What you gots here is a good old-fashioned forsaken-buddy/brother-conflict action flick. It starts off kinda slow. The soundtrack is suspect. But director Woo provides with some excellent shoot-out sequences, and while the emotional beats can be pretty eye-rolling at first, it does come to fruition by the end.
A day in the life of Hong Kong counterfeiters. Everybody’s happy, nice chit-chat and alls civilized-like. These two Hong Kong tough guys really love their job, and it shows. Their coworkers adore them, they work in a swanky office. So hard these days to find a truly satisfying occupation. But then the inevitable reveal happens. Crook got a kid brother who becomes a cop. That...never ends well. Especially when the kid has a clumsy cellist girlfriend. Oof. Fortunately there’s also a lot of shooting. Like, a lot.
Apparently this is kind of the break-out role for Chow Yun-fat, and it shows his charisma as being a bit of a goof-ball while still working a serious gig. The Hong Kong action scene hasn’t necessarily been my forte but after watching a few of the films here again after a long while can see their appeal, similar to the cheezy 80s US action movies with the likes of Schwarzeneggar, Stallone, Kurt Russell and Chuck Norris. You weren’t exactly tuning in for the plot, but if it provided some decent lines and satisfying story arc, so much the better. And of course, the drama. Thick as mayonnaise, it is here. But the music? Can’t say it’s good. In fact, it may have affected the rating. It is Peeee-Yew! And I’m not even referring to the 80s synth funk at the beginning, that is some John Williams Star Wars kinda shit compared to some of the other stuff wedged in here like totally not Chinese cat in a hot dog casing. But throw a little mustard on it, it’s fine.