Even though this is one of the better Chinese movies I've seen in a while, it's still only distinctly average by international standards. Apparently based on a true story, it tells of a band of jewel thieves operating in 1990s China and the dedicated cop out to catch them. This is a film that benefits from pretty decent action scenes which do raise the pulse on occasion, but in between it's a total bore and the cop is one of the most charisma-free I've ever seen. Kudos to Daniel Wu for doing what he does as he makes this halfway palatable.

The movie got so invested into its weakly conceived plot thread, that it forgot to give the audience anything to care about. Much is happening but you may find it hard to apply any interest, due to the absence of any persons to root for or be worried about.

The wannabe-charismatic antagonist is too evil. The protagonist is the blandest piece of dry bread you could try to imagine. No one else is established long enough to grant you the strength to even raise an eyebrow at.

Daniel Wu, as the antagonist, could have done a better job, I believe. I've seen him act well in other movies. Sadly, the director is quickly revealed as tone-deaf and has, I assume, never cared to repeat any of the scenes for a better take. Wu has still done at least remotely okay enough...but his charisma gets doused by lack of efficient direction or script. The story attempts to give his character depth, but apparently forgets that his actions weigh more than his scrawny sub-plot.

Qianyuan Wang got the worst deal out of it, though. It's possible to see what type of cop he's trying to portray, yet he's never given a moment to be anything but the worst trope of 100+ years of character writing for crime movies. No character development, no personality to describe with more than a few words and no reasonable establishment of his motivation.

The last fight had me at least mildly entertained, short as it was. What finally managed to raise my eyebrows, though, was the very end, revealing the fate of one of the characters. It's a somewhat shocking statement on Chinese government. At least that how I read it.

A very original crime thriller that any film maker/director, who wants to shoot a crime story, should watch! Its an action drama thats nevers slows down for 1 second and never allows you to lose interest at every single frame. Its original, clever, well filmed, superbly acted from a well put together cast and, not a single American in sight. This gem is all Chinese and though they make a lot of films in the crime genre, this is one of the best you will ever see...if you are willing to view it with subtitles in your native language.

The only bad part in this entire film is to be found in the rolling end credits where, as is typical with BS Chinese self glorifying propaganda, they say they have inhibited the availability of guns for the general public. And then they say that because in doing so they have made China one of the safest countries in the world...something I'm pretty sure the Triads (the Chinese mafia equivalent) and the populace would totally disagree with! The biggest threat in China to the public is from the regime itself and the corrupt police!