Customer Reviews

INVISIBLE TARGET - HK Action movie BLU RAY (Region All Free) Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Jaycee Chan, Wu Jing (English subtitled)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would probably give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars, but the DVD features on this set are packed with interesting stuff and there is a lot of it(over 4 hrs to be exact) so I gave the DVD release 4/5 stars. The story and plot is typical for a Hong Kong action movie, good vs evil, or for this one, cops vs crooks. This one is different though in the aspect of using traditional martial arts for the fights. There are tons of action sequences and lots of stunts that looked awesome. If you are an action junkie, I recommend you at least rent this. It stars Jaycee Chan(son of Jackie Chan), Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Wu Jing, and Andy On.

Like I mentioned, the special features on this dvd set are over 4 hrs long. They include a audio commentary on the entire movie from Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Andy On, and Bey Logan. Also are 7 interviews with Benny Chan(20 min.), Jaycee Chan(20 min.), Shawn Yue(30 min.), Wu Jing(30 min), Philip Ng(20 min.), Vincent Sze(20 min.), and Andy On(20 min.), a making of(25 min), Deleted/extended scenes/with commentary(13 min.), Action Sequences Featurette(20 min.), Storyboard comparison(20 min.), and a Gala Premiere featurette(10 min)

Overall, this DVD is worth buying just because there is so much stuff, but if your just looking for a good action movie, Id just rent it and see if you like it enough to be interested in all the extra stuff then go and buy it.

The Good Things
*Loads of great action. The fight scenes had smashing choreography. Lots of other pursuits, gunfights, and explosions throughout.
*Filming style was pretty good.
*The story was good. Even though it branched off to protray three different protagonists, it was still easy to comprehend.
*Good acting as well. The three main characters were well-developed, memorable, and great to watch.

The Bad Things
*The second half of the movie slowed down quite a bit and became heavily loaded with melodrama (whereas the first half was exciting).
*Overall, it felt a bit long (probably because so much happened).

I was very pleased with this film; it had much more action than I thought it would have. With the big explosive opening and all of the fights that followed, my first thought was that this was like a Chinese version of a "Die Hard" film. Even though the last hour of the movie slowed down a little, it was still great overall. Highly reccomended to anybody who likes martial arts, or action movies in general.

The disc has excellent video and audio quality. It has both English and Chinese audio tracks, and English and Spanish subtitles. Disc one includes a commentary, trailers, and a making-of feature. Disc two includes a bunch of interviews, a bunch of deleted scenes, and more featurettes.

This is one of the better HK action films I've seen recently, and what really carries this film is the lead villain, played by Ju Wing (the killer in Kill Zone and the lead in Fatal Contact). This guy has the skill, the moves, the speed and charisma to be the next big martial arts star.

Not only were the action sequences impressive, but so was the story and in-between "quiet moments". I believe these moments can make a good action movie better, and the ones is this film do not disappoint. The third act was particularly good; it ranks up with Hard Boiled - Criterion Collection for its sheer audacity. Yeah, it's that good.

Benny Chan (GEN-X Cops) is a good action director, his action scenes are hyper-kinetic, hard-hitting, visually stylish. However, it is the skill of great storytelling that still eludes him. Benny Chan's latest outing; "Invisible Target" is action-packed with a lot of great stunt work but it feels like it was left in the oven too long and turns out overcooked and bland. After all, even Jacky Wu Jing (SPL, Fatal Contact) cannot carry a film by himself.

Plot synopsis loosely derived from the back cover:
The rise of Ronin Gang, a group of highly skilled robbers affected the lives of three policemen drastically. Each of the three policemen: Fang (Shawn Yue), Jing Hau ( Jaycee Chan) and Chen (Nicholas Tse) have their own inner demons but all three are motivated to achieve a common goal: to bring Jiang (Wu Jing, SPL), the leader of the Ronin Gang to justice. The trio is pressed for time as Jiang's influence grew and the gang's ruthless acts are getting more out of control. With Fang's wit, Jing Hau's courage and Chen's dexterity, the three vowed to apprehend Jiang. However, while tracking down the Ronin Gang, the three cops become aware of the presence of a prominent figure in the police force who is connected with Jiang. With all these against them, they become even more determined and relentless to stop the wrongdoings of Jiang and his accomplice...

