i loved the way they set the time with the almost retired cop

Johnny To strikes again with a visually impressive but convoluted film. The guy just has so many characters introduced so quickly in all his films. it's too much to take in. And while he might be the successor to John Woo, he just doesn't match Woo's emotional impact. Yeah Woo is insanely melodramatic but it works. I'm not saying To is a bad director. Visually he can be very inventive but in terms of characters and clarity of story, he is woefully lacking in my opinion. The film is a mess. A beautiful mess maybe. But still a mess.

I was excited to watch this as I am a new fan of spaghetti westerns and was curious what a contemporary approach in 1998 Macau would look like. One of my biggest complaints is that one of the main themes is friendship but there is little to be taken away about friendship. Writers spending more time on the group’s background and intimate interactions would have improved the story. I could do without the political themes as I didn’t think they added much to the story. Complaints aside, I still enjoyed the movie. The pacing was great in certain areas, the actors performed well across the board, and the ending evoked some emotion. I can see that the director had a clear vision but the artistic choices didn’t resonate well with me.

I just had a Johnnie To marathon to introduce myself to his work and this is the one I enjoyed the most. A simple story, memorable characters, funny moments, good action set pieces. A bit of John Woo with a mix of Sergio Leone. What's not to enjoy?

I've never really watched any of Johnnie To's movies and that is a very sad thing. The only one I have seen is the Heroic Trio, which I enjoyed. So anyway today I dove into my second Johnnie To movie. Exiled feels like a Hong Kong western which is a very good thing. The movie starts off with a bang and ends with a smile. The best thing about the movie is the friendship between our main characters. I bet the thing that clicked for them on a personal level was how cool they all look in there own way. I really, really enjoyed the chemistry between the main cast. Anthony Wong rocks that bulletproof vest though! The action looks solid and it has me wanting to see more Johnnie To and really see the one from him that makes me smile from ear to ear because I do believe a movie like that is out there from him. He is my kind of director. But maybe I was a bit too tired to get into the movie from the get go. But still after half an hour I was in but I still had a feeling I expected more. Maybe a rewatch down the line will help. Anyway, still very happy I went for my second To movie and happy to watch more down the line.