Vengeance

Johnnie To's artistic style is beautifully displayed and brought to life in "Vengeance", from stand-offs, to shootouts with a myriad of automatic weapons and handguns-the bullet shells never stop hitting the ground. This stylish, revenge melodrama is one of Johnnie To's best, and is also his first English language film. The third part of an informal trilogy, with "The Mission" and "Exiled" being the previous installments sharing a number of noted cast members (Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Lam Suet) and locations. The films are primarily connected by themes involving brotherhood and loyalty; fatalism; and group dynamics. All three films also feature artistic, elaborate, over-the-top action sequences. In "Vengeance" an aging and retired French gangster, Costello (Johnny Hallyday), now working as a chef, travels to Hong Kong when his daughter, son in law, and two grandchildren are gunned down in a seemingly professional hit. Though badly injured, his daughter survives and begs her father to take vengeance upon the perpetrators. And so he sets out to do just that, even though he has no idea where to start in this unfamiliar country. Rather conveniently, he happens upon three professional hit men (led by the legendary Anthony Wong) who've just bumped off the unfaithful mistress of their boss. Tentatively, he approaches them and tells them of his needs. Hesitantly, and with little verbal communication, they take Costello up on his offer, which includes payment of cash and his restaurant in Paris. Once hired, he takes individual Polaroid photographs of each hit man and writes their names on each photo. Costello does this throughout his encounters, due to the fact that there is a bullet from days gone by lodged near his brain and causing the Frenchman rapid memory loss. He needs these photos so he knows his friends from his enemies and to never forget his daughter's tragedy. The film's plot serves the fabled Hong Kong director Johnnie To as an excuse to create arresting visual action set pieces with stunning results. Scenes like Costello wandering through the rain in confusion, trying to spot his targets by reminding himself with the Polaroids, look absolutely magnificent. Some of the major action set-pieces, especially one involving Anthony Wong, are positively stunning. But through all the gloom and doom, humour is not forgotten in "Vengeance", with some occasional tongue-in-cheek dialogue delivered completely deadpan by Yam and Wong in particular. Then there are other sequences, such as a shootout that takes place at a picnic area in the woods, where two groups of killers wait for a family picnic to finish. And as night to falls, the families depart and the shoot out **** cinematography is visually-striking, and plenty of style to spare. An exquisite, artistic blood bath.

‍ The French chef (perfectly cast: Johnny Hallyday) and former hitman, who is out to avenge his daughter and her family. ‍♂️ The three hitmen, not only with their hearts in the right place but also the most likable people in all of Macau. The gangster boss, always eating, and it’s plain to see he’s an absolute jerk. The falling leaves during a nighttime shootout in the park, the poetically drifting trash during a gunfight at a landfill. The gentle, sparsely used guitar riffs, kicking in whenever the action or emotions reach their peak. ️ The ultra-cool cinematography that can’t get enough of reflections and tough guys in coats, hats, and sunglasses. All these ingredients and more should make Vengeance the perfect revenge film in the world of Heroic Bloodshed. And it comes frustratingly close so often. But then it leans a bit too much into the silly (bullet in the head/memory loss) and drags a bit towards the end. The final shootout is simultaneously brilliant and utterly ridiculous. ️ Overall, though, I really enjoyed watching it. Definitely worth a watch if you’re into old-school Hong Kong crime films. In its best moments, I was reminded of John Woo (not least because I’m convinced it was shot on the same beach as The Killer).