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Vengeance

2

Gangster drama impresses...

Jun 16th 2010

Sparse and sombre, Johnny To’s gangster drama eschews the usual Hong Kong pyrotechnics (well, mostly) in favour of brooding menace, as amnesiac Frenchman Johnny Hallyday hunts his family’s executioners. Despite some strained multilingualism, it’s a class act.

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    • Toursiveu

      Jun 21st 2010, 7:49

      4

      Vengeance is one of my favorite films from last year. It was released in my country (Belgium) last November after a successful screening at Cannes 2009. I've always loved Johnnie To's films and while it's not one of his best, Vengeance is a classy and beautiful film nonetheless, with incredible cinematography, a classic but solid script, lots of melancholy, great old-school action scenes (and by that I mean that it's classy and that you always klnow what you're seeing, interesting mature themes (revenge and enduring friendships) and wonderful actors. French icon Johnny Hallyday - in a role originally written for Alain Delon (who passed) - may not be the greatest actor in the world but his great charisma and world-weary looks work wonderfully in To's world! And Anthony Wong proves once again that he's one of Hong Kong's best actors. It's sad that Vengeance didn't get a theatrical release in your country but it certainly deserved more than a four lines review in Total Film!

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