Terrific, deeply moving crime thriller starring Andy Lau and Lau Ching Wan.

From the dizzying opening sequence to the extremely satisfying conclusion, this cat and mouser hardly misses a beat.

Johnny To, again working with ace composer Arthur Wong, constructs another operatic actioner that grots in the face of its contemporaries.

To's images are strong and moving. His cutting, combined with the extraordinary music cues, is exemplary. You are in the hands of a master cinematician.

The two sequences in which Andy Lau "hides" from the cops on a bus by pretending to accompany a lithe beauty (Ruby Wong) are testament to To's unique directorial skills.

Lau Ching Wan is strong and commanding as the harassed cop while Andy Lau is dynamic as a dying man avenging his father's death.

This is superb movie-making, only mildly compromised by some bad English dubbing in one scene with criminal Waise Lee.

Andy Lau and Lau Ching-Wan are both superb in Johnny To's tautly directed crime thriller which puts most Western efforts to shame. Think of it as the Hong Kong 'Heat', only better! Everything about the film screams class; from the performances to the soundtrack, the cinematography to the script. The tone remains serious throughout, but the film has a nice line in black-humour, friendship and romance at it's heart. Sure, it gets a little preposterous later on, but it would be a hard-hearted viewer who didn't find something to love about this movie. Thank God, Hollywood hasn't (yet) re-made and ruined a classic. Do yourself a favour and see this film!

This viewer must admit that he's a relative newcomer to Hong Kong cinema but this interesting and gripping thriller from director Johnnie To has left him wanting to see more. It's stylish, humorous, even poignant at times. It's not wall to wall action, but it doesn't need to be. It's also not particularly violent. The twisty script does keep one watching, intrigued at finding out just how things will develop from scene to scene. Also, the solid performances by the leads, Andy Lau and Ching Wan Lau, help a great deal.

Andy Lau plays Peter Cheung, a dying young man who learns that he has just weeks to live. So what he decides to do with his time left on Earth is play an elaborate "game", which ends up involving intrepid hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang (Ching Wan Lau) and the local mafia, led by Baldy (Waise Lee). What really gets the audience hooked is wondering just what the hell Peters' motivation is and what he hopes to gain from the whole experience.

The action, when it does take place, is well orchestrated, and director To does a good job at keeping a reasonable level of tension throughout his film. The pacing and editing are efficient enough at creating a story with a fairly brief running time of 93 minutes. In addition to the engaging lead performances, those who leave an impression are Shiu Hung Hui as comedy relief character Chief Inspector Wong Kai-Fat, who is believed by Ho to be inefficient and cowardly, and lovely ladies YoYo Mung and Ruby Wong.

The opening is pretty chilling and sobering, and the ending is quite satisfactory.

Overall, this is good fun.

Eight out of 10.