Duo shuai (2008)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Dennis Law

Writer:

Dennis Law (written by)

Release Date:

28 February 2008 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Tagline:

One bad move...kills them all.

Plot:

In the midst of a violent gang war, a series of misfortunes threaten the fate of a gang boss and his mob. |

Plot Keywords:

Shootout | Infidelity | Nightclub | Bomb | Body Disposal

Cast

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Lin Ho Lung (as Sammo Hung)
Simon Yam	...	Lin Ho Tung
Niu Tien	...	Leung Yuet Lin / Soso (as Kelly Chu)
Danny Lee	...	Senior Inspector Liu Chi Chung
Jacky Wu	...	Lok Tin Hung (as Wu Jing)
Siu-Fai Cheung	...	Law Ting Fat (as Cheung Siu Fai)
Maggie Siu	...	Inspector Janet Liu Mei Chun (as Maggie Shiu)
Suet Lam	...	Wong Shu Chor / Fat Ball (as Lam Suet)
Ken Lo	...	Lau Kwok Wai / Wu (as Kenneth Low)
Jacky Heung	...	Kwok Chi Hang
Pinky Cheung	...	Tracy
Shiu Hung Hui	...	'Uncle' Tong Lai Yu (as Hui Shiu Hung)
Jay Lau	...	Josephine (as Jan Lau)
Zhan-Wen Keu	...	Billy (as Kou Zhan Wen)
Sze-Ming Lu	...	Jacky Ho Wing Kit (as Johnny Chen)

Also Known As:

Fatal Move (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

UK:112 min (DVD) | Germany:100 min (European Film Market)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Malaysia:18PL | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | South Korea:18

Company:

China Star Entertainment

Soundtrack:

HEAVEN

God Father wannabe that really doesn't measure up

Sigh.

I have to admit that Simon Yam is my favourite actor in Hong Kong cinema. I'll now also confess that Jacky Wu (or "Wu Jing" as he's known in Asia) is simply fantastic to watch; and then we have Sammo Hung who is a legend...

With this main cast and a violent, dramatic, martial arts setting then, one would naturally expect something great. Alas, this was not the case.

It's difficult to say just went wrong with Fatal Move but the disjointed storytelling is definitely the main factor. Simon Yam's character starts out as having the potential to be compelling and Jacky Wu certainly looks to be the man with whom not to ***k (as his talent deserves), but things quickly fall apart as too many characters are chucked at us too quickly, for no real reason and after an hour or so of action scenes occasionally having been slotted in to keep our interest in an otherwise dull, difficult to follow film, I soon found myself scratching my head, wondering how the mess on screen before me escaped some serious script re-writes.

Aside from men carrying out hits with ninja weapons in a ludicrous excuse for more M.A. choreography when a machine gun could have done all the work in half the time, there's also some truly awful CGI blood and gore effects which made me wonder why the art of film is de-evolving (compare Lord of the Rings to Ghandi; Lone Wolf and Cub to this), and to make matters worse, the dramatic element which had been so sorely lacking throughout, only graces us right at the very end when Sammo's wife, Soso, turns in a deft performance, too little, too late..

No Simon Yam lines to justify wasting his talent; no unarmed Jacky Wu.

Fair enough, Sammo still surprises us with a cool scene to show he's still got the moves despite his age, but nothing could save this wreck once it had been green-lit without undergoing serious surgery at a local script doctor's.

It's unfair to say that there's no story, for as jumbled as it is, it's there, but the action just seemed to be tossed in for the sake of it for the most part, was unrewarding, and the total of this flick came up incredibly short given its concept, cast, budget and just about any other pro it had.