Lat sau san taam (Hard-Boiled) (1992)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cynthia S

  
  Ok. It's official. I am just not a John Woo fan.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God."</i> A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God."</i> A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> A maverick Hong Kong detective is on the trail of some gun-running Triads, and gets mixed up with a dangerously unstable undercover cop who has infiltrated the mobsters. This is a love-it-or-loathe-it type of picture. Whilst the plot may be a little thin and the visuals occasionally veer wildly into pretension, this is undoubtedly the most stylish bullet-festival ever committed to celluloid. It has three stunning set-pieces; a shootout in a dim-sum restaurant, a shootout in a warehouse and an, er, shootout in a hospital. The hospital sequence, which lasts nearly an hour, is simply an amazing piece of action choreography, which tops anything done before or since. In one single two-and-a-half-minute tracking shot alone, Yun-Fat and Leung race down endless corridors, take a ride in an elevator, waste twenty-eight different bad guys along the way and act out a dramatic scene whilst doing it, stunning. Woo (who has an unbilled bit as a bartender) has an incredible eye for action, aided by top-notch stuntwork from Kwok, who also plays the aptly-named chief henchman, Mad Dog. Wang Wing-Heng's zippy, fluid camera-work and the groovy keyboard score by Michael Gibbs round off the perfect Cantonese gangster movie. Somehow, amid all the chaos, Yun-Fat and particularly Leung manage to lend some dramatic pathos to their roles. It's asking a lot of an actor, surrounded by villainous henchman in a burning hospital, to hold a shotgun in one hand and a baby in the other and sing it a rap lullaby, but Yun-Fat pulls it off!

• Al S

  
  One of the greatest action movies ever made. Stylish, pulse-pounding, unstoppable and unforgettable. Director, John Woo's action movie masterpiece. A bullet riddled classic. The action sequences are spectacular. The action is explosive, wild, outrageous and energetic. Chow… More
  One of the greatest action movies ever made. Stylish, pulse-pounding, unstoppable and unforgettable. Director, John Woo's action movie masterpiece. A bullet riddled classic. The action sequences are spectacular. The action is explosive, wild, outrageous and energetic. Chow Yun-fat is one of the greatest action movie hero's of all time. He plays with bullets as if they were candy. Tony Leung gives a breakout performance. An awesome adrenaline rush from start to finish.

• Chris W

  
  At the time of its release, this was John Woo's final Hong Kong film before making the move to Hollywood. He has since returned to the East within in the past couple of years, but that still doesn't diminish the fact that this was one doozy of a farewell, and just an… More
  At the time of its release, this was John Woo's final Hong Kong film before making the move to Hollywood. He has since returned to the East within in the past couple of years, but that still doesn't diminish the fact that this was one doozy of a farewell, and just an incredible action film period. The level of action rivals that of Woo's masterpiece The Killer, but this film might be a bit more ballsy and intense...and that's really saying something. What's keeping it from a full 5 though is that the story is not as strong and a little hard to follow at times, (it's kind of inconsequential anyways) and it doesn't have quite the emotional weight that makes the action and mayhem have greater resonance. The casting is decent and the performances are also not bad, but seem slightly lacking...maybe the thin plot has something to do with that? I mean, we do care about the characters, but maybe not as much as we should. There's some amazing action setpieces, and, even though this is hard for me to say, I think my favorite might be the long take sequence during one of the many shootouts in the hospital. Many films and basically every first person shooter video game released since 1992 owe a great deal to this film, and, though it is slightly flawed, it is still one of the greatest orchestrated bullet fests in the history of cinema.

• Cassandra M

  
  Hey!" Chow Yun Fat says, covering a baby's eyes. "X-Rated action!" He's not wrong: Hard Boiled is a film clearly not afraid to embrace its genre's excesses. While most modern action films (Smokin' Aces for one) aspire to some sort of grand… More
  Hey!" Chow Yun Fat says, covering a baby's eyes. "X-Rated action!" He's not wrong: Hard Boiled is a film clearly not afraid to embrace its genre's excesses. While most modern action films (Smokin' Aces for one) aspire to some sort of grand intelligence while providing shoot-outs and explosions, this film is a reminder of times when action films suffered no such pretensions. Crowds of people are gunned down without explanation and the smallest things explode for little or no reason. The bad guys are massively exaggerated cutthroat caricatures and the good guys never miss. Scenes of Fat and Leung running down corridors are inexplicably shot in slow motion. And, for all of these reasons, it is amazing. It's fast, it's exciting, and it never lets up. Hard Boiled is loud, exciting, and thanks to quite terrible dubbing and a ludicrous early 90's soundtrack, often unintentionally hilarious. It is a film that places entertainment firmly ahead of plausibility and logic, and is quite frankly awesome for it.

