Silence of the Piggy
This is the movie that every espionage-seeking fan would want to see. Director Nai-Hoi Yau used the same cast of actors from his Election movies (also commonly used by Johnnie-To) and lived up to everyone's expectations. The beginning was pretty good, introducing realism and lifting up the intelligence level of both thieves and cops. This movie reminded me of City on Fire, which I still think is one of the best movies for realistic cop-versus-baddie action. It's good to see veteran actor Simon Yam (Dog Head) not in his “Hong Kong magazine front page pin-up boy” mode, but rather sporting a large belly and wearing an old man's glasses. In this movie, he plays a mentor to this Jodie Foster wannabe rookie lady (played by Kate Tsui) a.k.a. Piggy from the Hong Kong elite police espionage team. I felt that the movie was inspired by Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. The coordination of robbery masterminded by Leong Kar Fai (Chan Chong San a.k.a Hollow Man) was a pretty good sight indeed. There is not much action in the first half, rather they focused greatly on the espionage instead of complicated gun fighting scenes. However, I was surprised that there was actually a heavy gun fight scene between cops and baddies when the gang's second bank robbery attempt was foiled somewhere towards the end of the movie.
The part where Hollow Man escapes from Piggy really reminded me of Hannibal. There was a scene where he stabbed a police officer to death, which could be compared to Dr. Hannibal killing a cop with a surgeon knife (more violent). In another separate scene, Dog Head was stabbed with a pair of scissors right through the left side of his neck and left bleeding. The scene is very similar to the first Hannibal Lecter-like killing. During the part where Dog Head was lying flat while telling jokes on his hand phone, I thought the movie had become rather silly. To my disappointment, Dog Head actually didn't even die after a scissor attack with wounds several inches deep and after a pool of blood had gushed out from his arteries. There are two reactions to this :- 1) the director wanted Simon Yam to live because he wanted a good ending, or 2) the director wanted to surprise the audience. Anyway, it was just a small thing. No big deal, therefore I shoved it aside. But another disappointment was towards the end. I didn't like how the Hollow Man died. Death by a gash from a hanging hook, while brandishing a trademark Vertigo pose. Come to think about it, could a gash in a neck be deadlier than a stab into the neck? I mean, he got a taste of his own medicine, is that what the director is telling us?
This somehow made me want to drop the ratings for this movie like how a F22 bomber dropped bombs in Vietnam. Sad to say this, but if the movie had a better ending, it would have been great. Really! Anyway, 1 thumbs up for this movie. This is still a good movie to watch despite a rather weak ending.
Directed by Yau Nai-Hoi (debut) and written by Yau Nai-Hoi (Election 1 & 2, Throwdown) and Au Kin Yee (The Shopaholics, Yesterday Once More). Stars Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Kate Tsui, Lam Suet, Maggie Siu, Cheung Siu Fai and Wayne Lai Yiu Cheung. |
