ABOUT THE MOVIE |
Genre:
Action/Thriller
Starring: Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick
Cheung, Richie Jen, Josie Ho, Simon Yam, Roy Cheung, Lam Suet,
Lam Ka Tung
Director: Johnny To
Rating: M18 (Some violence and sexual scenes)
Year Made: 2006
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SPECIAL
FEATURES |
- The Making Of
- Trailers
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TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS |
Languages:
Chinese & Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese & English
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 1 hr 46 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East
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SYNOPSIS :
The time is 1998. The setting is Macau. Every living soul jumps
at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony
ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. For the jaded hit
men, they wonder where this journey will end. Against this background
of fin-de-siècle malaise come two hit men from Hong Kong
sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new
leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves
in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates
also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost.
MOVIE REVIEW :
Exiled
started off with a heavy dose of false bravura (shoot-em-up
style), but gradually the movie focused on the child-like sentimentality
that motivated the five protagonists. It is an uncanny action
black comedy with the singular take-home message: all hired
killers must die; so at least die well, and die with friends.
With
Exiled, Johnny To probably realized that he has nothing to
prove to the audience in his chosen Hong Kong gangster genre.
As such, he did the next best thing: which is to rehash his
favorite cast members and set them free on a shooting spree.
What an inspired move this proved to be. The acting was superb
for each of the main characters, and Cheung Siu-Fai, Josie
Ho, Wong Chi Wai and an unrecognizable Ellen Chan provided
fine performances in limited roles. Even the linguistically-challenged
Richie Ren seemed to be in character.
Moreover,
while sticking to his guns (pun very intended) when it comes
to the required action sequences, To did very well with some
original Western-style music from Dave Klotz and Guy Zerafa.
This movie is not going to blow you off your socks, but it
should do fine.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
There is a “The Making Of” segment where
the cast and director talks about missed opportunities in
life and what it means to be loyal. There is also footage
of what went on behind the camera as the actors talk about
their most memorable scenes. Included as well are trailers
for A Battle of Wits, One Last Dance, Protégé
and the movie itself.
AUDIO/VISUAL
:
I
do not particularly like the sallow colors used in the film,
and the visual transfer seemed to highlight the very pallid
flavor of the movie. Thank goodness, though, for the language
options. Cantonese is a must.
MOVIE
RATING :
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Lim Mun Pong
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| This
review is made possible with the kind support from Scorpio East
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