• danny d

  
  some of the best action sequences ever filmed and a healthy balance of drama and action make this a highly effective movie despite being extremely stereotypical. if you want to check out mentally and enjoy yourself there is almost no better film out there. chow yun fat and tony… More
  some of the best action sequences ever filmed and a healthy balance of drama and action make this a highly effective movie despite being extremely stereotypical. if you want to check out mentally and enjoy yourself there is almost no better film out there. chow yun fat and tony leung work well together and the film transcends its absurd moments with artistic flare.

• KJ P

  
  Every bit of this movie was entertaining. From start to finish, my heart was racing! I love this film. Sure there were a few scenes that would gross out a few people, and make them shut the movie off, but that's just other people. My opinion is what counts for me, and I thought… More
  Every bit of this movie was entertaining. From start to finish, my heart was racing! I love this film. Sure there were a few scenes that would gross out a few people, and make them shut the movie off, but that's just other people. My opinion is what counts for me, and I thought this movie was executioned well!

• Lewis C

  
  It's simple. If you like action movies AT ALL, then you should watch Hard-Boiled. It's two hours of stylish mayhem, wrapped around a serviceable story. The gunplay and stunts really are remarkable. Shotgun blasts explode like rockets. No one gets shot only once, usually… More
  It's simple. If you like action movies AT ALL, then you should watch Hard-Boiled. It's two hours of stylish mayhem, wrapped around a serviceable story. The gunplay and stunts really are remarkable. Shotgun blasts explode like rockets. No one gets shot only once, usually it's 8 or more times. Slo-motion is used in such a cool way, that it makes the very idea of it fresh again. Don't let the subtitles keep you from this action classic.

• Anthony L

  
  This is the only Woo film I like but that?s mainly due to Chow Yun-Fat?s performance!

• xGary X

  
  A renegade cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring down a gun runner with a massive arms cache hidden in a local hospital. John Woo is pretty useless when it comes to anything but action, so it comes as little surprise that his best film by far includes very little else. And… More
  A renegade cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring down a gun runner with a massive arms cache hidden in a local hospital. John Woo is pretty useless when it comes to anything but action, so it comes as little surprise that his best film by far includes very little else. And action it has in spades! The now familiar tough guy cop clad in sunglasses and duster coat, leaping through the air in slow motion, twin pistols blazing has now passed into cliche territory, but Woo invented it. Woo's artistic take on action influenced everyone from James Cameron to the Wachowski brothers and Robert Rodriguez would probably be gainfully employed behind the counter of the nearest Taco Bell without this film. The action is non-stop and absurdly over the top, and if it weren't it wouldn't have worked half as well. It's an exploitation flick cunningly disguised as a cop thriller, and the combination of brilliantly choreographed violence (the extended takes of the hospital shoot out in particular) and super-cool leads makes for an unpretentious, action packed blast. The birth of the modern action movie.

• Derek D

  
  Every bit as mind-blowing as what it was hyped up to be. John Woo is the Michael Bay of the east, except Woo is actually a great director who knows how to blow shit up and kill people with style and substance. This movie starts and just keeps going, then stops just long enough to reel… More
  Every bit as mind-blowing as what it was hyped up to be. John Woo is the Michael Bay of the east, except Woo is actually a great director who knows how to blow shit up and kill people with style and substance. This movie starts and just keeps going, then stops just long enough to reel you back in and then it starts all over again. If you only see one more action movie in your life, watch this one. Chow Yun Fat is amazing as well.

• Tsubaki S

  
  The end of an era in HK cinema. Many have tried to replicate what Woo accomplished with the action scenes, and to date, nobody has even come close to produce the same effect.

• Tim S

  
  I'm completely blown away. One of the best, if not the best, pure action movies I've seen in a very long time.

