Cheap Hard Boiled (DVD) (Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Leung Chiu Wai) (John Woo) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hard Boiled

A die-hard hong Kong cop Tequila (Chow-Yun-Fat)take on arms deals that then explodes into a bloody shoot-out at a teahouse with his partner getting brutaly gunned-down by a gun totting hitman sent by the arms mafia leader Johnny Wong a mob kingpin who will kill anyone who gets in his way. Tequila later encounters a undercover cop (Tony Leung)doing deeds for johnny wong and bond together to take down wong arms operation in a local hospital.

HARD BOILED is a wildly outragous,bloody and ultra-violent film wich doesn't let up the plot line in the film. The gunfights in the teahouse, the gun garage, and the hospital turn out to a one-film-trilogy which Chow Yun Fat himself is a one man die-hard.

Jonn Woo delivers spectacular action and suspenses in his highly uptain film witch ending sequences in the hospitl is just like the bloody shoot-out from the action packed A Better Tommorow II witch is woo's best film ever. The dvd version of HARD BOILED has a better video transfer the the vhs does so perchus the dvd for better tansfers.

"Hard Boiled" Action
If you have seen "The Killer", this is probably another John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat movie you would want to check out. Tequila (Chow Yun-Fat) plays a sax playing hard boiled cop who battles it out with the HK triads. The shoot out with Tequila and HK mobsters at the tea house is extraordinarily violent, yet poetic in execution, which is what I love about Woo films. Tequila teams up with Alan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), an undercover cop posing as a gangster, and they both almost single handedly duke it out, guns blazing and all, with the triads. The final gun battle, with many casualties, in the hospital was just mind blowingly violent that it leaves you stunned with eyes glued to the screen. In many ways this movie is more violent than "The Killer", though lacking it's emotional charge and poetic symbolism. This film is one of the highlights of John Woo's career as a director and Chow Yun-Fat as a heroic bloodshed cult hero.

Woo's "other" classic
While not quite as tightly plotted or emotionally compelling as John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat's magnum opus "The Killer," "Hard Boiled" is still sure to please fans of that movie. Much of what made "The Killer" such a great film is to be found here: flawed heroes, murky allegiances, and ambiguous morals are once again the order of the day in this tale of cops and criminals living on the edge. At the same time, "Hard Boiled" manages to ratchet up the violence even further from its "sister" film, resulting in the most prolonged and intense action scenes I've ever witnessed, all filmed in Woo's signature frenetic style. A tea house, a warehouse, and ultimately a hospital all become battlegrounds in all-out war as the cops face an enemy that makes the Mafia look like a group of middle-school bullies.

Once again, Chow takes the lead in the protagonist's role, this time portraying relentless Hong Kong inspector "Tequila" Yuen. In true Woo-hero fashion, Tequila can shelter a baby with one arm while shooting up a small army of bad guys with the other. Joining him in his fight against the triads is Tony (Tony Leung) an undercover cop who's spent so much time working among gangsters that the line between the right side of the law and the wrong one is becoming blurred. However, Tony looks like a choirboy compared to the cartoonishly villanous Johnny Wong, an up-and-coming Triad boss who would probably kill his own mother if she got in his way. Johnny also has himself an extremely menacing sidekick in the form of a glowering, nameless enforcer who spends much of the film with a patch on one eye and still manages to give Tequila and Tony a few runs for their money.

It all comes to a head in the climactic showdown in the hospital-turned-arsenal, with the scene gradually evolving from tense standoff to full-scale shootout as the lives of hundreds of hostages hang in the balance. As most of Hong Kong's police force provides support, the two detectives lead the way against Johnny, his cycloptic colleague, and dozens of other gun-wielding menaces. And did I mention they have to make sure no harm comes to the adorable newborn babies in the nearby maternity ward? Yeah, Tony and Tequila sure have their work cut out for them as they fly through the air and unleash zillions of bullets, but it makes for some scintillating watching.

On the whole, "Hard Boiled" is definitely an engaging experience that's more than worth the money I shelled out for it. Much like "The Killer," this movie manages to pack much more psychological depth than the typical Hollywood shoot-'em-up with its portrayals of compromised heroes in harrowing circumstances. And of course, it goes without saying that Woo is nearly unparelelled when it comes to putting together action set pieces. Woo has made some moderately entertaining movies here in the States, but he hasn't managed to reach the level of his twin Hong Kong masterpieces. So check them out, if you dare.