Customer Reviews

Man Wanted

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

 

 

Rongguang Yu playing the crazy money hungry gangster is also great to see. Simon Yam plays an undercover cop and is one of Rongguang's top men. Early in the movie Yam tries to make his arrest, but Rongguang dies trying to get away from Yam and the other cops. Next, Yam starts becoming very friendly with Rongguang's girlfriend played by Christy Chung. He already has a girlfriend, but come on, this is Christy Chung. All of a sudden we find out Rongguang isn't dead and he wants revenge on Yam and of course he also wants to get all the money he possibly can. The directing job is above average and really allows the actors to shine.

The action is mainly shootouts and they are very exciting. There are only 2 real fist fights, both with Simon Yam, and both are very good. There is also a few really good stunts like guys getting thrown up against a wall and getting thrown so hard they hit the wall with their back! I was really hoping to see Rongguang Yu get to show off his Peking Opera moves (he did play the Iron Monkey and all), but it was almost as cool seeing him with a huge gun in his hands mowing down everybody in sight. He usually plays villain roles, and is outstanding in this movie.

John Woo pretty much started this genre and 'Man Wanted' is not just another replica. I usually love Christy Chung, but she only stands out for her looks in this, but the story is engaging all the way through and Simon Yam gives one of his few great performances.

3.5/5

The picture quality from Tai Seng is nothing special but watchable. English dub is OK and there is a Mandarin and Cantonese track. The subtitles are well written. There is also really good bios and filmographies on Christy Chung, Rongguang Yu, Simon Yam, and the director Benny Chan.

This movie between a crime boss and an undercover cop, although not an uncommon theme in many Hong Kong action flicks, is unique in many ways. First, awesome acting by the major characters (Simon Yam, as the undercover cop; Yu Rong-Guang, as the crime boss; and Christy Cheung, as the girl in between). Secondly, the well-proportioned combination platter of explosive action, character-development, and drama. Thirdly, the creative cinematography and direction. All-in-all, a very impressive offering from that segment of the Hong Kong action genre that doesn't use martial arts to invoke intensity and edge-of-your-seat excitement. A must-see for any action fan!

For those who want to spend time watching Hong Kong police vs.Triad gangs with their progressive conflict, this effort may fill the bill, although it will be for most viewers merely a cliched and meandering tale that seldom holds one's deep-cut interest, due to some incoherence in the storyline as well as its failure to provide rationale for much of the depicted conduct. Simon Yam plays Lok Man-hwa, a police inspector assigned to work undercover within an organization led by narcotics sachem Feng (Yu Rong Guang), who is nurturing Hwa for greater responsibilities in his cartel when an unexpected arrest attempt of Triad drug bosses results in Feng's fiery death as his car pitches into a harbour. Hwa attempts to resume his former professional and private lives, but a miraculous renascence by Feng during the moon festival, and a clandestine romance with Feng's former mistress Yung (Christy Chung) are developments that may spoil Hwa's planned future. This film is of the Conflicted Loyalty genre, specially favoured by Chinese producers of crime related movies and is lacking in fresh concepts although devotees of this type of affair will probably not care if the policeman bonds with the criminal or his erstwhile moll, but will instead find the graphic violence and lusty explosions that regularly occur to be quite satisfactory, and a lack of chemistry among the various leads will without doubt seem insignificant amid the dazzling choreography displayed by bullet riddled victims before they fall to earth. The production is available with or without English subtitles, the dialogue being in Cantonese (a Hong Kong patois), Mandarin and poor English, and there is trouble with sound synchronicity as several of the principal players loop lines that are not mixed well during a portion of a work also burdened with a score that includes many mawkish Cantonese pop songs.

Here is an example of how to make an excellent movie without having a strong script. Loveable characters, great music, great action, great cinematography make this an excellent hong kong action thriller. simon Yam as an undercover cop, yu Rong Guang as the bad guy and Christy Chung as....the girl in between all give strong performances. Highly recommended.

This movie was a great thriller. Christy Cheung was superb. She flowed through the movie and gave a stunning performance. I hope to see more of her! This classic cop versus big and Bad guy had a unique twist without martial arts. I loved it!