• Khris N

  
  One of the best bloody shoot em ups ever made. John Woo's final HK film before moving to Hollywood is rated in nearly every top 10 list of action movies. Its easy to see why most of Woo's Hollywood projects seem very tame after watching his HK flicks... and his golden boy,… More
  One of the best bloody shoot em ups ever made. John Woo's final HK film before moving to Hollywood is rated in nearly every top 10 list of action movies. Its easy to see why most of Woo's Hollywood projects seem very tame after watching his HK flicks... and his golden boy, Chow Yun Fat is the best at what he does. With Style and vengeance.<br/><br/><br/>But behind this all out warzone of a flick is a good story and issues of the fine line between good cop and bad cop, paired by Fat and Tony Leung. After Detective Tequila witnesses his partner being killed, he starts an all out war with the smuggling ring and gangsters responsible for the death.. until he realises that one of them is an undercover agent, tasked with finding out the location of a secret arms cache. <br/><br/>This movie is divided into these parts: The tea house shoot-out, the warehouse war, the dock shoot-out and the final Hospital Armageddon. All throughout is Woo's trademark action scenes, all original and all copied by others. XD <br/><br/>It great to see the gun ballet at its best, and the violence is very convincing... as well as the hospital paitents dilemma and the babies taken hostage!!<br/><br/>Its been a long while since I got my own copy of this... and any true action lover wont certaintly give this a miss if they know whats good for them!!

• Michael S

  
  *On my "best of the 1990s" list.

• Lady D

  
  Very disappointed with this film because I feel I missed something. From all the reviews I've read I was sure I'd really like it, but to me it just seemed like a record attempt for the world's longest gun fight in cinema history

• Justin Y

  
  I've seen a few good John Woo films and I've seen some so-so John Woo films. This is a ... good John Woo film. You can really see where the <i>Stranglehold</i> video game came from. This film is action, action, action, action, and of course,… More
  I've seen a few good John Woo films and I've seen some so-so John Woo films. This is a ... good John Woo film. You can really see where the <i>Stranglehold</i> video game came from. This film is action, action, action, action, and of course, action.</p><p>The beginning of this film starts out with a bang and pretty much gives you a little taste of what is to come for the next 120 minutes. I honestly lost track of the bullet count after the first few minutes of this film, where it has to be in the hundreds. With all this talk of action, you are probably thinking that there is no story. Well, this isn't Woo's greatest story, but it isn't his worst either. In fact, this is one of his better ones. The usual cop-gangster concept plays nicely into this world of Woo. The film moves at a fast pace as well and with all the shootings going around you can honestly tell why. With the fast-pace the two main characters, Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung, surprisingly get enough build up, to make the ending even more enjoyable. Speaking of the ending, let me just say baaaaaaaaaaaaang!</p><p>The acting is good. Chow Yun Fat puts on a <i>City on Fire</i> type of performance, which shows he is more than an action star. Anthony Wong does a decent job as the villain, but I've seen him in better roles. It is also funny to see John Woo himself play a character called Mr. Woo.</p><p>If you are looking for an adrenaline filled night, look no further than <i>Hard Boiled</i>. How can you go wrong with a film that sprays more bullets than the worlds population, has a body count greater than the sh***yness of <i>Blood of the Samurai</i>, and an ending action sequence longer then James Cameron's <i>Titanic</i>?

• Tim S

  
  Great action movie with a shootout that is hard to top.

• Ken S

  
  A Sam PeckinpAsain ridiculous action film!!

• Aaron N

  
  Superintendant Pang: Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God. John Woo's last Hong Kong action flick before coming over to America. Here he teams once again with Chow Yun-Fat to make an action extravaganza. There is very little… More
  Superintendant Pang: Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God. John Woo's last Hong Kong action flick before coming over to America. Here he teams once again with Chow Yun-Fat to make an action extravaganza. There is very little downtime in this film. There's action, more action, and once we settle down a bit, there is an extended climatic shootout that lasts over half an hour. All the tricks in the book are pulled out to show off how good Woo is at making action flicks. He employs all his classic techniques, including the heavy use of slow motion, characters sliding on various objects, and the John Woo code of no one reloading, except when the plot requires it. Speaking of plot, despite all of the action, there is one. Chow Yun-Fat is Tequila, a hard boiled cop, who doesn't take anyone's shit. Tony Leung also stars as a rising gangster in the Triads. They eventually have to team up to uncover a gun runner's operation. These two leads are very likeable, and their charisma adds to us wanting to see them continue to do sweet looking rolls and jumps through the air while holding two guns. With debris flying everywhere, gun shots every few minutes at most, explosions, some jazz thrown in, and the coolness of Chow Yun-Fat, we have a great action flick. Tequila: What's with all these paper cranes? You bored? Maybe you feel lonely here? Alan: You know, I've always hated making cranes. I make one each time I kill somebody. How about it, shall I make you one? Tequila: No thanks. And if you'll get killed, who'll make yours?

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