Duo shuai

Plot synopsis:
Triad boss Lin Ho-lung (Sammo Hung) is celebrating his son's first birthday, a child conceived by his mistress. The party is interrupted when Police Inspector Liu Chi-chung (Danny Lee) arrives outside of the club with his colleagues, warning the gang to stop throwing any parties without the police's consent.
Police officers raid a drug shipment involving Lin Ho-tung (Simon Yam), Lung’s right-hand man and assassin, Lok Tin-hung (Wu Jing), and Wu (Ken Lo), a drug dealer. A gunfight ensues between the police and triads, resulting in Wu’s arrest. Wu remains uncooperative with the police and his wife Tracy (Pinky Cheung) talks with Soso, threatening to have Wu expose Lung's gang if she does not receive $20 million. Later that night, Tung and Tin-hung torture Tracy, who reveals that the threat was bogus and that her secret lover coerced her into creating a lie so she could flee with him once she had received the money. The gang executes Tracy’s lover, and breaks into police headquarters to assassinate Wu. Various police officers and Triad gang members are killed as the Triads try to escape the precinct.
It is revealed that Soso and Fat are blackmailing Lung and his gang. They orchestrate a kidnapping of Lung's financial backer, Uncle Yu (Hui Shiu-hung). After receiving $200 million from Lung, Soso and Fat kill the hired kidnappers and Uncle Yu to cover their tracks.
Lung and Tung eventually start a war against a rival Triad gang whom they suspect is responsible for the murder. Later, Lung has a meeting with his rival, Flirt (Tam Ping-man), a gang leader who reveals he had nothing to do with Yu’s death. Tung learns about Soso and Fat's role in Yu's killing. Lung goes after the couple, resulting in a shootout. After Fat is eliminated, Lung catches up to Soso whom he refuses to kill, after she expresses her bitterness about her inability to conceive and Lung's decision to have a child with a mistress. She is later arrested by the police.
Lung and Tin-hung are trapped in a warehouse and surrounded by the police outside. Knowing that they will be unable to escape, Tin-Hung mentions that he was never convinced by the stories that claim Lung was an "invincible fighter." Lung accepts Tin-hung's challenge. The fight ends with Lung impaling Tin-hung with a pipe. While dying, Tin-hung expresses that he forgives Lung, and hopes that he will soon join him after he dies. Refusing to surrender to the police, Lung walks out of the warehouse, armed with machine guns. He intimidates the police by firing the weapons, and is shot to death.
While Soso is serving prison time, assassins disguised as painters slit her throat. Tung attempts to flee with Lung's mistress and their baby son. They arrive at a beach, presumably to escape via boat. Tung asks her to wait while he looks for the boat. Several shadowy figures approach the mistress. The ending is left ambiguous as the last shot of the film is a silencer aimed at Tung. It is uncertain as to who orders the assassinations.

Tags: violence, sadist

Review:
There's no guarantee in life that another day means another dollar, but you can pretty much count on a new Simon Yam movie coming along.
And here he is again in a triad story, but don't let the fact bring you down or put you off: this is actually a cool movie, marrying as it does serious underworld scheming with fantasy violence.
This is no Hostel, but nonetheless the body count is impressive and the range of physical outrages quite extensive, including one torture scene where Simon not only says it's pain time, but also does most of the inflicting in person.The result of all this bears some similarity to last summer's Invisible Target, although Fatal Move isn't as compelling or refreshing, nor are its characters quite as appealing.
It also has crooks masquerading as cops, a raid on a police station and a SWAT/SDU team being made fools of, and does possess considerable talent  in addition to Yam, we get Sammo Hung and Wu Jing, both very capable performers, albeit not in their strongest outings here.
Sammo gets very little time to show off his moves, yet does well as clan leader Lin Ho Lung, a veteran criminal who for once bothers with differentiating between "triad" and "mafia", a point rarely noted on the big screen.The story begins with Boss Lin celebrating the birth of his first son, and all's well  his deputies Ah Tung (Simon Yam) and Tin Hung (Wu Jing) seem to have things under control, while his female right hand person Soso (Tien Niu) maintains the books balanced and the money flowing in.This being a triad actioner, calm isn't the primary directive, and quickly things go sour as internal conniving and treachery become the order of the day on top of pressure from ever-present cops, led by Danny Lee as Inspector Liu, and with Lam Suet throwing in a cameo for some tragic-comic relief.Soon the choppings, sword slashings, bludgeoning and outright gunning down of cronies by the van load commence, accompanied by a rather convoluted string of double-dealing and treachery that affects all involved parties.
