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Lat sau san taam (1992)

Rate: 3
Viewed: 8/15

Boiled
8/15: I saw Dip huet seung hung (The Killer) twice the past year and was left duly impressed each time.

Hence, I followed it up with Lat sau san taam which is better known as Hard Boiled. Both of them can't be more opposite in action, style, quality, plot, body count, acting, pace, and, most of all, comprehension.

The amount of violence is so excessive that I can't help laugh and roll my eyes. Instead of two dead bodies per five minutes, it feels like twenty-five per minute which is too much for a two-hour flick. The actual body count turned out to be 307 which must have been an all-time record for a 20th century film.

One critic described the Hong Kong picture: "More exciting than a dozen Die Hards." Imagine doing the same thing in John McTiernan's classic, it'll have lost so much. I've got no idea what the story is about; all I see are random Asians coming out of nowhere before being shot as if it's the most beautiful way to die. I guess it's something they've practiced all their lives.

I don't think any of the characters reloaded their guns. If they did, then the only way to keep up was to be near an arsenal. Anyway, Lat sau san taam would be the last Hong Kong picture for John Woo because the audience got bored of his stuff. So, he packed up his bags and left for Hollywood. The result of the transition has been markedly poor because the American pictures that he directed are nothing like what he did.

All in all, Lat sau san taam is made for people who don't know when enough is enough.