Cheung fo (The Mission) (1999)

87% of users liked it
(3,689 ratings)

Veteran Hong Kong director Johnnie To spins this wild, kinetic crime thriller. Following a failed assassination attempt on his life, crime boss Lung (Ko Hung), instructs his henchman Frank (Simon Yam) to find the villain behind the plot. Frank soon hires a quintet of hired guns to guard the boss,… More Veteran Hong Kong director Johnnie To spins this wild, kinetic crime thriller. Following a failed assassination attempt on his life, crime boss Lung (Ko Hung), instructs his henchman Frank (Simon Yam) to find the villain behind the plot. Frank soon hires a quintet of hired guns to guard the boss, including the laconic Curtis (Anthony Wong), the flinty Roy (Francis Ng) and his protégé Shin (Jackie Lui), the haggard Mike (Roy Cheung), and firearms expert and peanut enthusiast James (Lam Suet). The group manages to thwart three attempts on the old man's life -- one from a sniper, a second in a shopping mall, and the third in an old warehouse -- until they figure out that rival crime boss Fat Chung (Wong Tin-lan) had order the hit. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Johnnie To
Written By: Nai-Hoi Yau
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Apr 25, 2000

Critic Reviews

Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
The male world of deception, violence, and suave killers remains intact, a woman's death letting buddies off the hook for their betrayal of the bodyguards' code.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Justin Y

Johnnie To does an excellent job with this hitman movie. The story is simple and it is told well with great cinematography and minimal dialogue. The movie is really slow paced with a few gun fights throughout. The shootouts are slow as well, but they are choreographed… More
Johnnie To does an excellent job with this hitman movie. The story is simple and it is told well with great cinematography and minimal dialogue. The movie is really slow paced with a few gun fights throughout. The shootouts are slow as well, but they are choreographed nicely and with the help of some great camera work they are masterpieces. One of the gunfights in this film is the best shootout that I've ever laid eyes on.On a side note, those of you that our fans of Reservoir Dogs or City on Fire may enjoy the ending as it is pretty similar.
Tsubaki S

Johnny To shows that no matter how simple a story can be, is the "how" you tell said story what makes the whole difference. The plot for the mission is nothing you haven't seen already if you are a crime/noir/HK aficionado, but To handles the whole thing in a way that… More
Johnny To shows that no matter how simple a story can be, is the "how" you tell said story what makes the whole difference. The plot for the mission is nothing you haven't seen already if you are a crime/noir/HK aficionado, but To handles the whole thing in a way that makes you always interested in what's going to happen next. No need to mention the excellent cast of the film, from Anthony Wong to Francis Ng and the always solid Simon Yam. You can almost make any movie with those guys and be sure it will have a level of quality thanks to them. Oh yeah, a hollywood remake is on the way, and before you get your hopes high just get in mind that not all HK remakes of crime thrillers are going to be made by Scorcese. So who knows what is going to become of this one.
Lesley N

I like Johnnie To films, he knows how to entertain. And this film is no exception as five disparate men become bodyguards for a Hong Kong Triad boss threatened by an unknown enemy. Cue male bonding and elaborate gun battles and a cute game of scrumpled-paper football. The plot is… More
I like Johnnie To films, he knows how to entertain. And this film is no exception as five disparate men become bodyguards for a Hong Kong Triad boss threatened by an unknown enemy. Cue male bonding and elaborate gun battles and a cute game of scrumpled-paper football. The plot is nothing you haven't seen before, but it's a fun ride.
alan j

intriguing Johnny To fare...filled with tension, great cam work and gun play...first rate acting..simple sotry done well...
Anthony V

A great shot em up.
Christopher B

I've yet to see a Johnny To film that I haven't really liked and this is no exception. It seems To is at the top of his game when dealing with crime stories, and the honour and dishonour amongst thieves. A great cast (who I also loved in Exiled) and a good script that… More
I've yet to see a Johnny To film that I haven't really liked and this is no exception. It seems To is at the top of his game when dealing with crime stories, and the honour and dishonour amongst thieves. A great cast (who I also loved in Exiled) and a good script that veers into a unexpected conclusion from the first 75% of the film make this a worthy addition in To's excellent filmography. You can also see how To has grown as a filmmaker since this film, he uses cinematography much more and it seems his films are stylishly more individualistic now, but his characters are still the same, and that's a great thing.