StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Uriah43
I have several problems with this film. For one thing, I'm not sure the director (Max Makowski) had any definitive idea on what type of movie he was trying to create. At first it starts off as a comedy but then morphs into a crime-drama with elements of romance and then back to a serious drama. Further, he puts some scenes out front and then back-tracks on them only to come full circle toward the end. I found this technique initially confusing but later it seemed all too elementary after everything was said and done. Not only that, but I thought the outstanding performance of Francis Ng ("T") was downgraded to an extent by the attempted comedy all around him. And other than him I didn't see anybody else in the cast who was nearly as good by comparison. In short, this film features a complicated plot with ambivalent direction which utilizes a confusing technique that hampers an otherwise brilliant performance by the lead actor. I think that pretty much says it all.
helmutty
Argghhhh......there is no puzzle and no story plot. All T do is just kill! He has no feeling or whatever. He just go for the kill, killing all the people that he was asked to kill. Though, it may be the first attempt to make an action movie in Singapore, there is still room for improvement like No Animated Blood, the director should try and make this movie real not to make cheesy or boring. What we can say...this director came all the way to Singapore(which I assumed) to film this crap product. But the director did a great job in transforming Singapore into a creepy and gritty Singapore which we never saw. The only thing I recognize is the MRT Train. The cast was okay and the music was beautiful. I was fooled by the gritty poster and straight away thought it was an action crime. And I was wrong...yeah, there is gun-blast and killing, so what and there must be a plot not the confusing twisting story, jump one scene to another without not knowing what that was about. I don't know what this director was telling us. Look like he wanted to show us his gritty art of Singapore. But there is still improvement for movies that featuring Singapore.
wahc2004
Complete waste of two hours..The movie tries to be cool like lock stock but doesn't even come close. The "Ko" character is hugely annoying. Wished they killed that guy in the beginning of the movie instead of making us endure him until the very end. Why the heck does the film poster have "Cannes film festival" at the front? Appears to be a cheap marketing ploy to get the punters in that what. Same goes for having Harvey Keitel in the movie who's brilliant acting ability is just wasted here. The movie tries to be hip 'n cool and keeps "asian" humour. It's really embaressing as it fails miserabily. Don't waste your time on movie. Black mark for the director. As for the actor who plays "Ko", he deserves to be on the dole after this performance.
DICK STEEL
The first local production for this year, it's a movie made with an international cast and crew, most notably, Asian film stars in Francis Ng, Ti Lung and Vivian Hsu, with a guest appearance by Harvey Keitel as an Italian mobster. It's no surprise that Raintree Pictures, in a bid to go regional and international, is holding nothing back to attract local and foreign talent to get them involved in locally produced movies. And I guess One Last Dance is such a fine example, helmed by upcoming Brazilian director Max Makowski.I would liked to have loved this movie wholeheartedly, but it's not an easy movie to follow, especially when it keeps to its tagline that it's a story made up of different jigsaw pieces, each telling a story of its own. There are many seemingly disparate scenes glued together thinly, and it'll be easy for the ordinary viewer, especially one with little patience, to get lost within the plot. The dialogue too seemed stifled, and sometimes you wonder just what the characters are driving at.The draw of this movie no doubt is Francis Ng. He's the "mental" guy who's truly deft in playing crazed characters, be they good or evil. Here, he's the calm, collected, and uber ruthless hit-man with a penchant for chess and never walks around with a loaded gun. He accepts deals anonymously via red "angpaos" dropped into a mailbox, containing just names of the prey (though you wonder how he actually gets paid). His opposite number is film legend Ti Lung, with whom he spars verbally, and on the chessboard. Forget about the other stars, as they are mostly bit parts, and the beautiful Vivian Hsu reduced to a pedestrian in a role that could have been played by any mediocre local actress. However, do keep a lookout for Joseph Quek. I'm surprised that he managed to snag a meaty role, and this will mark his second big screen outing after The High Cost of Living. Surely, an actor to keep tabs on, if he stars in subsequent movies.And I love the music, especially the theme song Broken Orange. It's now my earworm, and it constantly gets played over and over again in my head. The movie opens with the song, though I was perturbed that what was sung totally was out of sync with the English subtitles shown on screen, in an attempt to explain the meaning. Another pity too is that we got to watch the movie in the dubbed Mandarin track instead of its original Cantonese glory. I still rue for the day when HK movies are allowed to be shown in its native tongue, and get classified as a "foreign" movie, as do the French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, etc which do not get dubbed at all here.To make up for a relatively simple plot (when all is finally revealed), the movie relies heavily on its slick editing techniques to splice the narrative together. However, the CGI blood splatterfest seemed too artificial, as I thought the good ol' blood pack will suffice and still maintain certain visual beauty to it all.It almost lived up to its hype, but if you're a fan of Francis Ng, then my recommendation is to watch it. And don't be a dumb dork - stay until the end of the credits for THE GEM OF A SCENE. Many people during the gala didn't bother, what a pity!
