Customer Reviews

The Final Option [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film talk about HK police SDU(Special Duties Unit) lay by Michale Wong.This movie not only a norml action film it also present a tactical unit's training and action skill.It made me love in special operation unit.Who wanted to know about HK SDU should watch this film.

Directed by Gordon Chan, The Final Option is Chan's attempt to do a SWAT team movie with sincere accuracy. It does go into the psyche as well as the physical of being a SWAT guy. Not just a action/hero movie. I would strongly recommend it to any action movie fan. The technical accuracy is particularly good.

In the Internet Movie Database it is listed as "Fei hu xiong xin". But there is hardly any info.

The Final Option is about the SDU which is basically Hong Kong's version of SWAT (though they owe more to the British SAS than the Americans). It follows one officer's path from regular constable to SDU applicant to trainee and finally to action. Along the way, a good amount of time is spent on the personal lives of the officers and their camraderie. Macho action fans shouldn't worry - For the most part, these scenes are not sappy and in fact are rather engaging. They are really quite good. The training scenes are very entertaining as well. Credit has to go to director Gordon Chan for keeping the pace up and his smooth and competent shooting style. In the background is a subplot about a bunch of petulant arms-dealing punks, but the focus is on the officers and SDU training. The arms dealers are only there for the inevitable final showdown against the SDU. And what a showdown it is! The second half of the movie is basically wall-to-wall action, with the SDU taking on gangs in the streets of Hong Kong as well as the arms dealers in a gigantic warehouse gunfight. As an action movie, it's a good one as it delivers both characters/human drama as well as thrilling action. As a movie about elite forces, it is frankly the best ever made (granted it's not exactly a competitive field). If you're into military/police special units stuff, you must get this movie. There is also a sequel (prequel actually) called The First Option that is more action-packed but spends far too little time on the characters.

Director/writer Gordon Chan has an impeccable ear for dialogue, and he creates wonderful characters and mines them brilliantly for dramatic tension. The Final Option is a Hong Kong action film that doesn't rely on fast pacing, set pieces and the gangster myth (the John Woo model that's dominated the HK action genre for years). Instead, The Final Option is one of the best police films ever made, a perfect balance of drama and action.

The cast of mostly unknowns is marvellous, achieving a great degree of emotional connection and truth. Michael Wong is simultaneously funny and affecting in the pivotal supporting role of Stone, utilizing his flawed Cantonese and edgy way with dialogue to the fullest. And Chan has a brilliant sense of pacing -- when the romantic relationship develops you never feel lost, and he juggles the personal subplots with the action sequences with the sure hand of a pro. The training and action sequences are quite marvellous, really, with a minimal amount of gore, relying instead on the characters, atmosphere, and tip-top staging.

I'm an avid supporter of the action genre, and I'd say The Final Option ranks among the best I've ever seen.

Final Option is a great action movie. Very strong actionscenes and a love story made this movie to one of the best asian movies, I have ever seen. Two thumbs up...