Critic Reviews
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Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
A simmering pot of blood and yucks, accented with guitar and harmonica on the soundtrack.
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Ted Fry, Seattle Times
The finale is a slow-motion tour de force that blends style, elegance and nuance of character in showers of blood.
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G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Exiled is creative and bizarre, maybe too bizarre, but since most action films adhere to a cookie-cutter formula, its quirkiness is most welcome.
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Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
To packs the moments of contemplation with as much suspense as the action sequences and is a master of ratcheting up tension through small details.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Johnnie To, the director, is highly respected in this genre, and I suppose he does it about as well as you'd want it to be done, unless you wanted acting and more coherence.
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Fred Camper, Chicago Reader
This 2006 Hong Kong-produced gangster film by director Johnnie To, set in Macao, is an entertaining product that presents a powerful artistic vision.
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Craig Phillips, GreenCine
Exiled veers on the pretentious ...but the whole thing has such a humor about itself that it's hard to carp about it.
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Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
An electric, inventive amalgam of gonzo violence and lyrical sentimentality.
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Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Johnny To's direction is as smooth as a well-cut suit and the violence has a balletic intensity.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
Less a movie than a phantasmagorical dream synthesised from Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah.
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Andrew Wright, The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
A brilliant reminder of the glory days of Heroic Bloodshed ... call it a flashback, a comeback, or the end of an era; all I know is that I want to see it again.
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Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's a fantasy of a crime epic, to be sure, but it's a glorious fantasy in which the unspoken bonds of brotherhood bathe every shootout and sacrifice in the light of myth.
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Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
... possibly the best work the prolific filmmaker has done. In addition to the masterful blend of humor and action ... Exiled is the most beautifully shot movie so far this year.
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Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
It looks slick, but without a little more steak beneath that sizzle, the pretense becomes intolerable.
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Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
To is doing exquisite and exciting work at a mind-boggling rate.
Read all 15 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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the sequel to johnnie to's 'the mission' is like the bastard child of john woo and sergio leone, complete with it's own 'harmonica'. a bit thin on plot but with tons of style
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Super-cool Hong Kong actioner about four hit-men who have a crisis of conscience aftre they are ordered by their ruthless boss to kill an ex-member of their gang who has decided to devote his life to his family. The story has heart, the action is stylishly violent and the cast are… More
Super-cool Hong Kong actioner about four hit-men who have a crisis of conscience aftre they are ordered by their ruthless boss to kill an ex-member of their gang who has decided to devote his life to his family. The story has heart, the action is stylishly violent and the cast are great. It all has a modern western feel to it all too. I wish it was longer, the film flew by very quickly.
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Nostalgia trip to early 80's Hong Kong John Woo stylised shootouts. Mimics the pacing with long sections of thoughtful pondering interspersed with frenetic gun-ballets. Fortunately keeps the acting and soundtrack histrionics to a minimum. Guilty pleasure.
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<i>Exiled</i> is a crime thriller follow up film to Johnnie To's own <i>The Mission</i>. This is long overdue.<p>This film is standalone and easy to pick up without having seen <i>The Mission</i>, however watching it is highly… More
<i>Exiled</i> is a crime thriller follow up film to Johnnie To's own <i>The Mission</i>. This is long overdue.<p>This film is standalone and easy to pick up without having seen <i>The Mission</i>, however watching it is highly recommended. It isn't because the stories are continuous, although they are just a little, but because it is that d*** good of a film.<p>The story itself is straightforward, good, and while it isn't anything surprising, it is Johnnie To's directing that makes this picture as good as it is. The pacing is slow to moderate and the story does take a little bit of a dive in the middle. Once again, it is the spectacular cinematography and minimal dialogue that carry this film.</p><p>There are multiple shootouts and all have Johnnie To's signature all over them. The choreography is nicely done and the camera work just enhances them even more.</p><p>Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, and Lam Suet all reprise their roles as the 4 hitmen from <i>The Mission</i>. Nick Cheung, Josie Ho, Richie Ren, Simon Yam, Ka Tung Lam, and Ellen Chan all round out the star studded supporting cast.</p><p><i>Exiled</i> comes highly recommended to fans of <i>The Mission</i>. People that enjoy Hong Kong crime thrillers will also want to see this.
