The Mission

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.

Johnnie To is one of the world's most underrated contemporary film directors. Working in Hong Kong he effortlessly switches between genre flicks (like The Mission, but he's equally at home in rom-coms (like Needing You or Love on a Diet) and weirder though sometimes even better material like 'Running on Karma' (or Heroic Trio is earlier times). The man is just as prolific as he is original, and even if he is derivative he is still a great, effortless entertainer. His Milky Ways production company makes studio and independent films with the same dedication. His latest film 'Election' is actually in competition in this year's Cannes. The Mission is the type of film Jean-Pierre Melville would probably make today. Its a mix of Hong Kong Noir and stylised set-piece. It boasts some of Hong Kong acting heavy-weights (many of which appear also in the Infernal Affairs trilogy). Dialogue is minimal, efficiency is the maxime. The music is so detached that the effect overall is almost hypnotising. The film is not perfect, and the flaws hurt because this could have easily been truly great. Still, it's way above average. Watch this and anything else by To you can get your hands on. It boggles

Many have lauded The Mission as a classic, and I don't deny that. However, as the unofficially loose precursor to Johnnie To's recent movie Exiled, The Mission did seem quite dated, but you can be dead sure that many of Exiled's plot points, characterization and stylistic influences, get established as far back to this 1999 movie.

A triad leader, Brother Lung (Eddy Ko), survives an assassination attack, and to protect oneself, you'll get together an A-Team of your merry men as bodyguards, entrusting your life to the skill of their gunmanship. His brother Frank (Simon Yam) gathers this team, consisting of your day to day average working professionals - Curtis (Anthony Wong), Roy (Francis Ng, somehow credited as Francis Wong), Shin (Jackie Lui), Mike (Roy Cheung), and James (played by the ever reliable Lam Suet, sans pencil thin moustache). While they are barbers, gangsters, valets and technical experts, they are as deadly with a loaded gun, and coordinate extremely well as a team, only that they don't know it yet.

Naturally there are existing cliques amongst the five, and their rawness in working together resulted in a partial failure of their very fist mission - the assassins escape, we journey together in their mission to protect, and see first hand how they command respect of each other, and how they befriend one another. In other words, the practice of the triads code of brotherhood and camaraderie, in trusting each other too with their lives, as they seek an end to their mission, to return to their normal lives.

The Mission is a visual treat to action fans, though as I mentioned, the action itself might look dated. What's key here, and extremely well done, is the buildup. The anticipation of the prey, the feeling of the unknown, the entire setup for the kill. Shootouts occur in a narrow alleyway, and in an abandoned warehouse amongst others, but my favourite would be the one in the mall. It might be strange that as a protection detail, they chose to leave in the open, and when the crowd is absent. Perhaps it's easier to spot suspicious persons? One thing's for sure, to enjoy the suspense, forget about the why and the what if questions (Where are the security guards? Where are the police), but just soak in the moment. I can't get enough of those ultra cool poseur shots, and the ones at the shopping mall were probably the best in the movie.

The somewhat trippy, somehow happy theme track made it seem a little awkward accompanying the plenty suspenseful build up, but strangely it all worked, even when it's used for light hearted moments. Written by long time collaborator Yau Nai-hoi (who this year had made his directorial debut with Eye in the Sky), the tale is not a gun battle a minute story, but a look at the code of brotherhood amongst the men - do they follow orders to a T because their boss orders it, or do they have it inside them to do what their heart tells them? If you've watched Exiled, this conflict amongst the team already had its roots here, and watching The Mission in hindsight, you could never had guessed that this theme could alone could spin off into its own separate storyline in Exiled.

My advice would be to watch The Mission and Exiled as a double bill - fans out there would probably not get enough! I'm sure I will pop both the DVDs into my player soon for back to back viewings! If you, like me, have watched Exiled first, then this movie surely is not to be missed.

The Code 3 DVD by Mei Ah Entertainment isn't really fantastic, but I suppose for the price I paid, you don't come to expect a chock load of extras. You get a choice of either the Cantonese language track or the Mandarin track, in either Dolby Digital or Dolby Surround 5.1. However at times, the audio does seem erratic and at certain points in dialogue, the audio level will fluctuate inconsistently. Subtitles come in traditional or simplified Chinese, and English. I watched the DVD with the English subtitles on, and though it's fairly good, there were minor spelling typos spotted every now and then. A letterbox version, the visual transfer isn't pristine as well, as it can get quite noisy and sometimes turn out to be rather blocky.

As mentioned, it's a bare bones version, consisting of a Data Bank with a very scantily written synopsis which can also be found on the back cover of the DVD sleeve, and the Cast and Crew credits, which can be obtained from the actual end credits from the movie. The Data Bank comes in both English and Mandarin texts.

Besides the stylish theatrical trailer (1min 25sec) with no dialogue, but just the pulsating soundtrack from the movie, a chapter selection is included (9 chapters in total), and a "Best Buy" section featuring the trailer for Ringo Lam's movie "Victim" starring Lau Ching Wan and Tony Leung Ka Fai.

I really enjoyed this movie, from the first 5 minutes. It's an edgey, not very dialogue driven action movie, but the cast really did a great job. This isn't to say the movie was just one shootout after another.

It isn't a mainstream "A Better Tomorrow" type Hong Kong gangster movie, and doesn't pretend to be. It's dark, the characters don't verbalise what they want to do or are thinking, but the nuances are all there. But it's befitting of the setting - they're Asian, male hired hands. It's not realistic expect them to be all philosophical and willing to wear their hearts out on their sleeve.

I also liked the movie because it cast some of the finest Hong Kong actors who were really working as a team, and no one was really glamourised to be the hero. Anthony Wong epitomises cool as his character Curtis (in Chinese his character's name was really "Ghost") with more grunts than dialogue.

Francis Ng does his edgey best, as does Roy Cheung. All three went on to make Infernal Affairs, one of my all-time favourites.

i saw this movie at local festival named "the art of enmity", playing several well-known hong kong flicks. those i already knew were the popular "bloods & guts & dance & fight" type. so i expected "the mission" to at best be an entertaining action movie with lots of stereotypes.

it turned out to be quite different, and i felt pleasantly surprised.

the basic plot is rather classic: 5 guys are hired to protect a triad boss, who is assaulted on a regular base.

the difference to other movies from this genre is that none of the 5 turns out to "the hero" (they work as a group), there are no ridiculous stunts, stupid over-reactions, or silly pride (they calmly do their job), and the main character is not the boss or his right hand (his bodyguards are).

of course there is some fighting and shooting, but with comparably small amounts of bullets and blood. the highlight is a scene in a mall, where the bodyguards and the assassins are only a few meters apart, and calmly wait for each other to make the first move. several minutes of people standing around and smooth music in the background - and yet, more tension than in any hollywoodesque thriller.

occasionally, there are small scents of humor (for example when they start a soccer match with a paper ball while waiting for their boss), but no "fun".

we often see the boring side of the work as a bodyguard: drinking coffee, watching surveillance cameras, walking circles, driving the wife shopping. these sequences are short enough to not bore the viewer, but long enough to make him feel glad not to be in their position.

on the negative side, i found that it took the movie unnecessary long to get going. there's not much interesting happening before the 5 get together. clearly, the movie is about their relationships among each other, and their behavior as a group. so the short introduction to the characters alone didn't really add much.

if you are just looking for yet-another-hong kong-flick, you will be disappointed. i myself am glad it didn't fulfill my expectations. 8 of 10.