1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme Crisis... you got that right., October 16, 2000
Bruce Law - known for his work as an action choreographer, directs his debut film Extreme Crisis... so what's the big deal? Can't think of anything right now... maybe if I watch it again and again and again (but not likely). Universe Laser and Video Company released this DVD under their label - so you can expect great quality video, sound and DVD extras (trailers, making of, multiple languages and subtitles, stars files, etc. etc.)
The movie itself is a big budget, Hong Kong version of Die Hard and The Rock - both of which are far more superior films. In fact, it has so much similarities between the two - that it starts to look like a shameless rip-off. What's the difference between a rip off and an inspired idea? An inspired idea actually makes the film better... a rip-off usually makes the film worse. This is a pretty bad film with some good moments thrown in between.
The action scenes are well done with one exception - the sound editing. Gun shots do not match and the music drones on over the sounds of battle. I can only assume that Law was trying to make the scenes more dramatic... but he fails miserably. It's not often where a film's sound and music makes the movie worse... but this is a good example.
The cast is pretty strong - with Chinese and Japanese leads. Stars include Cheung Chi Lam, Theresa Lee, Shu Qi, and Ken Sawada. The problem is that the actors have very little time to develop while things are getting blown up, or while they're getting killed - whichever, I lost track while watching the movie. The film is pretty brutal - taking no prisoners... expect the body count to be pretty high. Law even disgraces the Hong Kong SDU unit by wiping them out at the end... which is pretty lame (an entire team gets wiped out by two Japanese terrorists... In a scene that rips off The Rock in exact detail)
Other problems include the languages the actors speak. Law prefers the Japanese actors to speak English... and the result is pretty bad. Most of the movie is done in Cantonese and English (very bad English). Use the subtitles... you're gonna need them - although the subtitles are also pretty bad).
OK, I think I should stop bashing the movie and point out what's good (I did give it three stars). The big budget pays off with the beautiful explosions and special effects. The cinematography is also decent during some of the action scenes. Some of the stunts are also cool to watch - especially the ending with the elevator shaft.
Overall, most people will choose to pass this movie. But some might want to check it out - you action buffs out there especially. Not everyone will hate this movie... but almost no one will like it.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme Crisis indeed..., August 21, 2000
Ever see "The Rock" or "Die Hard"? If you have, then forget this movie. Obviously inspired by it's superior Hollywood older brothers, "Extreme Crisis" mixes big explosions, lots of guns, and really bad english.
What's the worse aspect of this movie? The sound and music. I agree with the reviews posted at the Hong Kong Movie Database - the sound and music actually make this movie worse. The music likes to start droning on when a gun fight erupts - a slow, boring tune that tries to be dramatic but ends up being monotone and repetitive. The sound is terrible. Guns are softer than footsteps, explosions are muffled out. The Dolby Digital logo on the DVD box don't mean crap (well, actually it does mean "crap").
Casting is a mixup of cultures... Japanese and Chinese with more languages than a state university (Chinese, Japanese, and really bad English)... You're going to have to rely on the subtitles no matter what language you speak.
Overall this movie is a very bad rip off of "The Rock" with elements from "Die Hard". Even the scene where the Navy Seals were slaughtered in Alcatraz is recreated with a Hong Kong SDU team (Special Duties Unit) being killed by two terrorists (which made me disgusted... the SDU can kick more ass than anybody). Some of the explosions were really nice to watch though... (probably the only good thing I can think about).
I respect Bruce Law. I hope his next production is better... At least the DVD I bought was pretty cheap.
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