DICK STEEL
I guess the holidays now give me some extra breathing space and time to raid my DVD library for many films yet unseen, and given my profound admiration of films coming out of Hong Kong's Milkyway Studios, such as the recent Sparrow or Mad Detective, that I would pull Breaking News out of my archives and give it a go too. Helmed by Johnnie To and written by Chan Hing-Ka and Yup Tin-Shing, like the other two films mentioned, this was also picked up by a European film festival (Cannes no less) and probably propelled To to cult like status in the West, with legions of fan (myself included) left almost always anticipating what's To has up his sleeves as his next offering.True, interest in the Hong Kong crime genre might be waning, but To and his band of filmmakers from Milkyway have so far never disappointed in giving the genre some breath of fresh air with each offering put on the table. Here, they managed to put a little spin on a tale between the cops, felons and the media, where the latter can be used as a double edged sword, subject to manipulation to further the political gains of either parties. Exploitation doesn't come from just the cops, because even the villains have their fare share of independent ability to put out material, thanks to new media tools for video and picture hosting. In some ways, this is a little bit like Dog Day Afternoon or 15 Minutes, but given a different take from the Fragrant Harbour.If anything, the opening scene is where the money shot is, and cement this film as a classic amongst To's filmography. It's an almost seven minute long continuous take where we get introduced to almost everyone, from the cops in question to the villains, organizing themselves to move out for their big heist, building tension when everything comes together for an all out showdown with the surveillance team hot at their heels. It's a shoot out from all fronts, and the camera captures it all in one sweeping motion, before we head toward the crowded open streets for more mayhem ala Heat, which culminates in a clip taken by the media when a beat cop surrenders in full view to the criminals, allowing them to escape instead of apprehending them.With the criminals on the loose, a cop obsessed to take them down, the police's public image being tainted, and a commissioner adamant in repairing the force's reputation, Breaking News is an enjoyable thriller with fine balance between the dramatics as well as in the action department, where SDU and PTU units get deployed to flush out the bad guys in some claustrophobic inducing cramped quarters of a block of flats.Richie Jen has this steely cool resolve as chief villain Yuen, who leads his boys from the Mainland in a game of survival, having their plans for a heist end prematurely, and finding themselves up against a hard nosed cop Cheung (played by Nick Cheung), despite being armed to the teeth. Nick Cheung is pretty charismatic here in his role despite being nothing more than an action hero, though if you would like to see him in more dramatic material, then the recent Beast Stalker would be the appropriate choice. Kelly Chen rounds up the leading trio as the opportunistic Commissioner Rebecca Fong, entrusted by the upper echelons with the responsibility to restore pride to the force in the eyes of the media and public, and she goes into overdrive with her single minded focus on just that.Being a Milkyway film, some Johnnie To regulars also make their way here to lend gravitas even though in supporting roles. Simon Yam came on and suggested some romantic tangles with Chen's Fong, while Maggie Siu's cop from the PR department allowed for some measured and experienced handling both within the department, and with the media on the outside. Cheung Siu Fai was dished out a rather plain character though, more like a Yes- Man, while Yong You's character was more of a wildcard who provided the good guys an extra dimension to deal with. The affable Lam Suet's role as a dad caught between the crossfire, allowed for some interesting camaraderie forged during a hostage situation, and is now one of my favourite of his supporting roles in many of To's films.For fans of the genre and of Johnnie To, this is one movie that should not be missed. It had plenty of elements which made it genre defining, and for those who enjoy the many films of his which come with some intelligence required on the part of the good guys when hunting down their enemies, then Breaking News firmly belongs in that territory. Highly recommended!
FilmCriticLalitRao
Those who have seen action films made in Hong Kong will surely say that real life and life on a reel are the two basic fundamental notions of this film.This is because we often hear that whatever that happens in real life does not happen in films.We are also used to hear that whatever that happens in films does not happen in real lives. Whatever one says,a thing that remains clear is that "Breaking News" is a film which will challenge our notions of real life and life on reel as it presents both these concepts with amazing honesty.This film boasts of wonderful action scenes which help in mocking both media and police forces.Hong Kong director Johnnie To shows that the influence of media is enormous in our daily lives.This is the reason why distasteful material is being shown on television to poor audiences in order to increase daily ratings of TV shows.One must appreciate this film keeping in mind that "Breaking News" is a purely an Anglosaxon/ Angloamerican concept of looking at media which does not have any equivalent in many cultures such as European culture,Asian culture and African culture.
MartinHafer
Wow, is this a tense action-packed film. So much so, that I felt my heart racing throughout the film and I was on the edge of my seat! While I usually HATE action films, this one was something else--an intelligently made action film and one of the few in this genre that I can wholeheartedly recommend! Why it only has an IMDb score of 6.6 is completely beyond me.Unlike many action films, while there are a lot of explosions and gun fire, there also is an intelligent parallel plot that has to do with the news media and how the government will manage and manipulate the news to best meet their needs. This was brilliant but I was also very surprised, as this film was made in China--a country NOT known for its freedom of expression. Here, the filmmakers have a cynical attitude towards the cops and their occasionally dishonest attempts to manipulate the press. This parallel plot makes this movie far more than just mindless violence, but social commentary. A one-dimensional violent film is a complaint I have with many other action films--but not this one. The film begins with an undercover surveillance mission by the police. Two uniformed cops blunder into the operation and this results in a massive shootout--and it's obvious that the crooks are far better armed than the police. Eventually, most of the bad guys get free and take refuge in a high-rise apartment--where most of the film takes place.Despite a very simple plot idea, the film never lets up or becomes just an action feature. Again and again, I was amazed at the intelligence of the writing and intensity of the film without managing to be gratuitously bloody or violent. Yes, this certainly is a violent film, but despite all the shooting and explosions, the body count is amazingly low and it does not look quite as intensely violent some of the John Woo films. Excellent writing, direction and acting make this a must-see film for the genre.Watch this film...just be sure you DON'T watch it with children or those who are bothered by violent imagery.PS--I noticed that one reviewer complained about the bad subtitles. While the film I saw didn't have perfect subtitles (there were a few grammatical errors here and there), they were nothing like the ones they described. There were no white captions on white background and I don't recall words like "bandits" being used. I assume there must be another version out there, as I saw the film on the Sundance Channel and it wasn't bad at all. It is also possible I have seen so many badly captioned Asian films that this one looked pretty good to me--and believe me, there are MANY badly captioned Asian films.
Chrysanthepop
Have I missed something here? From the title I thought this would be a film full of suspense and a story that would engage me but in my opinion it has nothing new to offer. I wonder what director To wanted to express through this film. There have been so many movies made on similar subjects. The only difference is that here To tries to portray the media as more involved in the plot but hardly anything stands out. The pace is very slow. The performances are miserable particularly that of Kelly Chen. Cinematography is alright. Even though the long shot in the beginning is somewhat impressive, it's nothing new. well, maybe for a movie like this, it is but that hardly make the experience of 'Breaking News' worthwhile. Anyway, I don't want to waste my time on commenting about this so I'll just end it by saying that I found it boring.