This applies to many parts of Fatal Move  even at two hours it still feels cut in many instances, like they had to remove scenes at the last minute or something.Overall, Director Law (who did Fatal Contact before, also with Wu Jing) supervised a competent project here.
Tagline: Almost as good as SPL Review by Neo: Dennis Law have finally come of age and after 2 unfulfilled attempts, Law have strike third time luckily with Fatal Move.
Fatal Move is not just a good movie, as saying that would be a clear understatement, but one that Neo can proudly claim as the best in 2008 HK cinema so far.
Despite a few unnecessary parts in between and some moments of predictability, Fatal Move qualifies as an action movie with HK flair and almost matching the feat of 2005's SPL.
It's been a while since Neo have witnessed a good HK movie and with it being so close to his 22nd birthday, Fatal Move comes just at the right timing.Director Dennis Law have previously debuted in the teenage targeted Love @ First Note and have since then gone on to make his first shot at action cinema with the above average Fatal Contact.
There is no doubt that Law's career lies in action cinema and if this flick is any indication, his direction is only heading one way and that is up and coming.
It is always refreshing to witness a new generation director producing a good quality flick and it is all the more exciting when it comes to action cinema.
Law smartly casts a trio from SPL, namely Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wu Jing and the result is some quality martial arts sequence and lots of fun to be had.Also of special mention, it is probably the first time in years, where action flicks have succeeded without the involvement of Donnie Yen. Perhaps it is time to unleash Wu Jing on his first true starring in almost a decade since Tai Chi 2.
Sammo Hung almost reprises his role of SPL but this time with a degree of remorseless and thus allowing the audience to maintain interest in his character.
Luckily, the fight sequences more than compensate and the result are some quietly entertaining long takes of these coolly filmed scenes.Simon Yam also appears here and there, but is somewhat subdued and almost certainly a role more suited to the likes of Francis Ng. Veteran actress Tien Niu impresses the audience with a performance that is menacing yet understanding.
As for Lam Suet, he is just himself, but for an actor that does so little, Lam is damn memorable and his acting is just priceless to laugh or cry for.All in all, Fatal Move is easily the best movie of 2008 so far and it is safe to say that it is a movie that Neo actually liked.
Written and directed by Dennis Law, Fatal Move was originally conceived as the prequel/sequel to 2005's SPL, which had Donnie Yen and Simon Yam pit their skills on the side of the law against triad members played by Sammo Hung and Wu Jing.
A prequel on the other hand might not be as engaging, as if we were to see the rise of Sammo's character to triad boss status, it would ring too much a bell with Infernal Affairs 2.So Fatal Move offers a completely new storyline, albeit with most of the SPL main cast coming back for another go.
Donnie Yen is absent (I'll see him in action later with The Empress and The Warriors), and Simon Yam crosses over the fence to star as the brother of Sammo's triad boss character Lin Ho Lung.
However, Yam's Lin Ho Tung seems to be having a walk in the park (and in fact he really did!), as is Lin Ho Lung, because those itching to see some serious butt-kicking action by Sammo Hung, will have to wait until the last 10 minutes of the movie.
There are plenty of Milkyway regulars here, with Lam Suet, Cheung Siu-Fai and Maggie Siu on hand to lend their heavyweight support to appeal to Westerners here who are familiar with their works, and Danny Lee returns after a long hiatus to play, what else, a cop yet again.The storyline is nothing to wow over, and most times seemed to be running on a railway track, completely fixed and one-way, chugging along almost endlessly, without a destination in sight.
Character motivations were unclear, and Tien Niu as Lung's wife Soso really let it all rip in a melodramatic monologue that contains a lot more story in her words than all the dialogue put together in the movie.
It's about the self-destruction of a triad gang from internal strife from the greed of man, but its central theme was touched upon in a rather haphazard, messy manner that you'd wonder if the sub-plots were just bookends for the action sequences.However, despite its title, Fatal Move is severely lacking in compelling action scenes.
