First starring vehicle for Kenny Kwan and Steven Cheung of the pop music duo Boy'z taps an agreeable AFTER HOURS/INTO THE NIGHT vein, casting the pair as chronic slackers recruited by bottom-rung triad boss Michael Chan to inflate his ranks at top dog Ray Lui's regional "war council", where they're chosen to exact a particularly bloody revenge on a vicious rival named Serpent (Roderick Lam) at exactly 6 a.m. the next morning. Handsomely remunerated in advance for their "glorious mission" but desperately unqualified beyond movies they've seen about "cool" gangsters—a couple of which are winked at in quick fantasy sequences—and fearful of not completing the task, they opt to spend what could be their final night on earth blowing Lui's cash, first by winning an even larger sum from his underground casino, then buying their way into a movie being shot in the neighborhood with superstars Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung (of the music phenom Twins), who play themselves. The pair also crosses paths with crooked cop Tats Lau, cab driver Law Kar-ying and neighborhood bully Cheung Tat-ming (ironically the root cause of their current predicament), all of whom unwittingly give them the means to redeem themselves and deter Cheung's sister (Zeny Kwok) from repeating their mistakes in life. Director Adrian Kwan has a couple of Christian movies under his belt, so the theme of redemption and a near-mythical villain who physically resembles a demon should come as no surprise. Seemingly aware that their attractive leads don't exactly ooze charisma, Kwan and writer Tsang Kan-cheung—both of whom cameo as gangsters in a funny early sequence involving an elevator—propel them through an urban maze of amusing, unpredictable incidents populated by strong supporting players and clever cameos, played out against captivating nighttime exteriors by Wong Ping-hung.
0 out of 1 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