Screenplay for this film lacked discipline and cohesiveness. The character development is a bit overlong and quite frankly, Benny Chan fails to bring every factor together. It seemed like the issues only tie to the plot's main premise with a lack of detail, the screenplay stumbles at times with its perfunctory style. The three lead characters' meeting seemed so convenient and unconvincing, that it lacked needed credibility. At times, we see the three lead characters do some soul-searching and they come to an epiphany about their goals at the most unbelievable moments; (example: fisticuffs) and it all turns out so cheesy that it seemed so irrelevant that the scene appeared so stretched out. There was an unbearable scene with kids in a school bus with a bomb counting down that was so laughable. Chan and company should have just stuck to the basics and refrained from adding wanna-be emotional/dramatic moments in the most "out of place" sequences in the film. The director put some heavy attention to its theme and emotions; said scenes turned out corny and never really did anything but hamper the film's pace. I know successful action films like "Ong-Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong" also have weak plots but "Invisible Target" was so pretentious in its attempts to add depth into the simple plot.

Despite all its faults, "Invisible Target" thankfully delivers on the action sequences. It looked like Tse did most of his own stunts while Shawn Yue and Jaycee Chan (I think he's Jackie Chan's son) had their own share of risk also. Jacky Wu Jing is very charismatic as the villain; he is in familiar territory as with "SPL". At least, the filmmakers had enough sense NOT to try to convince us that Tse or Yue or Jaycee can beat Wu Jing in a man to man fight. The stunts are well done and the action sequences although it uses some CGI/wires are very well executed. Hard-hitting and somewhat brutal, the fight scenes are nicely done and fast-paced. Action choreographer Lee Chung-Chi did an admirable effort.

Invisible Target is not a bad movie, then again; it isn't good either. It did deliver on the energetic action sequences and the stunt work is reminiscent of the early days of Jackie Chan. The film gets really hurt by the usual canned melodrama and the overdone heroics. Its greatest weakest is the inability of the plot/characters to match the quality of the action. The climax felt so obligatory and dry. Action junkies may find the film to be diverting because of its numerous action scenes. Just leave your brain at home and close your eyes in the numerous over-directed cheesy scenes and it may be a fun watch.
It may not hold up to repeated viewings and may be worth a look for fans of Wu Jing and Nick Tse.

"RENTAL" for everybody else! [3 stars]

Note: I own the Deltamac Hong Kong release. The Dragon Dynasty should utilize the same great transfer and will hopefully carry the DTS Cantonese Language track. It is also expected to carry an English dubbed audio track.

Of this movie a reviewer in BEYOND HOLLYWOOD said, "Action, Action and more action". A reviewer in TWITCH said, "Adrenaline pumping". In [...], a reviewer states, "Action Junkies will not be disappointed". A slick action ride, loaded with the next generation of martial arts arts superstar, "INVISIBLE TARGET" is loud, fast, action-packed, adrenaline pumping (and) explosive (Twitch). A renegade cop (Nicholas Tse, The Promise),a young officer (Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie Chan), and a veteran detective (Shawn Yue, Internal Affairs) are thrown together to try to take down Hong Kong's most lethal mercenary gang and their ruthless leader (Jacky Wu Jing, Kill Zone). Starting with a huge explosion on a busy Hong Kong street and ending with a fists-and-bullets showdown that blows the roof off a packed police station, INVISIBLE TARGET delivers on all fronts (KUNG FU CULT CINEMA).

This film hits the mark from the opening scene with explosions in a crowded part of the city. As the film's villians are out in force and wreak havoc on the town killing several people including the star's fiancee.

