John Woo’s films lost something when he moved to Hollywood and could afford to make tumbling sports cars a leitmotif. The director’s two-fisted kinetic genius ricochets around cramped sets in this Hong Kong crime masterpiece, creating an explosive energy that’s still rarely equalled in today’s action cinema. Chow Yun-fat forms the charismatic core of a story of friendship, loyalty, and honor while wearing the hell out of some suits.
1989 John Woo 1.85:1 Color DCP 111 min.
