cityonfire.com | The Most Wanted

	The Most Wanted "...there are a few decent shoot outs, despite Robin Chou using his magical +2 AK-47 of Aiming with a Banana Clip of Infinite Holding." - Equinox21 The Most Wanted (1994) Director: Wong Gam Din (Wong Kam Tin) Cast: Lau Ching Wan, Kent Cheng (Jak Si), Bowie Lam (Bo Yi), Eileen Tung Oi-Ling, Robin Shou Running Time: 90 min. Plot: When an idealistic undercover rookie cop (Lau Ching Wan) gets double-crossed in a sting operation, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law--and on the run from his police colleagues. Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com Reviews EQUINOX21'S REVIEW: I love old-school Hong Kong crime dramas. I also love old-school Lau Ching-Wan movies. So putting them together makes me a happy camper. The Most Wanted was far from perfect, and the DVD quality was utter crap (but I challenge you to find a better copy out there for sale), but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Cat (Lau Ching-Wan) is an undercover cop who, with the help of his criminal friend Sap (Bowie Lam), joins a gang headed by a rather vicious and mulleted Robin Shou. The robbery (that Cat alerted his police contact to) doesn’t go well, and eventually Cat is framed for it and listed as one of HK’s most wanted criminals. Tracking him is Detective “Fatty” (Kent Cheng, the rather robust Detective Hung from Crime Story), a character I didn’t like (probably because of the actor playing him) until the end, when I realized he wasn’t really the bastard he appeared to be. Along the way, Cat also receives help from Lily (Eileen Tung), an illegal immigrant from the Mainland. The plot’s nowhere near flawless, nor entirely original, but it’s still fairly well executed. The Most Wanted felt like an older movie than it really was because of the low budget look to it. This isn’t to say that’s a bad thing, because the movie focuses on a character that is undercover as a small time criminal trying to crack a larger criminal case. So, this is a very street level movie as opposed to a larger, massive shoot out style crime movie (even though there are a few decent shoot outs, despite Robin Chou using his magical +2 AK-47 of Aiming with a Banana Clip of Infinite Holding). I also quite enjoyed the character of Cat and his imperfection. He wasn’t a perfect cop (nor were any of the characters; police, criminal or other), but he was framed by the police unjustly. Overall, I’d say I really enjoyed Most Wanted, but would have gotten lots more out of it had the DVD not been such rubbish. I sincerely hope this ends up as one of Mei Ah’s remastered discs so that it can get a proper transfer. If it doesn’t, this one will stay largely unremembered and ignored, which is a minor tragedy. EQUINOX21'S RATING: 7.5/10

The Most Wanted

"...there are a few decent shoot outs, despite Robin Chou using his magical +2 AK-47 of Aiming with a Banana Clip of Infinite Holding."

- Equinox21

The Most Wanted (1994)

Director: Wong Gam Din (Wong Kam Tin)

Cast: Lau Ching Wan, Kent Cheng (Jak Si), Bowie Lam (Bo Yi), Eileen Tung Oi-Ling, Robin Shou

Running Time: 90 min.

Plot: When an idealistic undercover rookie cop (Lau Ching Wan) gets double-crossed in a sting operation, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law--and on the run from his police colleagues.

Availability: This title is available at HKflix.com

Reviews

EQUINOX21'S REVIEW: I love old-school Hong Kong crime dramas. I also love old-school Lau Ching-Wan movies. So putting them together makes me a happy camper. The Most Wanted was far from perfect, and the DVD quality was utter crap (but I challenge you to find a better copy out there for sale), but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Cat (Lau Ching-Wan) is an undercover cop who, with the help of his criminal friend Sap (Bowie Lam), joins a gang headed by a rather vicious and mulleted Robin Shou. The robbery (that Cat alerted his police contact to) doesn’t go well, and eventually Cat is framed for it and listed as one of HK’s most wanted criminals. Tracking him is Detective “Fatty” (Kent Cheng, the rather robust Detective Hung from Crime Story), a character I didn’t like (probably because of the actor playing him) until the end, when I realized he wasn’t really the bastard he appeared to be. Along the way, Cat also receives help from Lily (Eileen Tung), an illegal immigrant from the Mainland. The plot’s nowhere near flawless, nor entirely original, but it’s still fairly well executed.

The Most Wanted felt like an older movie than it really was because of the low budget look to it. This isn’t to say that’s a bad thing, because the movie focuses on a character that is undercover as a small time criminal trying to crack a larger criminal case. So, this is a very street level movie as opposed to a larger, massive shoot out style crime movie (even though there are a few decent shoot outs, despite Robin Chou using his magical +2 AK-47 of Aiming with a Banana Clip of Infinite Holding). I also quite enjoyed the character of Cat and his imperfection. He wasn’t a perfect cop (nor were any of the characters; police, criminal or other), but he was framed by the police unjustly.

Overall, I’d say I really enjoyed Most Wanted, but would have gotten lots more out of it had the DVD not been such rubbish. I sincerely hope this ends up as one of Mei Ah’s remastered discs so that it can get a proper transfer. If it doesn’t, this one will stay largely unremembered and ignored, which is a minor tragedy.

EQUINOX21'S RATING: 7.5/10