It only excels and continues throught out the picture and while it is over 2 hours the time goes by and the action continues. With several fights between the main characters and the villian who's a couple notches above the heroes and gives it to them on every occasion. It feels like the actors/actresses had a great time doing this movie as it shows throughout with all the energy and back story. You should also check the special features on the dvd for some deleted and extended scenes of note that didnt make it into the final product.

But overall this one is worth the price of admission and then some. It might not be the best out there. But the folks at Dragon Dynasty know how to make a slamfest, knockout action movie.

Invisible Target hits the mark!!

Benny Chan (GEN-X Cops) is a good action director, his action scenes are hard-hitting, visually stylish and hyper-kinetic. However, it is the skill of great storytelling that still eludes him. Benny Chan's latest outing; "Invisible Target" is action-packed with great stunt work but it feels like it was left in the oven too long and turns out overcooked and dry.

Plot synopsis loosely derived from the back cover:
The rise of Ronin Gang, a group of highly skilled robbers affected the lives of three policemen drastically. Each of the three policemen: Fang (Shawn Yue), Jing Hau ( Jaycee Chan) and Chen (Nicholas Tse) have their own inner demons but all three are motivated to achieve a common goal: to bring Jiang (Wu Jing, SPL), the leader of the Ronin Gang to justice. The trio is pressed for time as Jiang's influence grew and the gang's ruthless acts are getting more out of control. With Fang's wit, Jing Hau's courage and Chen's dexterity, the three vowed to apprehend Jiang. However, while tracking down the Ronin Gang, the three cops become aware of the presence of a prominent figure in the police force who is connected with Jiang. With all these against them, they become even more determined and relentless to stop the wrongdoings of Jiang and his accomplice...

Screenplay for this film lacked discipline and cohesiveness. The character development is a bit overlong and quite frankly, Benny Chan fails to fit all the pieces together. It seemed like the issues only tie to the plot's main premise with a lack of detail, the screenplay stumbles at times with its perfunctory style. The three lead characters' meeting seemed so convenient and unconvincing. At times, we see the three lead characters do some soul-searching and they come to an epiphany about their goals at the most unbelievable moments; (example: a firefight) and it all turns out so cheesy that it seemed so irrelevant that the scene appeared so stretched out. There was an unbearable scene with kids in a school bus with a bomb counting down that was so laughable. Chan and company should have just stuck to the basics and refrained from adding wanna-be emotional/dramatic moments in the most "out of place" moments in the film. The director put some heavy attention to its theme and emotions; said scenes turned out corny and never really did anything but hamper the film's pace.

Despite all its faults, "Invisible Target" thankfully delivers on the action sequences. It looked like Tse did most of his own stunts while Yue and Jaycee Chan (I think he's Jacky Chan's son) had their own share of risk also. Wu Jing is very charismatic as the villain; he is in familiar territory as with "SPL". At least, the filmmakers had enough sense NOT to try to convince us that Tse or Yue or Jaycee can beat Wu Jing in a man to man fight. The stunts are well done and the action sequences although it uses some CGI/wires are convincing. Hard-hitting and somewhat brutal, the fight scenes are nicely done and fast-paced. Action choreographer Lee Chung-Chi did an admirable effort.

VIDEO/AUDIO: Anamorphic Widescreen. The video is decent with a few minor flaws. Some scenes looked sharper than others and colors are a bit on the softer side. The DTS Cantonese track is very powerful and crisp. English Subs aren't perfect and suffer quite a bit of typos and incorrect grammar.

