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	Final Justice "It destroyed any positive feelings you had for the characters, and took any reasonably good feelings you had for the movie itself and curb-stomped them." - Equinox21 Final Justice (1996) Director: Derek Chiu Sung-Kei Producer: Johnnie To Kei-Fung Cast: Lau Ching-Wan, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung, Almen Wong Pui-Ha, Peter Chan Lung, Wong Wa Wo Running Time: 105 min. Plot: Lee is a priest who is convicted of raping a young girl. Nobody believes that he is innocent, only two people are willing to help. One is a triad boss--he confesses to Lee after committing a crime. The other is Hung--who wants to get paid for her trouble. Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com Reviews EQUINOX21'S REVIEW: I wish I could get some “Final Justice” after watching the film of the same name. Final Justice is what you get when a good idea goes bad. The premise (a priest accused of rape) was ok, but the execution was so god-awful that it makes for a really lousy movie. The problems with Final Justice weren’t so much in the area of acting, and in fact, Lau Ching-wan was really amazing in this movie, even better than in other movies I’ve seen him in. The problem stemmed more from a lack of common sense. In a film made in 1996, there’s simply no reason that the entire plot should revolve around a rape trial, where it all boils down to his word vs. hers. Haven’t they ever heard of “physical evidence” in Hong Kong? The director (or screenwriter) simply tried too hard to make a dramatic court-room movie, and in the process neglected the intelligence of his audience. The acting really was one of the few good things in this movie. Lau Ching-wan was dead on and portrayed every emotion as realistically as I’ve ever seen on the screen. I didn’t even mind the completely over-the-top Eric Tsang, and to be honest, I prefer seeing him as an evil bastard (as he was in this and in Infernal Affairs) rather than a good guy (a la Gen-X Cops). Carmen Lee was ok, but didn’t show up until very near the end of the movie. The only stain on the acting front might have come from Almen Wong, who really played a stupid and vapid character. As it is, the actors all played their parts as well as they could have, and worked fairly well considering how little they were given. The absolute worst part of this movie was the epilogue narration that completely ruined any respect you might have had for the rest of the movie. When the movie was closing and the narration started, I was feeling ok about the movie I’d just seen, but once the credits actually started rolling I was practically livid. It destroyed any positive feelings you had for the characters, and took any reasonably good feelings you had for the movie itself and curb-stomped them. The only reason, and I do mean the only one, to watch this movie is for Lau Ching-wan’s performance. However, there are plenty of other movies that showcase his talents, that you shouldn’t waste your time with this one. Ultimately, I’ll get no final justice for my having watched Final Justice. The only justice at all is that the DVD only cost me $3. EQUINOX21'S RATING: 5/10

Final Justice

"It destroyed any positive feelings you had for the characters, and took any reasonably good feelings you had for the movie itself and curb-stomped them."

- Equinox21

Final Justice (1996)

Director: Derek Chiu Sung-Kei

Producer: Johnnie To Kei-Fung

Cast: Lau Ching-Wan, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung, Almen Wong Pui-Ha, Peter Chan Lung, Wong Wa Wo

Running Time: 105 min.

Plot: Lee is a priest who is convicted of raping a young girl. Nobody believes that he is innocent, only two people are willing to help. One is a triad boss--he confesses to Lee after committing a crime. The other is Hung--who wants to get paid for her trouble.

Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com

Reviews

EQUINOX21'S REVIEW: I wish I could get some “Final Justice” after watching the film of the same name. Final Justice is what you get when a good idea goes bad. The premise (a priest accused of rape) was ok, but the execution was so god-awful that it makes for a really lousy movie.

The problems with Final Justice weren’t so much in the area of acting, and in fact, Lau Ching-wan was really amazing in this movie, even better than in other movies I’ve seen him in. The problem stemmed more from a lack of common sense. In a film made in 1996, there’s simply no reason that the entire plot should revolve around a rape trial, where it all boils down to his word vs. hers. Haven’t they ever heard of “physical evidence” in Hong Kong? The director (or screenwriter) simply tried too hard to make a dramatic court-room movie, and in the process neglected the intelligence of his audience.

The acting really was one of the few good things in this movie. Lau Ching-wan was dead on and portrayed every emotion as realistically as I’ve ever seen on the screen. I didn’t even mind the completely over-the-top Eric Tsang, and to be honest, I prefer seeing him as an evil bastard (as he was in this and in Infernal Affairs) rather than a good guy (a la Gen-X Cops). Carmen Lee was ok, but didn’t show up until very near the end of the movie. The only stain on the acting front might have come from Almen Wong, who really played a stupid and vapid character. As it is, the actors all played their parts as well as they could have, and worked fairly well considering how little they were given.

The absolute worst part of this movie was the epilogue narration that completely ruined any respect you might have had for the rest of the movie. When the movie was closing and the narration started, I was feeling ok about the movie I’d just seen, but once the credits actually started rolling I was practically livid. It destroyed any positive feelings you had for the characters, and took any reasonably good feelings you had for the movie itself and curb-stomped them.

The only reason, and I do mean the only one, to watch this movie is for Lau Ching-wan’s performance. However, there are plenty of other movies that showcase his talents, that you shouldn’t waste your time with this one. Ultimately, I’ll get no final justice for my having watched Final Justice. The only justice at all is that the DVD only cost me $3.

EQUINOX21'S RATING: 5/10