Best of the Best
Director: Herman Yau
Year: 1992
Rating: 6.0
This 1992 Herman
Yau directed effort plays out like Romeo and Juliet on the bloody streets
of HK and Macao. For the most part it is pretty standard fare as it mixes
competent but uninspired action scenes among the predictable melodrama -
but some fine performances gives it some flair and makes it more involving
than it should have been.
Ng Man-Tat and Jacky Cheung have a father and son relationship whose gaping
rift goes back to a childhood incident when Ng accidentally killed Jacky's
older brother. At the time Ng was a cop with a strong dislike for his supervisor
Paul Chun Pui. Now twenty years later Jacky is a member of the elite S.D.U.,
Ng is a peacemaker in a hostess bar and Chun Pui has switched sides and is
now one of the top criminals in HK. The mamasan of Ng Man-Tat’s bar is Carrie
Ng and her friendship with Ng is nicely drawn out and one of the stronger
parts of the film.
A group of hostages are taken in a shopping mall and Jacky and his fellow
S.D.U. members rescue them - with Jacky saving the life of the lovely Sammi
Cheng (in her film debut). Needless to say, when two Canto-pop stars collide
- love blooms. Though I can't say Sammi gives the role any more depth than
is called for, her charming personality is very much in evidence. It turns
out – all too coincidentally - that she is the daughter of Chun Pui and both
parents warn their child to stay away from the other - Chun Pui a little
more forcefully than Ng Man-Tat. In fact, he threatens to cut off Jacky's
hand if he sees his daughter again. But kids will be kids and this leads
to the inevitable conflict.
It's really the acting from Ng Man-Tat that is interesting here. Though far
from restrained, he does a fine job of portraying a father tortured by the
death of one son and the distance between him and another. Though in a smaller
role than I would have liked, Carrie is in fine form as well and looks terrific.