Closing remarks:
Invisible Target is not a bad movie. It did deliver on the energetic action sequences and the stunt work are reminiscent of the early days of Jacky Chan. The film gets hampered by the usual canned melodrama, overdone histrionics and the inability of the plot/characters to match the quality of the action. The climax felt so obligatory and dry.
It isn't a very good film but it can still be diverting because of its numerous action scenes. Just leave your brain at home, it may be a fun watch.
It may not hold up to repeated viewings, "recommended" to martial arts fans only...
"A RENTAL" for everybody else! (3 stars)

I don't know what else to say. This is a completely worthless movie. The bad guys seem like they are all great actors, but because of a bad script there is nothing interesting about them. Some of the fights are good, but there are no good 1 on 1 fights, and the fights that are good aren't nearly long enough. In the final fight Wu Jing gets to show off his amazing skills, but with 3 guys going against him and not even putting up a fight it gets very boring. And I didn't feel anything for any of the characters even though I think there was supposed to be a couple of those crying type moments. Shawn Yue does good in his role, and Jackie Chan's son Jaycee looks like he could be a great actor. The problem is Nicholas Tse, and more of a problem is director Benny Chan. Nicholas Tse can be good, but he needs the right role. He doesn't fit into the role of a super tough young cop who's face twitches when he gets mad. You can make him look as tough as you want but the guy is always going to look like a weakling. I've never liked Nic Tse as a screen fighter, and this movie doesn't change my opinion. He throws a few nice kicks, but nothing else caught my eye. The guy just looks weak as an actor and a fighter. He does do a nice fall down some stairs, so I have to give him credit for that. And it's not like I am totally against Nic Tse, it's that I rarely see a good acting performance from him, and I have never seen him give a good fighting performance. And as for Benny Chan, what can I say? His movies have gone downhill ever since his first 3 good movies, Big Bullet, Man Wanted and Who Am I.

Invisible Target does have a lot of action, just not the action I was looking for. I didn't like this movie in any way. I only got brief flashes of things I enjoyed, and then it was quickly ruined by bad wirework, glass that looks like it would break if you breathed on it, bad script, etc...

2/5

The DVD from Dragon Dynasty is overloaded with special features. There's long interviews with Benny Chan, Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Wu Jing, Phillip Ng, Vincent Sze and Andy On, there's a couple of behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, and a commentary with Bey Logan, Shawn Yue, Jaycee Chan and Andy On.

I have to admit, I wouldn't have approached "Invisible Target" were it not for the Dragon Dynasty label. Call me a stick in the mud, but the Gen-X wave of Hong Kong cinema just doesn't appeal to me very much: it's hard to think of anyone ever replacing Jackie and Jet and the rest, and like a proper grouch, I'm hardly ever eager to see them try. "Invisible Target" makes me raise my eyebrows and open my eyes, however. Far from trying to replace the stars of yesterday, the movie is an exceptional platform for the younger performers to establish themselves on dramatic terms as much as physical ones, and under the capable direction of Benny Chan (Robin B Hood), they are remarkably successful. Nicholas Tse, Jaycee Chan, and Shawn Yue haven't become my new heroes, but my respect for them and the rest has certainly increased many times over.

The story: when a cold-hearted criminal gang (led by Jacky Wu, Fatal Contact) rises to violent prominence, three young policemen (Tse, Yue, and Chan) are driven by differing motivations to bring them down.

The film runs a surprisingly long 128 minutes. If you ask me, this is a pretty risky length for a non-epic action movie - it's too easy for a cops & robbers story to run out of steam - but its plot is enduringly captivating. Just when I thought I should be getting bored with it ('round the halfway point), the story kicks into the next gear by having the villains hijack a school bus full of children and threaten to blow them up unless the cops do their dirty work for them. Yeah, the bad guys are pretty cold here, and their actions do a great job of furthering the story, but aside from Jacky Wu's character, I'm afraid they don't have a lot of personality to them. A bit of a John Woo-esque honor-among-thieves sort of thing, sure, but the heroes are uncharacteristically more interesting than the villains this time around. The naiveté of Jaycee Chan's character contrasts well to the pessimism and bitterness of his cohorts and makes for some surprisingly dramatic scenes: the ones in the club and in the middle of the final showdown with Jacky Wu are almost heartbreaking for how much pain the guy endures for the sake of being a good cop, when all the rest have given up striving for the ideal.

