Bolstered by a performance from Andy Lau that's surprisingly good for this point in his acting career, 1991's historical drama Lee Rock is an entertaining cop picture. Too bad the movie ends abruptly, just when things are starting to get really good.

Lee Rock takes place during the late 1940's and early 1950's, where Hong Kong is in turmoil from social, political, and cultural upheaval. With weak British commanders in place, the police force is rife with corruption, and are little more noble or good than the gangsters they sometimes bust.

It's into this environment that the titular character (played by Andy Lau) comes into, wide-eyed and naive. Wanting to simply earn a paycheck so that he can woo his girlfriend Rose (Chingmy Yau), Rock regularly turns down bribes and kickbacks. This causes him to be an outcast among the cops, until he is taken under the wings of two mentors, the gangster Lardo (Ng-Man Tat) and CID sergeant Chan (Kwan Hoi-San).

Under their tutelage, Rock begins playing off of both his fellow officers and the Triads, eventually replacing Chan as the commander of one of the top CID units and marrying Grace (Cheung Man), the lovely daughter of a powerful crime boss, Silverfish (James Tin). Rock's rise to the top makes him one of the richest men in Hong Kong, but draws the ire of his long-time rival, Sergeant Ngai (Paul Chun Pui), who hatches a plan to take out Rock.

Will Rock be able to survive Ngai's assault? Well, you'll never know, because after two-plus hours, all you're going to get for your troubles is a "to be continued" title card. Don't fret -- there's a sequel. In fact, it was released less than a month after Lee Rock premiered in Hong Kong. Hmm, I think I smell another "creative" marketing ploy from the always canny producer Wong Jing.

At any rate, Lee Rock is good enough on its' own that it's still worth watching, even with the cliff-hanger ending. In one of the dozen pictures Andy Lau appeared in during 1991 (most of which were done while Andy was seemingly sleep-walking) director Lawrence Lau actually got him to put in some good work here, enough to garner one of Andy's first Hong Kong Film Award (HKFA) nominations. Along with the big box office take, Lee Rock went a long way to cement Andy Lau as one of Hong Kong's top movie actors.

But let's not forget the supporting cast. Kwan Hoi-San is in many ways the film's anchor, providing enough gravitas so that the story doesn't spiral into melodramatic pulp territory like so many other films in the genre. Perhaps not surprisingly, Kwan was given a HKFA for his efforts. Long-time Hong Kong movie viewers will also want to keep an eye on Chingmy Yau's performance. It's so far removed from her usual cute ditzy girl or femme fatale fare that she also received a HKFA nomination for acting.

The strong acting is boosted by a few nice action scenes that were helmed in part by the legendary Corey Yuen. Keep in mind that this is not a John Woo-style shoot-em-up film, nor is it intended to be. For what they are, the action scenes are fun, and help to keep the momentum of the picture going. Overall, everything adds up to create a good cop drama, if you're willing to accept the fact that you're going to have to watch the sequel to get the full story of Lee Rock.

RATING: 7