splatter

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Aaron Kwok	...	Peter Li
Phyllis Quek	...	Salina
James Lye	...	Eric Ong
Daniel Wu	...	Benny
Gigi Choi	...	Janet
Andrew Lin	...	Kelvin Wong (as Hoi Lin)
Ray Lui	...	Greg Li
Francis Ng	...	Ronald Ng
Ken Lo	...	Bobby
Yu Beng Lim
Wenyong Huang
Cynthia Koh	...	Theresa
Shucheng Chen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mohamed Badi	...	Radar Control
La Bon	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Claudine Chan	...	Guest on stage
Michael Chang
Jeff Chan	...	Man Cigar Bar
Stephanie Chan	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Tan Yng Chee	...	Agent
Joe Chew	...	Agent
Roks Chik	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Vincent Mo Chik	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Ng Ching Ching	...	Air Stewardess
Ho Wai Chiu	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Melody Choi	...	Girl Cigar Bar
Patrick Chua	...	Agent
Che Kim Fai	...	Policeman
Chor Wai Fu	...	June
Ho Sui Hang	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Clint Helyer	...	Agent
Young Hoick	...	May
Kuan Yew Hong	...	Agent
Brinton Jeou	...	Agent
Jong Jun Jie	...	Agent
Wong Kwok Kai	...	Bayal Game Centre
Kameen	...	Air Stewardess
Chau Lim Kan	...	Man Cigar Bar
Keagan Kang	...	Villian
Mark Kaufman	...	Computer specialist
Andy Keung	...	Walter
Kornelia	...	Guest on stage
Jim Shoi Kwan	...	Waitress
Yung Kwan
Wilfred Kwok	...	Greg's friend
Hora Lam	...	Girl Cigar Bar
Roderick Lam	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Jean-Claude Laurent	...	Agent
Tony Lau	...	Man Cigar Bar
Martin Law	...	CIA Hitman
Fred Lee	...	Greg's friend
Johnson Lee	...	Greg's friend
Marilyn Lee	...	Emcee
Nike Lee	...	Bayal Game Centre
Sunny Luk	...	Teller
Young Lam Man	...	Man Cigar Bar
Philip Menezes	...	Agent
Victor Tan Kuan Meng	...	Agent
Leslie Ong	...	Agent
Jerome Ow	...	Agent
Christina Nicole Poh	...	Social Escort
Benedict Soh	...	Agent
Tan Kuan Soon	...	Agent
Tan Teck Soun	...	Agent
Spencer	...	Agent
Alvin Tan	...	Agent
Picasso Tan	...	Agent
Serena Tan	...	Air Stewardess
Frances Taslim	...	Air Stewardess
Pal Tay	...	Airline staf
Kwan Tung	...	CIA Hitman
Luk Man Wai	...	Gouvernerment Securiy Unit
Michael Wai	...	Bayal Game Centre
To Fu Wan	...	Man Cigar Bar
Dickie Wong	...	CIA Hitman
Emma Wong	...	Control Room Officer
Kent Wong	...	Man Cigar Bar
Don Yap	...	Agent
Kwong Kim Yip	...	Judge (as Ip Kwong Kim)
Ryan Young	...	CIA Agent

Also Known As:

2000 AD (International: English title)
Gung yuen 2000 AD (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

Germany:99 min | Japan:109 min

Country:

Hong Kong | Singapore

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:18 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Media Asia Films

Movie Connections:

References Final Fantasy VIII: Fainaru fantajî VIII (1999) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Unprecendented

Hollywood Hong-Kong style

Hong Kong used to be seen as the home of unintentionally comical chop-socky movies of interest only to kung-fu freaks and those too lazy to reach for the remote and, while that's not a fair assessment of that country's current output, it's not a totally undeserved one concerning its past. So it makes a refreshing change to see that Hong Kong – along with other Asian countries – has begun producing stylish and energetic efforts like 2000AD.

Hollywood is obviously a major influence on this film – not least in the fact that the writing credits are shared between director Gordon Chan and American screenwriter Stu Zicherman (Chan took Zicherman's English screenplay and translated it into Chinese, although chunks of English dialogue remain). The storyline is typical Hollywood high-tech nonsense, but it's engaging and exciting, and injects high-adrenaline action sequences that match anything that has come out of the States – or anywhere else for that matter – in the last ten years.

The complicated storyline focuses on Peter Li (Aaron Kwok), an immature, bespectacled computer geek, who quickly matures after witnessing the assassination of his older brother while in police custody, and finds himself sucked into an ever-widening morass of lies and deceit as he struggles to identify the killers. Able to trust only a handful of the numerous characters offering him support in the aftermath of his brother's murder, Peter soon finds himself the target of the assassins, and becomes immersed in a world that mirrors that depicted in the video games at which he is so adept.

The core of the plot regards the search for a computer program that can destroy the world's computer network with the press of a laptop button, but that's really just a plot device from which an explosive cocktail of explosions, shoot-outs, car chases and fist fights are developed. The story starts slowly, introducing us to a bewildering array of characters that take some little while to sort out, and it's only after the first thirty minutes that the action kicks in. Despite this, it has to be said there's not a lot of character development going on in those first thirty minutes: Peter transforms into a grim-faced avenger, mysteriously jettisoning his geeky spectacles, and adopting a sort of Bruce Lee persona that never quite rings true; but, apart from thirty-eight-year-old Kenneth Ng, who delivers a superbly understated performance in the regrettably small role of Officer Ng, a senior police officer approaching his sixties, the other characters are nothing more than cardboard cut-outs – especially Janet (the wonderfully named Gigi Choi), Peter's girlfriend, who is given absolutely nothing to do throughout the entire picture.

But, then, since when was characterisation allowed to get in the way of an action flick? Chan hasn't set out to create true-to-life people in a true-to-life world; he's attempted to recreate the breathless, high-speed pace of a video game, one in which his hero has to ascend various levels before the game can be completed ("This isn't a game", says Ng at one point, "you can't start over again").

Director Chan, an insolent little brother to the Hollywood high-rollers, delivers the breathtaking action sequences with no little style, eschewing the slow-motion ballet so beloved of John Woo and his many pale imitators (who now, ironically, count Woo amongst their number) for furiously kinetic displays of concentrated carnage. Chan's gun-battles somehow manage to illustrate the brutal violence and terrifying confusion of the moment without confusing the viewer, and he stages each massacre with flair and purpose and attention to detail that is unusual (the car park shootout is actually a homage to the notion of the samurai's sacrificing of their lives in Kurosawa's Ran). True, he overplays his hand, leaving little for the disappointing showdown with the villainous 'cowboy' (another dig at Hollywood?), and some loose ends are left hanging (presumably for a sequel that has so far failed to materialise), but if what has gone before hasn't left your appetite sated then you've probably never seen an action movie you've liked.