One Night in Mongkok (2004)

Director: Derek Yee

A choppy, frenetic, disorienting opening sequence shows us scenes from a Triad war, with so many characters introduced and so many names flying around that it is difficult to tell at first what exactly is going on. After this inaccessible start, the film eventually begins to focus on one aspect of the war; that is, the hiring of an assassin to kill a gang boss and the attempts of the police to find him.

This Hong Kong thriller has frequently garnered comparisons to Andrew Lau & Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs (2002), but it is nowhere near as assured or sophisticated: for one thing, it never truly decides which characters to focus on; for another, its tone wanders a little too much - through chaotic comic sequences (Cecilia Cheung's hysterical performance grates at times) and pitch-dark scenes of brutality (especially lumped towards the end), for example. The black-and-white photography at the beginning even seems to represent a stab at film noir, but the flashy, boy-racer material being filmed is more reminiscent of movies like The Fast and the Furious.

There are moments of genuine tension and excitement - but really nothing that hasn't been seen before; overall, the film is merely a competent thriller.