San tau chi saidoi (2000)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Wilson Yip

Writers:

Clement Sze-Kit Cheng (writer)
Chi-kin Kwok (writer)

Release Date:

10 March 2001 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Wareware ni fukanô wa nai [Japan]

Plot:

Action adventure in which the formula for a cancer-curing medicine is stolen, and a kung-fu fighting team must overcome rivals and doublecrosses in order to get it back |

Cast

Leon Lai	...	Mac
Jordan Chan	...	Bird
Qi Shu	...	June
Sam Lee	...	Sam
Michelle Saram	...	Michelle
Alex To
Terence Yin
Kong Lung		(as Patrick Lung)
Ken Wong
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Debbie Goh	...	Apple

Also Known As:

Skyline Cruisers (International: English title)
Skyline Raiders (Hong Kong: English title)
Spy Team (International: English title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

China

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec)

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Total kinetic energy

I don't think I've seen another film with as much action as Skyline Cruisers. It is relentless, and there are no lulls. While some sequences are silly, they blow by so fast that before you have time to reflect, you are onto the next one.

Despite the non-stop action, the characters are developed. Each actor provides a sense of personality. Character development occurs through action and facial expressions, rather than dialogue. Skillful direction and editing makes the slightest eye movement meaningful.

The film makers are relying on the audiences' knowledge of action films. They assume we know the basic rules and stereotypes: the hero and his sidekicks, internal team struggles, the femme fatale, the double-double-cross, etc. Thus, they don't bog down the action with setups and explanations. They only provide the key details we need to understand their hero, or the current sub-plot. They assume the viewer is intelligent, and knows the genre. No time is wasted overexplaining the details. This is not a shortcoming but a strength of Skyline Cruisers.

The film is also stylish. Sets are glass and steel. Cold, grey colors dominate. The camera is always in motion, adding to the kinetic energy. The cinematography and lighting is crisp and glossy. The whole package gives Skyline Cruisers a high-tech, state-of-the-art action film look.

Skyline Cruisers is not a big-budget film: there are no huge, expensive "set pieces". But, they are not needed. Intelligent planning, good casting, and understanding of the genre and its audience has replaced spending. Hollywood can learn from Skyline Cruisers. Perhaps they will stop making $100,000,000 turkeys and make some movies like Skyline Cruisers: smart, entertaining, and full of action.