SYNOPSIS:
After working as an undercover in a triad for 8 years, Sheng
(Nick Cheung) finally arrests the triad leader (Francis Ng)
and resumes his duties as a police officer. However, life does
not return to normal as he is faced with suspicions colleagues
and even trailed by the investigations team. One day, he meets
some triad members whom he has earlier befriended as an undercover.
Sheng forced into a corner when asked to collaborate with them
once again?
MOVIE REVIEW :
What
becomes of an undercover cop after he had completed his tour
of duty in the triads?
We
are often shown the worst that could happen to an undercover
cop or a happy ever after “ending” in the popular
Hong Kong undercover cop and triads films. But we seldom see
beyond what happens to an undercover cop after he completed
his mission and reintegrate back into the police force.
In
“On the Edge”, Xiao Hai (Nicky Cheung) as an undercover
cop who had finally completed his tour of duty and reinstated
back to normal cop duties. Adapting to his new life won’t
be that rosy or easy. His new colleagues are unable to trust
him and his new supervisor’s (Anthony Wong) brutal methods
of dealing with gangsters are a sore reminder of his past,
making it even more difficult to adapt to the new life. His
former brothers in the triads despise him for what he had
done and his guilt towards his ex triad boss (Francis Ng)
weights heavily in his mind. Even his girlfriend (Rain Li)
for many years couldn’t accept his real identity.
Shunned
by everyone in the force and hounded by gangsters who seek
revenge for his betrayal, Xiao Hai was push to the brim of
sanity. A return back to normality seems just beyond his reach.
Although
Nicky Cheung’s performance isn’t anywhere as impressive
as Tony Leung’s role as an undercover cop in Infernal
Affairs, he does convey the character’s dilemma well
and gave a believable performance. Anthony Wong also shines
in this movie by delivering his trademark hard-nosed unsympathetic
performance to near perfection, giving the viewers much more
reason to feel for Xiao Hai’s woes. The revelation of
Anthony Wong’s action at the end came as a touching
surprise and was pretty much heartfelt.
On
the other hand, Francis Ng as the triad boss was forgettable
and unbelievable as a triad boss. His role had limited screen
time and could be easily mistaken as a cameo role. Rain Li
performance was equally unremarkable and it felt like she
was just another pretty face in the movie that add very little
to Xiao Hai’s dilemma.
Performance
aside, the story telling aspect of this film effectively uses
flashbacks to contrast the life of Xiao Hai in the triads
and police life. Not one of the smoothest editing in flashbacks
but it exemplified the huge contrast between the two different
lifestyles, helping the viewers to question with Xiao Hai
if doing the righteous task was so right after all.
It’s
evident that “On the Edge” is nowhere as good
as “Infernal Affairs” but does poses an interesting
question that’s rarely asked outside the undercover
movies. The execution of the story and the cast performance
were adequately to keep you entertain for an hour and a half.
Definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of Hong Kong’s
most famous genre of films.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
This Dvd comes with this film’s trailer.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
movie is presented in Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby
Digital 2CH with removable Chinese and English subtitles.
This film
present a rather good reason why Dolby Digital 2CH is utilize
in some disc. In the beginning scene, two rounds were fired
and playing on a normal television set with Dolby Digital
2CH, the impact of these two rounds felt more powerful than
on a Dolby Digital 5.1.
Another
interesting thing to note is the name of the lead character’s
name. He is called Xiao Hai in the movie but Xiao Hai is referred
as Harry Boy in English subtitles and Hai Zi in Chinese subtitles.
On the back cover, Nicky Wu’s character name is identified
as Sheng. Rather confusing isn’t it?
MOVIE
RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review
by Richard Lim Jr
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