You have the tired car chases, and it seems that there was little effort in trying to milk what Wu Jing and Sammo Hung could do.
Most of the fighting sequences were courtesy of Wu Jing, who's especially mean with his lopsided blue-dyed hairdo and an extremely sharp sword, but given no competent exponent character-wise to spar with him, it all boiled down to a one-sided affair.
Seriously I'm a fan of his and I think it's about high time he takes over the starring role mantle for Chinese action movie stars, instead of getting bogged down playing side show villains.What gets compensated for the uninspiring action sequences, was blood and gore done in CGI.
The much touted fight between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing was the main draw for me I have to admit, but if you were to put SPL and this side by side, Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen had a lot more intensity and slick moves compared to Wu Jing vs Sammo Hung.But alas despite the M18 rating here, the movie was still subjected to multiple edits (originally rated R21 uncut, but no thanks of course to money-making distributors), and most of the gory bits couldn't escape the censor's scissors.
Powerful Action Movie of the new HK cinema.
Fatal Move brings in new level of action in Hong Kong cinema.
Cast is similar to that of SPL, and Sammo Hung and Simon Yam stars in this movie, this time working on the same side.
The tone of the movie is similar to the one explored in the Infernal Affairs in that gangs will go to any extent to get their money, involvement between police and the gang is portrayed in detail, and deception plays a role in the story.
What separates Fatal Move is the level of action and violence portrayed, and Wu Jing shows his fast and very beautifully choreographed move as the heavy in this movie.
This movie to me is a ground breaking movie in Hong Kong action movie genre like Better Tomorrow did back in the '80s.
While Better Tomorrow was somewhat mindless violence, this is violence with lots of intent backing it.The last fight between Wu Jing, and Sammo Hung was the only mindless battle, but if you have two such talent, you'd be remiss as a writer not to include this fight scene.Danny Lam plays the usual cop role, and Taiwanese actress Kelly Niu shows that she still looks great on the big screen.All of this brings good entertainment to this new age Hong Kong action movie.
Sigh.I have to admit that Simon Yam is my favourite actor in Hong Kong cinema.
I'll now also confess that Jacky Wu (or "Wu Jing" as he's known in Asia) is simply fantastic to watch; and then we have Sammo Hung who is a legend...With this main cast and a violent, dramatic, martial arts setting then, one would naturally expect something great.
Simon Yam's character starts out as having the potential to be compelling and Jacky Wu certainly looks to be the man with whom not to ***k (as his talent deserves), but things quickly fall apart as too many characters are chucked at us too quickly, for no real reason and after an hour or so of action scenes occasionally having been slotted in to keep our interest in an otherwise dull, difficult to follow film, I soon found myself scratching my head, wondering how the mess on screen before me escaped some serious script re-writes.Aside from men carrying out hits with ninja weapons in a ludicrous excuse for more M.A. choreography when a machine gun could have done all the work in half the time, there's also some truly awful CGI blood and gore effects which made me wonder why the art of film is de-evolving (compare Lord of the Rings to Ghandi; Lone Wolf and Cub to this), and to make matters worse, the dramatic element which had been so sorely lacking throughout, only graces us right at the very end when Sammo's wife, Soso, turns in a deft performance, too little, too late..No Simon Yam lines to justify wasting his talent; no unarmed Jacky Wu.Fair enough, Sammo still surprises us with a cool scene to show he's still got the moves despite his age, but nothing could save this wreck once it had been green-lit without undergoing serious surgery at a local script doctor's.It's unfair to say that there's no story, for as jumbled as it is, it's there, but the action just seemed to be tossed in for the sake of it for the most part, was unrewarding, and the total of this flick came up incredibly short given its concept, cast, budget and just about any other pro it had..
FATAL MOVE is a grisly Hong Kong Triad movie that reunites many of the same cast members from the excellent KILL ZONE (aka SPL).
Once it does, though, things become almost Shakespearian in tone, with one character's imprisonment (Jackie Chan's former bodyguard, the excellent Ken Lo) leading to all manner of massacres and berserk action.The brutal fight scenes are what propel this action-packed enterprise and they make liberal use of CGI blood throughout.
Wu Jing plays another cocky, hateful killer who enjoys mutilating his victims and during a torture sequence the film takes violence to a whole new level.
