While the once-great Hong Kong film industry struggles to find its place in the world, Hong Kong master Johnnie To continues to direct and produce with vigour and energy. To's prolific body of work proves he is much more than just an action director, and Vengeance provides a perfect entry point for anyone curious to experience To's unique visual aesthetic for the first time. As a choreographer of bullet ballets, To crafts human melodramas that deal with themes of family and changing social environments against the backdrop of the Hong Kong underworld.
In a Hong Kong hospital, a French woman lies in critical condition after a gangland hit that killed her Chinese husband and two small children. Her father Costello (Johnny Hallyday) arrives from France and is immediately warned by police not to get involved, even as his daughter wordlessly pleads for his help. A stranger in a strange land and plagued by a failing memory, Costello sits stunned in his hotel room, scrawling the word “vengeance” over the bloody crime scene photos of his daughter's family. He soon crosses paths with three professional killers (To regulars Anthony Wong, Lam Suet and Lam Ka Tung) who work for the crass and flamboyant mob boss Fung (Simon Yam), and asks them to help avenge his family. But as the men get to know their new client, they learn that his past may not be as innocent as they had assumed. As Costello's memory problems worsen, the question becomes: what is the meaning of vengeance when you no longer remember either those who have wronged you or those you have lost?
Arresting action sequences on spectacular sets – a shootout that plays out against a nighttime family picnic, a battle in a dump site filled with square bales of compressed paper – punctuate this revenge epic with To's signature choreographed gunplay. With his debonair yet rugged good looks and piercing, pale eyes, Hallyday, a pop icon who has sold over 100 million records during his decades-long career and is considered by some to be the French Elvis Presley, adds pathos and depth to the enigmatic Costello. To and his long-time collaborators, writer Wai Ka Fai (of Mad Detective and Fulltime Killer) and cinematographer Cheng Siu Keung (of Exiled and Election 1 & 2), have created a moody, noirish tour de force.
Colin Geddes
Johnnie To was born in Hong Kong. He has directed and produced over forty films. He founded a production company in 1996 in partnership with frequent collaborator Wai Ka Fai. His many directing credits include
All About Ah-Long (89),
The Heroic Trio (93),
Loving You (95),
Fulltime Killer (01, co-director)
PTU (03),
Breaking News (04),
Throw Down (04),
Election (05),
Election 2 (06),
Exiled (06),
Mad Detective (07, co-director),
Sparrow (08) and
Vengeance (09).