Chungking Express

Chungking Express ravishingly, seductively exudes the immediacy of everyday life as its spins its classically timeless tales of love lost and almost regained.

The performances here are irresistible, thrilling in their invention and spontaneity, as is the mind-blowing, urgent cinematography of frequent Wong collaborator Christopher Doyle, which makes the most of Hong Kong's neon-drenched streets and cramped interior spaces.

This is filmmaking of high energy and wit. What it adds up to is debatable. You can view it as a bright twist on the being-a-cop-is-lonely sort of police picture, or as a mini-anthology of quirky not-quite-love stories. If it's hard to say where Chungking Express arrives, the trip is still exhilarating.

Despite its fragmentary, seat-of-the-pants plot, Chungking Express abounds with staccato style and frenetic charm. It's the cinematic equivalent of popcorn on a hot stove. There are "jump-cut" shots, freeze frames, stirring (and often beautiful) images and a general sense of boundless energy, all of which capture perfectly the Zeitgeist of Hong Kong society. [15 Mar 1996, p.N43]

A lyrical and delightfully goofy study in romantic longing.

Overall, Wong’s movie doesn’t leave as big a wash behind it as the more ambitious “Days” and his “Mean Streets”-like debut, “As Tears Go By,” but it’s an enjoyable cruise.

For all Wong's energy and virtuosity, the relentless stylishness and whimsicality of Chungking Express become irritating. The cast is appealing -- particularly the forlorn young cops. But the velocity of Wong's attack seems out of proportion to the airy, lightweight quality of the stories.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

this is my 5th favorite movie ever made most movies about love i find boring however the direction utilised from the story exuming the idea of lonelyness in love

It was okay. I didn't like the main couple very much but enjoyed the first half of the movie with He Zhiwu a lot. The main girl, Faye, was just very annoying and in my opinion if I was cop 633, I would not have done what he did. Also, the cop was kind of bland as a character in comparison to He Zhiwu. In addition, some parts in the movie just didn't make any sense to me and were very confusing. Overall, I would give it a 6.5/10

I didnt see any sense in this movie: The story is weird, starts criminal and evolves to have stupid love story with weird and boring characters. The California song gets annoying after some time.

Je l'avais vu il y a longtemps et j'avais trouvé ça cucul et concon... Avec le temps, en vérité ça ne s'est pas arrangé et ce Chungking sonne bien creux et encore plus bidon qu'auparavant, ses défauts nous sautant au visage de façon extrêmement flagrante... Surtout que seule la moitié du film est regardable, à savoir la seconde histoire... La première histoire se borne à nous faire suivre la Miss "lunettes de soleil" qui tire la gueule et trafique de la poudre avec des immigrés indiens avant de se faire elle-même poursuivre par un jeune premier qu'on met un certain temps à reconnaître... le plus chinois des acteurs japonais, Takeshi Kaneshiro ! c'était encore un débutant à l'époque. La seconde histoire voit un flic incarné par l'excellent et déjà connu Tony Leung, poursuivi à l'insu de son ignorance par l'employée d'une gargotte qui n'écoute que de la musique de merde. Cette musique pourrie est d'ailleurs répétée à l'envi et quasiment en boucle et vrille bien les nerfs comme il faut... comme un leitmotiv romanesque d'une lourdeur sans commune mesure. Si ce jeu du chat et de la souris est déjà nettement plus mignon -certains diront poétique ?- vu que le flic déconvenu et plaqué par son hôtesse de l'air parle aux objets- il n'en reste pas moins pataud et trop chiant pour espérer convaincre. Finalement, on a donc une moitié de film totalement ratée et une autre très nunuche qui nous les casse. Quel échec !