People's Hero

After spending many years watching HK action movies one can find a numbing form of familiarity to them, that said this wasn't the case with, Peoples Hero. A very involving, sublimely tense heist-gone-wrong thriller (admittedly that description no longer holds that much currency with the endless recycling of said formula) but this one's a Lulu. One thing I personally enjoyed was the inclusion of a tremulously inept teenage epileptic bank robber, a very effective device, as it provides for much bleak humour and and some rousing tension as he freezes up unable to defend himself against the genuinely sinister hood played by Ti Lung. A character who initially appears as if he is yet another generic kill 'em all gangster but is given a lot more depth by the above average script and a brilliant performance by the always watchable Ti Lung. If you are looking for gory heroic bloodshed this isn't the fella for you but if you fancy some stylish claustrophobic cops & robbers entertainment, this tightly directed piece will not disappoint. It is however a shameless retread of Dog Day Afternoon...but done with aplomb. 7/10. Check it out.