SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

bob the moo "Pocky" Zhang is a notorious bandit who robs trains and any other soft target. When a train robbery turns up no loot, a different prize is sought as it does contain a con artist (Tang) who was on his way to Goose Town to pose as their Governor for a while then make off with the taxes. Zhang agrees to spare Tang in exchange for the role and together they head to Goose Town, however once there they discover that the role of Governor is secondary to that of Godfather – a role held by Master Huang.I came to this film having heard that I wouldn't "get it" because it was a Chinese film which was not for the international market. Whether this is the case or not I do not know, but perhaps regardless of nationality, the film only partially worked for me. The plot and the characters weren't an issue for me and I enjoyed the back and forward of the various twists and turns of the story. The action was not quite as good and those coming here for the action suggested by the title will almost certainly be disappointed since it doesn't deliver on that front as much. The comedy aspect is a strange mix and maybe this is the thing that I wouldn't "get" by being from Northern Ireland.At times it is quite playful and witty but then at the same time it is pretty violent . In and of itself, I don't have a problem with this because it can work but in this case I didn't feel like it did as the violence was almost too jarring and too heavy or serious to really be able to be darkly funny in the way needed. The direction is a little bit excessive in the same way – not making its different extremes really work together particularly well, but it does still have some things about it which I enjoyed and mostly the tone of the film is consistent. The winner for me was the performances from the lead actors because they sold their characters better than the material did. Chow overplays it perhaps but he is a good foil for the rather calmer playing from Wen Jiang (who I really liked here). Xiaogang Fen is fun too in support as Tang.Although I am not Chinese, I did still quite enjoy this film even if I didn't think it totally worked. The comedy aspect is odd and the violence doesn't always work with it as it should, although the playful spirit of most of the film combines well with the delivery of Chow and Wen to make it better than it otherwise would have been.

ChristianUnchained Advertised as a shoot em up, gun fu action flick, Let The Bullets Fly is anything but. The plot is interesting, but is too convoluted and wildly confusing, which would have worked if the film were directed in a more digestible manner. The action is far and few between, with only about 9 1/2 minutes of poorly shot and poorly directed shootouts in a 124 minute drama-dey. The special effects are very bad, and the sense of any rising action is bogged down by way too much talking, and not enough shooting. For a film that advertises big flash, LTBF fizzles. The acting is very good though, and Jiang Wen and Chow Yun-Fat are excellent and very charismatic. But this film is so ridiculously cluttered, confusing, and just plain boring, you'll have spent your time watching better foreign films, such as IP MAN, The Good The Bad The Weird, or Hard Boiled. The only thing I can walk away and say about this film is that it undeniably sets itself up for brilliance, and then follows a horrendous train ride to boring-town. The bullets don't fly, but the snores do.

Andrea Jory If William Shakespeare had written a western that takes place in China at the beginning of the 20th century, it would be thus. This intricate plot contains many of the hallmarks of Shakespearean storytelling, conveyed with clever and engaging dialogue and satisfying action: murder, revenge, hidden identities, nobility of purpose, greed, political machinations, romance, violence, greathearted heroes, petty tyrants, henchmen, and impostors. My only real complaint with this film is that the denouement is a little weak. But, overall, I loved it.If you buy/rent it on DVD, I would recommend viewing it in Mandarin with English subtitles —I found that the English overdub was enjoyable, but a little too "American"; the subtitles had more punch, and kept the flavour of the original Mandarin (fyi, watching it with English overdub *and* English subtitles is trippy).

Guy Plot: A bandit impersonates the new governor of a town and comes into conflict with the crime boss who runs it.This film is essentially a Western set in the Warlord China of the 1920s. It is full of zest and at its best it is a charming mix of cartoon action, physical humour and bravura performances by the leads. Its desire to simply play around with genres, techniques and conventions is wonderfully endearing and very interesting. The gunplay in particular, which becomes a sort of ballistic chop-socky, is superb. But the problem is that the script is too messy, desperately in need of an edit. Nearly every character is pretending to be someone - or someones - else, whilst the conflict between the two gangs is largely played out through ruses and deception rather than fighting. The result is a hugely over-complex, over-long and needlessly confusing plot. This film ought to have been a good 30 minutes shorter and a great deal tighter - and would have been all the better for it. Nonetheless, this is an interesting and enjoyable mess.Worth one viewing.