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Overheard 3

Original title: Sit ting fung wan 3
  • 20142014
  • 2h 11m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Sit ting fung wan 3 (2014)
  • Crime
  • Thriller
In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government enacted a policy that granted each male heir of New Territories villagers the privilege to build a house without paying any dues to the government. Sin... Read allIn the 1970s, the Hong Kong government enacted a policy that granted each male heir of New Territories villagers the privilege to build a house without paying any dues to the government. Since then, those grants have become a commodity that village leaders can profit from.In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government enacted a policy that granted each male heir of New Territories villagers the privilege to build a house without paying any dues to the government. Since then, those grants have become a commodity that village leaders can profit from.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Felix Chong
    • Alan Mak
  • Writers
    • Felix Chong(screenplay)
    • Alan Mak(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ching Wan Lau
    • Louis Koo
    • Daniel Wu
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Felix Chong
    • Alan Mak
  • Writers
    • Felix Chong(screenplay)
    • Alan Mak(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ching Wan Lau
    • Louis Koo
    • Daniel Wu
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 18 nominations

    Photos

    Louis Koo, Ching Wan Lau, Daniel Wu, and Michelle Ye in Sit ting fung wan 3 (2014)
    Candy Ka-Man Yuen in Sit ting fung wan 3 (2014)
    Ching Wan Lau and Candy Ka-Man Yuen in Sit ting fung wan 3 (2014)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ching Wan Lau
    Ching Wan Lau
    • Luk Kam-Keungas Luk Kam-Keung
    Louis Koo
    Louis Koo
    • Law Wing-Jauas Law Wing-Jau
    Daniel Wu
    Daniel Wu
    • Joeas Joe
    Xun Zhou
    Xun Zhou
    • Moonas Moon
    Michelle Ye
    Michelle Ye
    • Luk Wing-Yuas Luk Wing-Yu
    Alex Fong
    Alex Fong
    • Fuas Fu
    Kenneth Tsang
    Kenneth Tsang
    • Uncle Toas Uncle To
    Man-Tat Ng
    Man-Tat Ng
    • Szetoas Szeto
    Lei Huang
    Lei Huang
    • Wanas Wan
    Ka-Tung Lam
    Ka-Tung Lam
    • Paulas Paul
    Ka Wah Lam
    Ka Wah Lam
    • Chuckas Chuck
    • (as Dominic Lam)
    Yi Huang
    Yi Huang
    • Fu's Wifeas Fu's Wife
    Kar Lok Chin
    Kar Lok Chin
    • Yuenas Yuen
    Wilfred Lau
    • Dragon Boyas Dragon Boy
    • (as Wilfred Ho-Lung Lau)
    Vincent Kok
    Vincent Kok
    • Computer Expertas Computer Expert
    Lan Law
    Lan Law
    • Aunt Gilas Aunt Gil
    • (as Helena Law)
    Ben Yuen
    Ben Yuen
    • Workeras Worker
    Ying Kwan Lok
    Ying Kwan Lok
    • Maas Ma
    • Directors
      • Felix Chong
      • Alan Mak
    • Writers
      • Felix Chong(screenplay)
      • Alan Mak(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Follows Sit ting fung wan (2009)

    User reviews3

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Not even the A-list trio of Sean Lau, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu can disguise this third instalment in the surveillance crime thriller franchise from being its weakest one yet
    Like its predecessor 'Overheard 2', this trilogy capper to writer- directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong's surveillance crime thriller franchise employs the same trio of actors – Sean Lau, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu – albeit in different roles and a different story. This time, Mak and Chong employs the format to dish out some dirt on Hong Kong's property syndicates, essentially sham companies run by local thugs who had set themselves up to take advantage of the Government's redevelopment of the New Territories.

    The subject is timely – like Singapore, many ordinary Hong Kong citizens have found themselves increasingly out of reach of a place to call home, no thanks to speculators and investors who have caused prices to skyrocket in the property market – and as veteran screenwriters who are best known for conceptualising the 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy, Mak and Chong demonstrate a firm grasp and understanding of the subject matter. In the prologue, they lay out the precursor to their premise, i.e. the gifting of land rights by the British colonial rulers in the 1970s to the male heir of each indigenous family living within the New Territories, and over the course of the next two hours, chart just how greedy profit-driven businessmen try to outdo each other in securing these rights from their landowners.

