Language: Cantonese w/ Chinese and English subtitles
Genre: Action
JMF - The third in Gordon Chan's series on law enforcement squads in Hong Kong. This one starts out focussing on the SB
(Special Branch) led by Anthony Wong that is a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE type squad of elite police. Like THE FINAL
OPTION, we see much of the members home life, especially that of team member Julian Cheung, and the strain the job causes
on his relationship with his girlfriend Carman Lee, who has just moved in with him. When tragedy strikes the team, the S.B. unit
is disbanded and the members try out for the G4 branch, who turn out to be sort of like the secret service. Not only is Julian's
relationship in trouble, but he is involved in a love triangle at work where colleague Monica Chan adores him, and his other
colleague adores her. Everything comes to a head a big finale. The script for this movie is a much more solid effort from Chan
Hing-Kai than what he did with FIRST OPTION. The character development is deeper and the speculation on what drives a
policeman is not as silly as it was in the previous film. Michael Wong makes a thankfully brief appearance playing essentially the
same character. The two main drawbacks of the film are the sudden change in focus from the SB to the G4, and the somewhat
lacking acting skills of Julian Cheung. He comes across as just a plastic victim, never taking charge of his life or seeming sure of
what he's doing. I certainly don't buy him as an elite law enforcement agent. But at this point, I'm just happy not to see a repeat
of the FIRST OPTION disaster.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO A SHORT REVIEW FOR THIS MOVIE? IF SO, PLEASE E-MAIL me.