Maang lung (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Daniel Lee

Writers:

Daniel Lee (written by) &
Ho Leung Lau (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 2005 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Plot:

Interpol agents and gangsters battle in Hong Kong.

Plot Keywords:

Male Bonding | Lion Dance | Rooftop | Dragon Dance | Fortune Telling

Cast

Vanness Wu	...	Officer Wang Sun-Ho
Shawn Yue	...	Officer Hung Kei-Lok
Yu Xia	...	PRC Luo Zai-Jun (as Xia Yu)
Shengyi Huang	...	Officer Pak Yut-Suet (as Eva Huang)
Lawrence Chou	...	Officer James Lam, INTERPOL
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Kong Long (as Sammo Hung)
Michael Biehn	...	Petros Angelo
Bingbing Li	...	Yu Ching (as Li Bing Bing)
Jun-ho Heo	...	Captain Ko Tung-Yuen (as Huh Joon-Ho)
Maggie Q	...	Yuet
Simon Yam	...	Commander Hon Sun
Isabella Leong	...	Kong's Daughter
Mark Henderson	...	Joe Pearson
Philip Ng	...	Lee Chun Pei
Andy On	...	Suet's Undercover Target

Also Known As:

Dragon Heat (USA) (DVD title)
Dragon Squad (International: English title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Singapore:M18 | Malaysia:18SG | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:PG-12 | Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Mei Ah Films Production Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

Andy On was supposed to take on one of the leading roles of the film, but due to his tight schedule couldn't make it. He does make a cameo appearance in the film.

Formulaic action thriller

Objectively speaking, this was your typical formulaic Hong Kong cop thriller. Sammo Hung plays the once brilliant cop, Kong Long, with issues as he heads to retirement. One of his issues surrounds an old case in which his team gets wiped out by a gang. Meanwhile five superstars (Shawn Yue, Vaness Wu, Eva Huang, Xia Yu, Lawrence Chou) in the Asian entertainment scene play five international cops who are there to testify against a mobster. However, on the way to court he is "rescued" by the gwei-lo, a former SAS man, Petros (Michael Biehn) and his team (which contains the delectable Maggie Q). Not surprisingly, once the mobster escapes, the young cops are after them and a chase ensues, following a path of history that Kong Long is all too familiar with.

Unlike most HK cop thrillers, there is more of an element of psychology involved and there are mind games that you, the viewer, do get caught up in. It is intelligent in parts, triggering some suspense. However, the downside is that this wasn't consistent throughout the film and much of the rest of the plot is rather weak and predictable. There are some action scenes that add a bit of excitement, but overall the script is the usual formulaic stuff that is much a throw-back to that seen in the last three decades of HK film.

But for most, like many Hollywood efforts of this type of film, the film appeals to the mass market. Some very big names in the world of entertainment in the Far East appear in this movie, including boy band F4-member, Vanness Wu, veteran kung fu supremo, Sammo Hung, and former model Maggie Q. It isn't a sublime work of art. It is meant to be seen at face value. And in that, it might have some success.

Overall, this film breaks no boundaries, in fact it stays well within the outfield. But, it's a fairly solid film that the masses will probably enjoy. One for a bit of action.