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Danger ZoneYear of release: 2003 Genre: cop drama Director: Neo Lam Writer: Herman Ng Stars: Teresa Mak, Jade Leung, Pinky Cheung, Natalie Ng, Jacky Lui, Andrew Lin Not rated; contains II-level violence and language Version reviewed: Panorama DVD |
Danger Zone feels like it could have been a good movie if it was made about ten years ago. It has all the ingredients for a solid "girls with guns" picture, but is hampered by an ultra-low budget that takes away any of the punch the action has to offer. As such, the film-makers (or is it video-makers in this case of yet another shot-on-DV release?) have emphasized the drama, which might have worked if the actors did a better job.
The story has Jade Leung in charge of an almost all-female squad charged with protecting a "stained witness" (Andrew Lin) and his girlfriend (Natalie Ng). The squad holes up in an abandoned hotel and things seem to be going okay, until a traitor is suspected. Jade and her crew must find out who the mole is before a group of hitmen can come to kill the witness.
So the plot isn't anything great, but back in the day, the matters could have been bolstered with a whole mess of action. Unfortunately, there's only a little bit of action here, and it's pretty messy. Combined with the lackluster acting (Pinky Cheung is really cute, but it's hard to believe that she's a cop when all she seems to do is whine), Danger Zone becomes yet another in the growing pile of shot-on-DV, straight-to-video snoozers Hong Kong has popped out this year.
RATING: 4
