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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Nai-Hoi Yau (written by)
Release Date:
19 November 1999 (Hong Kong) more
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... more | add synopsis
Awards:
9 wins & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
The definitive Johnny To style in a movie that may not impress but satisfies more (16 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Qiang huo (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
The Mission (Hong Kong: English title)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
Japan:81 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: During the gun battle at the abandoned warehouse, the window is cracked by gunfire. After few gun shots, the bullet holes disappear. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Chuen jik sat sau (2001) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (16 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Cheung fo (1999)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Very uninteresting cinematography - | Qingshe |
| Good DVD Version | Skritek-mk |
| small resemblance to ronin | hidamari |
| Ripped Off | napoleanWilson-1 |
Recommendations
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| Jitsuroku Andô Noboru kyôdô-den: Rekka | Araburu tamashii-tachi | Chik loh go yeung | The Departed | Scarface |
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb Hong Kong section | Add this title to MyMovies |

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.