The Mission (1999)

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Directed by Johnny To, Law Wing-cheung.

Starring Anthony Wong, Jacky Lui, Roy Cheung, Francis Ng, Lam Suet.

Veteran Hong Kong director Johnnie To spins this wild, kinetic crime thriller. The film concerns an aging crime boss, Lung (Ko Hung), taking an assassin's bullet. Though he survives, he instructs his henchman Frank (Simon Yam) to find the villain behind the plot. Frank soon hires a quintet of hired guns to guard the boss, including the laconic Curtis (Anthony Wong), the flinty Roy (Francis Ng) and his protégé Shin (Jackie Lui), the haggard Mike (Roy Cheung), and firearms expert and peanut enthusiast James (Lam Suet). The group manages to thwart three attempts on the old man's life -- one from a sniper, a second in a shopping mall, and the third in an old warehouse -- until they figure out that rival crime boss Fat Chung (Wong Tin-lan) had order the hit. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

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Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

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This slick production from the prolific Johnny To is a surprisingly artsy and subtle variation on the usual Hong Kong action fare. The premise of Cheung Fo may seem excessively simple on paper, but the script layers it with plenty of nice character touches, like the quietly funny scenes of the bodyguards bonding with each other. It also pulls off a pair of killer twists near the end that transform the film from a stylized action outing into a mediation on the meaning of friendship. Johnny To keeps this unexpectedly complex scenario afloat by giving it a light but stylish touch that blends plenty of humor in along with the expected action; a highlight in this vein is a "minimalist" shootout set in a deserted mall that uses only a few bullets. Cheung Fo further benefits from subtly effective performances by a collection of top-shelf Hong Kong character actors. Cult favorite Anthony Wong takes the top honors as the steely but secretly warm-hearted leader Curtis, but Simon Yam also delivers an entertaining and memorable turn as Frank. All in all, Cheung Fo is an intelligently crafted change of pace for Hong Kong action fans, and smart enough to appeal to foreign film enthusiasts who normally don't go for this sort of fare. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

Tags: assassination , bodyguard , crimelord , henchman , hiredgun-hit-man