    Sean Lau plays one such businessman, Keung, who gets his start as the right-hand man of Uncle To (Kenneth Tsang), one of the pioneers if you will of such a criminal enterprise. Keung is assisted by his three brothers, Fu (Alex Fong), Paul (Gordon Lam) and Chuck (Dominic Lam), who find themselves aligned against Mainland investor Wan (Huang Lei) and Uncle To's daughter Yu (Michelle Ye) when the latter two take their company public without giving the former quartet any share of the shareholdings. Their business rivalry gets more complicated as Keung's former buddy Jau (Louis Koo) is released from prison five years after taking the fall for killing another rival (Chin Kar Lok) in a staged DUI accident.

    Turns out Jau isn't quite as loyal to the Luk brothers after spending that time in the slammer; instead, he teams up with Joe (Daniel Wu) to spy on the Luks, his motive wholly personal – not only were Jau and Yu lovers, Jau remains bitter for having received scant compensation from the Luks for taking their fall. Instead of law enforcement, it is a computer hacker who happens to possess the high-tech equipment necessary for the comprehensive surveillance in order for Jau to plot and plan his game of revenge against the Luks. Admittedly, that is a stretch, even more so considering the range of equipment in his possession that seems engineered for narrative convenience than for anything else – and Mak and Chong do themselves no favours by inserting Vincent Kok in a bit role as an equally tech-savvy expert whom Keung visits late into the movie after suspecting that he might be tapped.

    More so than in the earlier movies, the concept of surveillance appears contrived, in equal parts lacking in both realism and significance. Indeed, Mak and Chong want their audience to believe that Joe is able to install hidden cameras in Keung, Fu, Paul and Chuck's offices, turn the counter-surveillance devices they carry on them into listening devices, and tap on their phones to rely on both the front and back cameras to spy on them. It requires a significant suspension of disbelief to think that Yu is able to pull off something on that scale, especially how he operates as a lone outfit. Yes, it suffices to say that Mak and Chong have taken the omnipresence of being watched a little too liberally – and nowhere is that more evident than in a dues-ex-machina where Yu finds the tables have turned on her and Wan.

    Compared to its predecessors too, the storytelling goes bogged down in way too much exposition particularly in the middle segment. As Uncle To makes an unannounced return halfway into the movie, Mak and Chong make the proceedings unnecessarily convoluted with talk of double-crossings, shifting loyalties and even triple-crossings. What also proves lacking is character development, and besides Joe who stays pretty much a blank slate throughout the film, the rest of the characters whether Keung or Jau remain the one-note villain they begin the movie as. The fact that Mak and Chong are better writers than directors only exacerbates the faults of their screenplay, so much so that the film lacks the narrative momentum to keep you engaged from scene to scene.

    Not even an ensemble cast can quite redeem this lethargic exercise. Lau is believably conniving, but that's as far as his character goes throughout the movie. Koo fails to convey the scorn his character must possess in order to turn against his sworn brothers, and thereby comes off a weak counterpoint against the Luks. Joe comes off even more humdrum, his rationale for assisting Jau in the first place never even discussed. Fong and the other two Lams add some colour as scoundrels, but the only character that manages to be anywhere near appealing is Zhou Xun's widow Moon, whom both Keung and Joe happen to have a crush on. Xun underplays her character's grief nicely, and is a welcome contrast to the overacting of many of the other characters.

    Still, compared to the earlier two instalments, 'Overheard 3' ends the franchise on a tepid note. The themes of brotherhood, loyalty, greed, betrayal and corruption are intact, the premise fitting and prescient, but the execution this time round both in the scriptwriting and directing department unfortunately falling short of its predecessors. As a drama, it isn't quite as engaging or as compelling as it needs to; and as a thriller, let's just say it doesn't fit the description.
    helpful•9
    1
    • moviexclusive
    • May 29, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 30, 2014 (China)
    • Countries of origin
      • China
      • Hong Kong
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • Qie ting feng yun 3
    • Production companies
      • Pop Movies
      • Sil-Metropole Organisation
      • Bona Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $53,493,428
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Atmos
      • Dolby Surround 7.1
      • Auro 11.1
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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