First Option
Reviewed by YTSL
People who think that Michael Fitzgerald Wong
is the worst actor in Hong Kong films need to check out this heavy-on-the-testosterone
action offering. This is not to say that I believe that he deserved
the HKFA Best Actor nomination he garnered for his star turn as a muscular
Special Duty Unit (SDU) commander named Don Wong. Rather, what I am
seeking to point out here is that there actually are far worse acting performances
on display -- and individuals with way less screen presence -- in that which
is a loose sequel to another SDU focused movie starring Michael Wong entitled
“Final Option”.
Little evidence exists either in FIRST OPTION that the 1996 offering’s scriptwriters
(Chan Hing-Kai and director Gordon Chan) produced work that’s of the highest
caliber. This is particularly so when one beholds the English language
dialogue they “crafted” for more than just its Asian-American lead -- who
really ought to be more fluent in Cantonese after having lived and worked
in Hong Kong for as many years as he has -- to utter. Perhaps no where
in the film is it more apparent than when a couple of Yoda’s lines are borrowed
from “The Empire Strikes Back” for the movie’s main man to apparently seriously
quote. The lack of depth of many of this effort’s characters gives
further testimony of the script’s weakness. Ditto re what plot there
is -- which centers on the collaborative effort(s) by different special police
sections and a group of Customs Department agents to carry out a major drug
bust and prevent a huge U.S.A. bound shipment of Golden Triangle narcotics
from leaving Hong Kong -- containing quite a few glaring holes.
Despite all this, the truth of the matter is that I found FIRST OPTION to
constitute quite enthralling as well as entertaining viewing; so much so
that I was quite happy for the most part to overlook quite a few of the film’s
weaknesses. Actually, the fact of the bulk of the enjoyable movie’s
characters being no more than ciphers contributed enormously to making the
lengthy climactic battle and other skirmishes in which many of them were
involved suspenseful and thrilling since the combatants’ chances of survival
were less predictable than they would have been if their personalities had
been more clearly -- and conventionally -- fashioned. Alternatively
put: The tension was considerably heightened by there being a very
strong possibility that quite a few of the assembled team of law enforcers
-- as opposed to just the criminals -- in this effort were really only around
to ensure that there would be an impressively high body count accrued in
each of the often bombastic work’s well-staged military-type action operations
(Although Don Wong states at one point about his squad that “We are part
of the police force. We are not soldiers”, their style and tactics
seem closer to those of US Navy SEALs and comparable elite troops than any
other group of constabulary depicted in most other Hong Kong productions).
Another aspect of FIRST OPTION appreciated by this female (re)viewer was
the unHollywood-like treatment of -- as well as part played by -- Gigi Leung’s
Inspector Minnie Kwan character. Although the gangly actress and the
very raw looking Customs Department official she essayed initially looked
terribly out of place in that which a HKMDB reviewer has suggested may be
“the ultimate guy movie”, the manner in which they manage to come up tops
in the end was very satisfying to me. With regards to two other parts
played by women in this generally gung ho effort, I (also) was gratified:
That the gender of Lee Fung’s senior police officer Katie Ngan was apparently
considered as unremarkable as that of the high(er) ranking colleague of hers
played by Damian Lau; and to see the lass disparagingly referred to as a
“China doll” by the film’s chief villain have a role in tracking him down
and consequently ensuring his appropriate fate.
For those Hong Kong movie fans who could care less about such matters, FIRST
OPTION probably will alternately appeal by way of the amount and type of
firepower on display in a film that pits some dedicated lawmen and -women
against a group of expertly-trained -- and heavily-armed -- American military
personnel turned drug traffickers. Suffice to say re this element of
the well shot -- pun not particularly intended... -- offering that action
director Bruce Law sure used the generous amount of large explosives, squibs,
ammunition and other tools of his trade at his disposal to put up a good
and exciting show.
My rating for this film: 7.