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This is a lesson for Steven Sodenberg and his lazy "Ocean's..." flicks. When you are doing a movie that has zero plot, make the characters actually fun and interesting to watch. The first time we see Anthony Wong, Suet Lam, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung and Roy Cheung all… More
This is a lesson for Steven Sodenberg and his lazy "Ocean's..." flicks. When you are doing a movie that has zero plot, make the characters actually fun and interesting to watch. The first time we see Anthony Wong, Suet Lam, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung and Roy Cheung all together in scene you never doubt that these guys have been pals since childhood. Instead of over paid poster boys pretending to be cool we get real bad ass and kick ass performances from genuine kings of greatness. And where to begin with Simon Yam's delirious performance as the bad guy?
So, while not on the level of something like Throw Down (i still rate that one as To's best so far) Exiled is exactly what any HK/action film aficionado is looking for. If anything, just the editing of some early shootings could benefit from some polishing. But neverless, Exiled is a lot of good ol HK fun.
Also, did i spot a harmonica- Sergio Leonesque reference?
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Awesome Hong Kong gangland movie about a friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen. The film is quite 80-ish in presentation and storyline, and filled with plenty of beautifully choreographed poetic violence and gunplay.
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Featuring some of the best cinematography and choreography in the past decade, EXILED is visual satisfaction at its finest. Johnnie To's gangster actioner includes a fun story that, with its hyperrealistic style, is brooding, tense, emotional, and entertaining. People withstand… More
Featuring some of the best cinematography and choreography in the past decade, EXILED is visual satisfaction at its finest. Johnnie To's gangster actioner includes a fun story that, with its hyperrealistic style, is brooding, tense, emotional, and entertaining. People withstand plethoras of wounds and live to laugh about it, policemen are useless, and protagonists are gangsters. The result? An ideal plot for sustaining gorgeously crafted scenes of bullet and bloodshed ballets - beautiful from the slow-motion photography to the hard and precise lighting to the variety of different and constantly-interesting color palettes.
The exquisite and warm production design brings 1998 Macau - a Portuguese colony in Southeast China about an hour away from Hong Kong - to life. It allows Cheng Siu-Keung - To's reliable and excellent DP - to design shadows and balance the dark atmosphere with evocative lighting setups in order to consistently emphasize danger and insurmountability for the protagonists. Anthony Wong leads a great cast with his subtle and imposing presence, complemented by Francis Ng's staccato outbursts and feisty demeanor, and offset by Simon Yam's fun and villainous role as a Triad boss. To top it off, Canadian composer Guy Zerafa provides a score filled with stringy and metallic guitar riffs that intricately builds the tension and results for an even more stylized experience.
With actors who are suave, fitting, and flat-out cool, combined with the experienced technical team at Milky Way Images helping to realize the eloquent vision of their prolific director, EXILED is a fantastic action film where To's signature touch is unmistakable.
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Exiled is the kind of movie that represents what I love in the crime/drama genre. It has everything from phenomenal camera work, creative action sequences, and a fascinating story to tie it all up to make a memorable experience.
Exiled is about a friendship that is formed between… More
Exiled is the kind of movie that represents what I love in the crime/drama genre. It has everything from phenomenal camera work, creative action sequences, and a fascinating story to tie it all up to make a memorable experience.
Exiled is about a friendship that is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen, those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him. I found the story of Exiled to be very creative and well developed through out my experience. I got so invested into the story, it's characters, and it's world that I actually forgot I was watching a movie. As with any great movie telling a great story it needs a great visionary behind the camera to tell it, and that man is Johnnie To. Johnnie To is such a master of the camera in this movie that every shot of the movie is flawless and adds more to the experience. Every location this film takes place you is a visually stunning as with any movie directed by Johnnie To.
