Hit Team
Reviewed by YTSL
Good people can do not-so-good things for the
benefit of those who they care for, respect or both, whereas bad people do
bad things just to enrich themselves. These seem to be the messages
of this Dante Lam helmed -- plus co-produced, along with Joe Cheung (who served
as well as the 2001 film’s firearms consultant), and stunt co-ordinated --
effort. Along with a heavily stressed theme of people -- particularly
those of the male gender -- needing to bear and honor the responsibility to
others that they invariably possess, they also appear to be the principles
which underlie the multi-part story concocted by Clarence Lee and Jack Ng,
this heavy-on-the-testosterone-as-well-as-action movie’s scriptwriters.
Although its title may make it appear to be otherwise,
HIT TEAM involves not one but three sets of substantially plus formidably
armed units, and culminates in a bullet-filled showdown between two of them
that also involves at least one member of the third group which follows a
similarly well-choreographed and -staged shoot-out involving a slightly different
ensemble of individuals. The first of these that we see in action is
that which is headed by Alex To’s Don character and also consists of an SDU
officer called King (who is played by Tony Ho) along with a couple of other
guys named Fai and Kee. This somewhat ad hoc unit was effectively called
into service by the serious wounding of an undercover police officer friend
of theirs named Ho (who is essayed by Chin Kar Lok) in a gun battle that
starts and is over before the movie passes the 5 minute mark.
Targeting the underworld’s “underground bank” that Ho was involved in investigating
when he got so badly hurt that he now suffers from a condition referred to
in the English subtitles as “hemiplegia” and needs to go to Switzerland for
treatment that costs HK$2 million, the quartet -- that is made up of three
recently resigned plus one still serving policemen -- carry out a risky illegal
operation that ended up not only failing to yield the amount of money they
sought as well as costing the lives of five men (despite their plan having
been to not hurt anybody) but also caused them to attract the serious attention
of people on both sides of the law. Rather than cut their losses and
abandon their unorthodox fund-raising efforts though, they proceed to plan
a second heist that would deprive the criminal world of some more of its
ill-gotten gains.
More than incidentally, it’s indeed one of the more problematic points of
HIT TEAM that those who had been taught to uphold the law would be so willing
to break it -- as well as sacrifice the lives of others along with their
own -- so that an admittedly close buddy of theirs, who they further believe
has been made a scapegoat by higher-ups in the police force, can have a chance
to walk again. While it’s no where as unorthodox in style as Dante
Lam’s previous “Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone”, there are signs here and
there within it that those who produced this work are more comfortable when
not toeing establishing lines.
For one thing, in a more conventional film, more screen-time would be devoted
to the most clear cut “good guys” of the piece: The E team of the elite
Central Intelligence Bureau sent to hunt down Don and co. that is under the
leadership of Inspector Chung Chau (who Daniel Wu efficiently portrays) and
also comprises a gung-ho female replacement for a recently killed comrade
(Jane Chan is played with quiet purpose by Jo Kuk), easy-going Sam (who comes
in the form of Samuel Pang) and the more intense B.J.. However sketchily
drawn though, this top group’s personalities still are more apparent and
distinct than those of the criminal hit squad brought together and commanded
by the villainous Brother Joe (Joe Lee is by far the oldest of the individuals
with an active part to play in HIT TEAM’s proceedings). Enough information
is also provided to make the (re)viewer realize that more than one member
of this outwardly cool and straight-arrow looking special police unit is
plagued with the sort of inner demons that have the potential to wreck havoc
on their judgement at times when this really should not be the case.
Still, this is not to say that I don’t wish that more time had been spent
on fleshing out this packed movie’s unexpectedly many major along with minor
characters. Among those that could lay the most valid claims to having
been given the shortest shrift are the significant others of team leaders
Don and Inspector Chung. Alternatively, I saw little reason why they
needed to be in this work at all. As it stands (albeit through no fault
of those who had the thankless job of portraying them), I feel that the scenes
involving Ruby Wong’s character (that of Don’s female friend) and the woman
who was Inspector Chung’s companion at the beach (I’m assuming that Monica
was played by Monica Lo) did not add much at all to HIT TEAM’s story, and
may well have been the weakest parts of this generally respectable and somewhat
different-from-the-norm -- yet not particularly memorable -- offering.
My rating for the film: 6.