Cheung fo (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Johnnie To

Writer:

Nai-Hoi Yau (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Five men. They appreciate each other's guts and wisdom, and they are always perfect partners in missions. But now, they'll have to hold their pistols at each other...

Plot:

Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis...

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Assassination Attempt | Triads | Kill | Punishment

Awards:

9 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Curtis (as Anthony Wong)
Francis Ng	...	Roy (as Francis Wong)
Jackie Lui Chung-yin	...	Shin (as Jackie Lui)
Roy Cheung	...	Mike
Suet Lam	...	James (as Lam Suet)
Simon Yam	...	Frank
Tian-lin Wang	...	Fat Cheung (as Wong Tin Lan)
Eddy Ko	...	Lung (as Ko Hung)
Elaine Eca Da Silva	...	Lung's wife
Keiji Sato	...	Assassin (as Sato Keiji)
Wai Ai		(as Ai Wai)
Man Shing Yau	...	Lung's bodyguard (as Yau Man Shing)
Cub Chin	...	Saliva
Yick Tin Hung
Jerome Fung

Also Known As:

Qiang huo (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
The Mission (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:81 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:18 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB

Company:

Milky Way Image Company

Goofs:

Continuity: During the gun battle at the abandoned warehouse, the window is cracked by gunfire. After few gun shots, the bullet holes disappear.

Quotes:

Fat Cheung: The restaurant hasn't been doing well lately. I want to sell out my shares.
Lung: You don't have many shares left in the restaurant.
Fat Cheung: Well, forget it then.
Lung: How much do you want?
Fat Cheung: 30 million.
Lung: I'll transfer the money to your account tomorrow morning.
Fat Cheung: Thanks.
Lung: Don't do too much gambling.
Fat Cheung: [leaving] Okie dokie.

Movie Connections:

References Shichinin no samurai (1954)

Unique, and thoroughly enjoyable

I really enjoyed this movie, from the first 5 minutes. It's an edgey, not very dialogue driven action movie, but the cast really did a great job. This isn't to say the movie was just one shootout after another.

It isn't a mainstream "A Better Tomorrow" type Hong Kong gangster movie, and doesn't pretend to be. It's dark, the characters don't verbalise what they want to do or are thinking, but the nuances are all there. But it's befitting of the setting - they're Asian, male hired hands. It's not realistic expect them to be all philosophical and willing to wear their hearts out on their sleeve.

I also liked the movie because it cast some of the finest Hong Kong actors who were really working as a team, and no one was really glamourised to be the hero. Anthony Wong epitomises cool as his character Curtis (in Chinese his character's name was really "Ghost") with more grunts than dialogue.

Francis Ng does his edgey best, as does Roy Cheung. All three went on to make Infernal Affairs, one of my all-time favourites.