We have to wait until the climax before we see Sammo back in action, although I have to say it's well worth the wait.Cast-wise, Sammo bags the most interesting role, playing a conflicted mob boss who doesn't seem to be that bad a guy for the most part.
Simon Yam has a slick, somewhat minor role and doesn't really do much, and Wu Jing is there for the violence alone.
However, it's great to see Danny Lee (THE KILLER) back on the screens once more, even if the film doesn't give him much to play other than the stereotyped dogged cop.FATAL MOVE is no masterpiece but I found it highly entertaining as genre entries go.
Lung doesn't realise that those responsible are working with people close to him and soon is involved in a full scale war with rival gangs as well as the police.If you want full on action this is probably the film for you; it is very violent with numerous shootings; limbs being hacked off with swords, explosions and a very gruelling torture scene that certainly made me wince!
The action set pieces are exciting and feel realistic; this isn't the highly choreographed action that approaches dance one finds in some Hong Kong films.
Director Denis Law did a fine job keeping the action gritty while also having some more gentle moments; the scene where to senior triad members remember their childhoods while playing hopscotch was a delight.
The cast did a solid job; particularly Sammo Hung, who impressed as Lin Ho-lung; Wu Jing, who plays his right hand man Lok Tin-hung and Tien Niu who plays Lung's wife and shows that women shouldn't be underestimated.
Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of full on Hong Kong action.These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles..
Which contains HK legends Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and supercop Danny Lee. Everything other than that is average at best.
If you are new to Hong Kong cinema , I would say to watch another one of these actor's other movies instead .
Put Sammo Hung and Simon Yam back together in this new Hong Kong action trial flick will not guarantee you much action and chemistry from their previous film, SPL (2005).
Though it looks like a sequel of SPL in overall, unfortunately it lacks the punch that SPL has.While China born supporting actor Wu Jing (who also had a supporting role in SPL) appears as a supporting role in Fatal Move, it was somehow rather disappointing to see leading actor Donnie Yen (of Shanghai Knights, Blade 2 and Seven Swords) absent from the film.
Instead, Hong Kong veteran actor Danny Lee moves in as his classic role of police detective that he had from years of acting.
Another veteran actress, Kelly Tien Niu, finally made her big screen appearance again as the wife of Hung.In terms of story line, it looks like another 80's gangster flick from Hong Kong.
Detective Liu (Lee) stands aside and awaits to get rid of the gang when he discovers one of his men is a spy for the gang.Comparing Fatal to SPL, Fatal boasts a stronger appearance of veteran cast in a Hong Kong movie in the recent years.
It is not that often where you get to see Hung, Yam, Lee and Kelly work together in a movie, not counting the number of other veteran actors making special appearance in the film.
If you are not prepare to see hand chopping during gang fights, sadistic torture ala Hostel liked torture or loads of throat slashing gore in the film, the Fatal is not the movie for you, even though the blood gushing scenes looks like some cheap CGI effects.For audience who missed the fighting between Hung and Yen in SPL, they will be fairly disappointed in Fatal, as Hung will not appear in any fights till the last 20 minutes of the film.
And sad to say, it is the focus of supporting characters that has been placed too much, that it ends up both Hung and Yam had hardly any chance to explore their roles.
To worsen this, Lee had hardly any appearance as Detective Liu, who wants to bring the trial gang to an end.
Except from some explosive gun shooting scenes in the film, Lee has hardly any way to explore his role.
It was Kelly with the role of Soso, that steals the limelight, as it seems that she was the focus of the film, compared to the rest of the male cast.Directer Dennis Law, who was the writer for Johnnie To's Election (2005) and Election 2 (2006) pens down the story, which he try to explore the ugly and violent side of the trial gang.
But in the end, we got a movie that doesn't had the essence of Election, and lacks the punch of SPL.Fairly entertaining to those who do loves movie featuring trial gang, loads of bloodshed and violence..
I mean Sammo Hung, Simon Yam,Wi Jing and many others should be enough to make a decent movie.
But even then they could have made up for the bad story with decent action scenes and superb acting.
Of course I am talking about the fight between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing.
Aside from a few good Kung-fu sequences, this story of Hong Kong triad godfather, or da ge, Sammo Hung, and his feud with rival criminals inspires little emotion from the viewer.