CAST: Leon Lai, Jordan Chan, Sam Lee, Shu Qui, Michelle Saram, Alex To and more.
DIRECTED BY: Wilson Yip
WRITTEN BY:Â Joe Ma
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0272822
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action
DURATION: 89 minutes
NOTE:Â Reviewed UNIVERSE DVD version with removable English subtitles (All Region)
Mac, a professional thief, shoots his partner who has killed his girlfriend in an operation. He is later caught and meets three then-small-time thieves in prison. They join together to become the best team of organized commercial thieves. During an operation to steal a cancer vaccine, they surprisingly find a pre-set bomb in the laboratory and figure out that it is a setup against them. A mysterious girl suddenly appears……
DVD EXTRAS:
*Â English/Chinese removable subtitles
*Â Synopsis and cast info. + 10 minute making of Skyline Cruisers
*Â Trailer for Skyline Cruisers, Marooned, Lavender, Summer Holiday and more.
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):Â None that I know of
DVD REVIEW:
I guess viewers may look at this as a HK version of “Mission Impossible” or a high-tech HK version of the A-TEAM. Regardless of what you compare it too, I have to say that the action scenes and the James Bond/Mission Impossible type of gadgetry is pretty awesome.
The movie is very similar to the style of 1997’s “Downtown Torpedoes” but technology sure makes a difference in this film. If anything, the technology is the eye-candy of this film.
The plot of the movie is similar to the films just mentioned. Team is given a certain amount of money to take on a mission. You have two hero’s and two computer hackers. The team led by Mac (Lai) and his original team partner, Bird (played by Chan) still cannot forget the past of a mission gone wrong. Betrayed by a former teammate. With 89 minutes of movie and the majority is focused on the action, the focus of this movie is on that and not the character development.
In a way, that kind of hurts the film because you are left clueless about the past of these two men. Even their computer hacking partners want to know about their past but if they don’t know, the audience won’t surely know.
In a way, watching this is like watching a second part of a movie series. Did we miss something in the first? Well, perhaps a prequel will be made. It’s too bad we don’t really get director’s commentaries in HK films. We would know what was in the mind of the director. Is there a reason for the more action, less character development? Is this movie planned to be a series?
But despite the character development, it’s not all that disappointing. In a way, although Wilson Yip’s previous movies “Bio-Zombie”, “Bullets Over Summer” and “Juliet in Love” has it’s many fans, some may feel this is a step back for Yip but I view it as a step forward. I see a potential similar to Steven Soderbergh and with each movie, you can see Yip grow as a director, especially with the different style of movies that he is involved in.
So, if a series is planned for this movie, I won’t hesitate to say that I look forward to seeing the next because it has potential.
As for the DVD, Universe did a good service by adding the 10 minute making of. If there was something that sucks is that you can’t select the English subtitles for it. The quality of the movie is pretty nice, I wish this movie was released in DTS but I’m being picky. So, for $17, the movie is worth the rental or worth buying if you dig the technological parts of this movie.
So, if you are an action fan and lack of character development and knowing the history of the characters don’t bother you, then check this movie out.Â
THE MOVIE: C+
THE DVD EXTRAS: C
THE DVD OVERALL:Â C+