And yes, there is quite a lot of pain to beseen. In an age of overreliance on stuntmen and excessive wire-fu, I'm pleased to say that all of the main performers seem to be pulling off their own fight scenes. There's a couple cool on-foot chase scenes featuring Philip Ng (House of Fury), but it's the five martial arts battles that - as usual - interest me more. The legendary Ken Lo (The Legend of Drunken Master) is featured in the cast but doesn't fight at all; normally, this'd be cause for dismay, but I'm utterly amazed to write that his shoes have been filled more than adequately by Jacky Wu. The skinny kid from Tai Chi II has morphed into a hell of a physical menace, combining his trademark lightning-fast moves with his character's near-invulnerability to make for an imposing physical presence. These aren't the most violent fights I've ever seen, but they are pretty damn gritty: tons of broken glass and furniture and plenty of falls from high places, with some pole-fighting later on and the heroes taking quite a beating throughout. I would've preferred slightly more balanced fights, but presenting the villains as better warriors than the protagonists helps give the flick a dramatic edge - it never seems impossible that any one of them could die after putting up their dukes.

In afterthought, the production values are very tight and the special features afforded by this edition's second disc are satisfying, giving me another reason to like the movie. This definitely isn't a flick (just) for carefree Hong Kong fans who are in it for the humor and showy kung fu forms, but rather a serious action movie with definite international appeal. Don't make this your first Dragon Dynasty purchase, but trust me that after seeing it, it probably won't be your last.

INVISIBLE TARGET

It is well known that I am a fan of the Dragon Dynasty label; even if they switch things around a little it is still the best chance an American audience can see some of the wonderful films from the Asian Cinema. I have honestly enjoyed every release the company as put out there, some more than others. This one falls into the middle I guess since the action is great but the story telling is a little lacking. Still there is a lot of fun to be had with this release as the 2 disc version has a lot of appealing extras. So maybe the film is a 3 or 3.5 o4 something and the DVD release bumps it up to 4. Either way it is a highly entertaining release that I would say is worthy of your money.

This film is about a gang of criminals lead by the always fun Jacky Wu Jing who plan and go through with an armored truck heist. The only thing is that some of the people involved in the plot are not playing fair, so the hunt is on for the cash. Add in that three very different cops with very different reasons want to bring this gang down. Be it because it is their job, for revenge, or to clear names they come together to stop this gang and all those involved. But how can they stop the gang when it seems that someone in their own force is working with them. It makes for an interesting tale don't you think, I do.

Like I said it has a good story behind it that had the potential to be something really big and great, but it falls a little short. Producer/director/writer Benny Chan does an excellent job in this film with the action and during those times the film moves along great. It is when he is telling the story [two other writers worked on this with him] it seems like there was to much at times and not enough at others. I don't know if that makes sense to you but what I mean is there is a lot of character development going on, but not enough explanation is given on how the meet. They literally just all get together at one point and end up fighting along side each other. Although I must say that after the fight when they make their way over to one of their houses there is a great comedic part.

The acting in the film is good and so is the action, especially the fighting in which Jing seems to be handling himself rather well, I like it. Now like I said earlier the film is good because it is not bad but on that alone I may give it a 3.5 or something but the Dragon Dynasty release bumps this one up. It has a very detail behind the scenes making of feature along with all kinds of interviews, trailers, deleted scenes, featurettes and such. But my favorite special feature is the audio commentary with actors Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, and Andy On, as well as Bey Logan.

This is far form a perfect movie and may not be the best film out there, but it is a fun one with some good action. It is also the 29th release from Dragon Dynasty and is one of the best releases as far as special features go. I do recommend buying this film because it is fun and the 2 Disc edition is great, also you may like me want to collect all of the Dragon Dynasty films. I even own a lot of these film already but you know I love those special features.