Vengeance

I am no expert on Johnnie To films. Amazon matched my interest in martial arts, Seven Samari and Magnificent Seven with a recommendation for J. To's "Vengeance". Apparently, it's quite dificult to obtain. There was only one copy available at Amazon, I had to wait weeks and it came with a sticky note with handwritten notations. We were intrigued by the the intrigue.Now , down to the brass tacks: It was an amazing film, totallly out of our zone of familiarity but 100 percent amazing! Yes, you have to concentrate, a Lot. Yes, the actors, characters and plot are foreign and puzzling. BUT, the payoff for staying tuned and keeping pace are well worth the intellectual leap.It is a story of revenge but it is not a silly story. It is a story of someone who really MUST even the score. Johnnie To is oddly sexy, tragic and crazy. His intellectual and fighting skills are equally matched. Physically, he is one of the most visually interesting characters in modern cinema--he is very tall (like Clint Eastwood), very thin and racially, very ambiguous (maybe French and Asian). Morally, he is without ambiguity...he has a single purpose and he executes his purpose with satisfying efficiency.It's hard to get but get it!

My original plan was to save Vengeance for a weekend viewing with friends. Well, I have no problem watching it again and again. Once I peeked at some of it, I couldn't stop watching. This is full blown Johnnie To. After Costello's (Johnny Hallyday) daughter is almost murdered by triad gangsters who kill her family, he seeks revenge. The French chef with murder skills of his own hires three hitmen (Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, and Lam Suet) to help him tackle mob boss George Fung (Simon Yam) and his team of expert killers. A friendship develops between the fab four as visions of Memento, Charles Bronson's Death Wish Series, All of Clint Eastwood's Westerns and some of To's films come to mind. You'll especially be reminded of The Mission and Exiled during the shootouts but that's okay. Vengeance is simply a great guy flick and pure heaven for Johnnie To fanatics like me. I get goosebumps every time I see Anthony Wong with trademark sunglasses, a cigarette in his mouth, and a gun in his hand. I also enjoyed the way English, French, and Cantonese languages are spoken together throughout the film. This really adds to it's international flavor. I had plenty of heated moments with Vengeance and look forward to repeated viewings of this instant classic. Now, I'd like to see Johnnie To and John Woo hook something new up with Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Lau Ching Wan and all of To's players. That would be too much fun.

An excellent movie. An excellent story. This is one worth watchingonce or twice.

I first saw Johnny Hallyday in the French comedy heist film "Crime Spree". He had a great career in a France as a singer in his younger days, and proved his acting ability in that film and the original "The Man on the Train". He puts in a solid performance of a one time hit man, now a chef at his own restaurant, who comes to Macau to avenge the murder of his daughter's family. By accident he meets up with a trio of hitmen and hires them to help him find the man responsible for the murders. Slowly, the Chinese trio grow to like him and do indeed help him. In the end a different sort of revenge is done. I was swept away by the fine acting by all in the movie. Made in Macau and Hong Kong.

I do not regret renting and watching this movie! Had some great acting, great scenes, different story line. In particular the ending was unique. A solid movie.

Out of 10 movies I rent from Netflix, 9 go back into the envelope after 10 minutes. Vengeance is different. First, the lead actor (Johnny Hallyday) is not Matt Damon or some other overexposed Hollywood actor. This guy looks sinister, yet has a heart. He has beautiful eyes, yet looks like Satan. His family is gunned down by Chinese thugs. He tells his daughter he's going to extract vengeance. There are several surprises, like the picnic scene. They wait til the wife and kids leave before starting a shootout. The cast is great and the direction is superb. There's a spiritual scene where Hallyday is praying and the souls of the dead rise out of the ocean. It appears that it's OK to get retribution but, hey, it's a movie.

I rate this movie a 4.5 out of 5.0. Out of the hundred + movies I've bought for my international collection, this is now one of my top 10 favorites. I normally don't purchase a movie that can't grab me with its reviews, but i'm glad i did. The storyline fpr this flick is creative, and will make want to watch it all the way through witout a break. I would've of rated this movie a 5.0, but i felt like a couple scenes could have been extended. i don't want to give away any of this movie, so i suggest you should see for yourself. even if you don't buy it now, once you see it you will by it later.

I got to admit, this was one of those rare movies you don't get to see very often, yet this film impressed me. It's got a mix of French style (Johnny Halliday), and gritty HK Action (Anthony Wong and Simon Yam). It has a simple plot line, yet the characters are not cardboard cut-outs. Great praise to Anthony Wong. His cool, calm demeanor gives rick life to the film. Overall, this film is far better than your average "hitman flicks". I'm definitely keeping this in my collection, and will see it again, again, and again.

I recently watched and enjoyed Johnnie To's films Exiled and Mad Detective. Both were stylish, cool and, in the case of MD, off-beat and humorous. Vengeance is another strong crime thriller. A revenge tale about a man whose family are murdered and hires three Chinese hitmen to help him get payback. This is a nice slant on the familiar revenge story. Another potentially interesting idea is the notion that he is losing his memory although it is never explored fully and in the end serves to make the film less believable. Mind you, realism is not what the director is interested in. The film has cool characters, music and lots of shoot outs. The dialogue is quite minimal and this works well. A few of the Asian actors from Exiled return for this film. Unfortunately, so does the red powder-paint blood which detracts from the action sequences. Overall though it is a very enjoyable film that is well acted and directed, exciting and stylish. I look forward to To's next film.

Gave up on this after about 15 minutes. Over-acted and implausible. Pity.

Interesting

A clever and unpredictable film, Vengeance is a wonderful Johnnie To movie, boasting great performances and the fantastic presence of Johnny Halliday, one of France's icons. Not to be missed!!!!!!!

can't buy it in HK now, good movie.