The violence in this movie is amazing. This has movie some of the best actions sequences I've ever seen captured on filmed. There exciting, have a purpose, and it looks like beautiful art in motion. The cast will be familiar for anyone who ever seen a Johnnie To movie in this genre, which works in favor for the film in my opinion. I have I've to praised to the actors who play the himtmen as they were able to balance being cold blooded killers and being caring human with such ease that they make the characters there playing all the more realistic.
Exiled is a movie in the crime/drama genre that gets everything. Exiled is a masterpiece in the genre that I would recommended anyone who's into this genre or not to check it out for themselves.
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[font=Century Gothic]In "Exiled," Wo(Nick Cheung) is a former gangster who has returned to his hometown of Macau with his new family. With his return, a price has been placed on his head by Boss Fay(Simon Yam) who is still sore about Wo trying to kill him which his old… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Exiled," Wo(Nick Cheung) is a former gangster who has returned to his hometown of Macau with his new family. With his return, a price has been placed on his head by Boss Fay(Simon Yam) who is still sore about Wo trying to kill him which his old comrades are hesitant to claim. Instead, they want to help Wo leave town and to do that, they need funds quickly. So, they go to Jeff(Cheung Siu Fai) who offers several possible jobs, the most appealing of which is the assassination of Boss Fay's rival, Boss Keung(Lam Ka Tung).[/font]
[font=Century Gothic]"Exiled" is a gloriously stylish crime thriller with a surprising amount of substance in its exploration of male friendship and destiny. Whereas Wo has a direction to his life, his old friends do not, even relying on the flip of a coin. As people who rely on violence everyday to perform their jobs, the gangsters may think they only have one fate before them but Wo feels differently, as he starts to think beyond himself and towards his family. But on more than one occasion, they step back from violence to talk things out. So, maybe there is a better way...[/font]
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Cool shootouts interrupt shrug of a plot.
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great typical Johnny To movie..hitmen...gunplay..and a quirky story....see all of his movies if you can find them (milkyway productions)
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After just watching this film, I can't think of a word to describe it. So I will make one up, scrumptulecent, this film was scrumptulecent!! I see the comparisons and why most say it is The Mission II, while it has the same premise of friendship, this movie does so much more. The… More
After just watching this film, I can't think of a word to describe it. So I will make one up, scrumptulecent, this film was scrumptulecent!! I see the comparisons and why most say it is The Mission II, while it has the same premise of friendship, this movie does so much more. The action is stylized with many memorable shoot out scenes, even the simple opening apartment one was amazing and that was just a short small one. But Exiled has a more emotional hit that The Mission didn't deliver. Well I should say, a more extreme emotional hit, The Mission did have one. This movie shows just how good of a director Johnny To is and that he has put everything he has learned into one complete package. I can't wait to see where he goes next, although he has put a hard task ahead of himself after this one.
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Johnnie To's gangster homage to Sergio Leone's westerns is a great example of why a lot of people love Asian cinema. From the quirky characters (Simon Lam's villain was a riot and Anthony Wong was excellent in one of his few "cool" roles), to the over-the-top… More
Johnnie To's gangster homage to Sergio Leone's westerns is a great example of why a lot of people love Asian cinema. From the quirky characters (Simon Lam's villain was a riot and Anthony Wong was excellent in one of his few "cool" roles), to the over-the-top action scenes, to the comedic moments amidst the chaos and the story of friendship and loyalty, this film has it all. I was actually certain this was going to get a North American theatrical release, and it still might possibly happen although it is possible that it won't click with Westerners the way John Woo's films did. However, this film has more humanity than most of the action films out of China and hopefully will be one day appreciated outside it's homeland.
Read all 13 featured audience ratings
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