Action followed by long periods of nothing happening. This movie does not know what it wants to be, a tragic romance, a 30s gangster film or a one against many martial arts film. It doesn't succeed at any of those. It starts out as a sort of historical drama/action film, then looks like a 30s gangster film, then becomes a pentagonal romance of sorts. Then there is some action, then nothing, then action and tragedy at the same time. There is some sort of historical reference in the movie, but it is not an important point. Since the movie allegedly takes place in the 30s, at least that's when I think it's supposed to take place, judging from the machine guns all over the place. This movie is just not interesting, it is almost incoherent, the villain is played by an actor who's main moves are putting his hat on, taking it off and lowering his head slightly. The female leads Guli NaZha and Choo Ja-Hyun are good looking and believable. So is Zitao Huang as Jie. Peter Ho asZiHao is OK as long as it's action and not acting he's doing. He also looked much better with the beard and scruffy hair he had at the beginning of the movie. Anyway, I am surprised that I watched the whole thing without falling asleep.
Plot summary
The movie is set during the gang wars of 1930's Shanghai. An adaptation of Shanghai Bund, the TV series.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
A Boring Action Movie
Well made, but (unfortunately) not entirely my cup of tea.
The trailer to the film looked amazing, but now - having watched it - I have mixed feelings. Part of me blames the fact that I generally don't like crime/mafia movies.
Firstly, lets talk about the look of the film. Wow, incredible! The film has stunning visuals and photography and amazingly beautiful - almost breathtaking - slow motion capture. The action sequences are fast-paced, rather brutal, and incredibly well done. The film's first half is filled with action galore that should satisfy even the most discerning action fanatic.
However, the film then refrains from action for a while and the story becomes complicated. There are also way to many characters just for the kill (like a John Woo film!),and the lack for human life is distasteful.
The ending is not what you'd expect - or hope for - but I suppose it's better than having a predictable ending. The film in general was hit and miss for me. The action scenes certainly are fantastic, as well as the cinematography. As mentioned, though, I'm not a big fan of the crime genre, which possibly influenced my impression of the movie.
low - Average movie
A low-average movie, it felt like they got different parts from other movies and joined in one. Very amateur fighting scenes, it reminded me some old Bollywood movies :D and Operation Dunkirk(2017) - can't believe that in 2017, they are making these things. They tried to create drama by killing everyone, making suicides but it was far from it, and as i said,they just copied from others. So it was a Hollywood product made on China.