Cheung fo (1999)

Director:

Johnnie To

Writer:

Nai-Hoi Yau (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Five men. They appreciate each other's guts and wisdom, and they are always perfect partners in missions. But now, they'll have to hold their pistols at each other...

Plot:

Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis...

Plot Keywords:

Assassination Attempt | Punishment | Kill | Triads | Killer

Awards:

9 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Curtis (as Anthony Wong)
Francis Ng	...	Roy (as Francis Wong)
Jackie Lui Chung-yin	...	Shin (as Jackie Lui)
Roy Cheung	...	Mike
Suet Lam	...	James (as Lam Suet)
Simon Yam	...	Frank
Tian-lin Wang	...	Fat Cheung (as Wong Tin Lan)
Eddy Ko	...	Lung (as Ko Hung)
Elaine Eca Da Silva	...	Lung's wife
Keiji Sato	...	Assassin (as Sato Keiji)
Wai Ai		(as Ai Wai)
Man Shing Yau	...	Lung's bodyguard (as Yau Man Shing)
Cub Chin	...	Saliva
Yick Tin Hung
Jerome Fung

Also Known As:

Qiang huo (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
The Mission (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:81 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:18 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB

Company:

Milky Way Image Company

Goofs:

Continuity: During the gun battle at the abandoned warehouse, the window is cracked by gunfire. After few gun shots, the bullet holes disappear.

Quotes:

Lung: Get any cash?
Frank: Tens of thousands that's a certainty.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chuen jik sat sau (2001)

The definitive Johnny To style in a movie that may not impress but satisfies

I've seen a couple of To films before this one so I kind of knew what I was getting into. This may be a HK action film but it's nothing like the more loud and workmanlike fare that has come from there in the past 15 years.

Five men are called to protect a Triad boss who is repeatedly attacked by gunmen. The plotting is as simple as that. What matters here, as in any other To film I've seen, is the style and the contemplative pacing. Sure there are shootouts galore to quench the thirst for lead of the action fanatics but they're not all out bloodbaths or elaborate stuntwork. They're carefully choreographed and subtle in execution. The pacing might appear slow to people used to the spastic editing of Hollywood action fare like Bourne Ultimatum but therein lies the power of The Mission. You get to spend time with the characters, observe the camaraderie that develops between them, share the mundane parts of their job - it's not all glamour and glitz in the work of the bodyguard. In that aspect, I believe Johnnie To to be equal parts Howard Hawks circa Rio Bravo and Jean-Pierre Melville, albeit with a slick layer of HK style on top; nice suits, fancy cars, cool glasses et al.

The cast deserves a mention though. Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Rony Leung, Simon Yam, they're all great in their respective roles, understating things enough to fit with the contemplative pace of the movie. The score deserves one as well; it's cheese-tastic in all its casiotone synth glory. I laughed the first couple of times the music cue played but then warmed up to it until I realized it's an integral part of The Mission's peculiar charm. If anything it lends character.

All in all this is a subtle action film, but thoroughly enjoyable. For a much superior execution of the same idea check out Johnny To's Exiled from 2006.