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Final JusticeYear of release: 1997 Genre: drama Director: Derek Chiu Producer: Johnnie To Stars: Lau Ching-Wan, Eric Tsang, Almen Wong, Carmen Lee Rated IIB for language, violence and sexual content Version reviewed: Mei Ah DVD |
The Milkyway studio has provided some of the best films from Hong Kong over the past few years, and most of their movies have already been well covered on this site and others. But you're not likely to find too much about this debut effort from them, mostly because it comes off as kind of generic. Final Justice isn't a bad movie, but it lacks the personality and charm that would come to characterize the studio's work such as Johnnie To's masterpiece The Mission.
Initially, though, the plot does holds some promise. Lau Ching-Wan plays a Catholic priest who is tempted into having sex by the alluring Almen Wong. Lau rebuffs her attempts to defrock and marry her, so she slaps a rape charge on him. Things get more complicated during the trial after Lau's life-long friendship with a Triad (Eric Tsang) is brought to light, and it appears as if even his high-powered attorney (Carmen Lee) won't be able to save him.
I don't know if it's because of recent real-life charges against priests here in the States that seem stranger than fiction, or because of the strong output of Milkyway over the past few years, but Final Justice just simply feels a bit flat. The actors do a good job, especially (as might be expected) Lau Ching-Wan and, suprisingly, Eric Tsang, who manages to turn in a performance that didn't make me want to punch my DVD player or pull an Elvis and shoot my TV. Is it just me or is Tsang a much better dramatic actor than a comedic one?
At any rate, also of note here is Almen Wong doing an almost total 180 from her usual "jade vase" or "battlling babe" roles like her work in Naked Weapon. Derek Chiu's direction is really nothing special, but it's competent enough, save for a few too-obvious symbolism shots, such as when a cross falls during Lau and Almen's humping, or the seemingly mandatory flying doves. But still the characters -- and the film as a whole -- seem one-dimensional.There's little rhyme or reason given to what they do or why they do it. Sometimes, as with a lot of action movies, it's good to let the audience fill in the blanks, but in a character-driven drama such as this, the lack of character development led to a lack of sympathy for them or their fate. I honestly didn't care what happened to the characters. I could appreciate the acting, the stylish cinematography, and Raymond Wong's somewhat off-putting but still solid score. However, at the end of the day, Final Justice just felt like a more polished version of a made-for-TV movie, just a step or two above the pablum networks routinely crank out. It's a decent enough drama, but by no means is it something you're likely to watch a whole bunch of times or recommend to your buddies.
RATING: 5
