Big Bullet

Big Bullet

1996

Director: Benny Chan

Stars: Lau Ching-Wan, Jordan Chan, Spencer Lam, Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Yu Rong Guang

Lau Ching-Wan stars as the hotheaded cop Bill, who is demoted to the "Emergency Unit" (beat cops) after slugging his incompentent boss in the nose. However, he's not willing to let a big case go by and he (and his team of misfits) go after a team of high-class criminals led by Yu Rong Guang and Anthony Wong.

Big Bullet could have been a big stinker; the plot is nothing special and all of the characters are stereotypes (the hotheaded cop, the overenthusiastic cop who turns out to be a coward, etc.). The action sequences, while good, are really nothing special (at least compared to many other HK action films). Big Bullet is saved from being just another cop/action movie by the performances of the actors. While there's no Oscar-caliber performances (most of the actors play within their given stereotypes) all of the actors work really well together which makes the story much more plausible and pleasant to watch. Lau and Chan provide the exception to the rule by operating outside of their usual roles at the time (Lau's romantic loser and Chan's young hooligan) and give the film's best performances as well as a credible relationship for the movie to build around. Apparently, many of the principal actors in Big Bullet are friends in real life and it shows; none of the relationships in the film seem forced, which is a major problem in many action movies where attention to characterization is often diverted to emphasis on bloodshed.

A good action movie that should satisfy fans of the genre.

RATING: 7.25

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