Downtown Torpedoes
The 1997 blockbuster from Hong Kong was their own answer to Mission Impossible.
An action spy thriller with a large budget combining Hong Kong action with the commercial Hollywood glossy style.
A group of industrial spies are arrested by the Hong Kong government, instead of being sent to prison they are offered a special mission. The printing plates for the British Pound have been recently stolen but the Hong Kong government has found out that the plates are in the possession of MI5 (British Intelligence). In fear of the plates being sold to the counterfeiting market the Hong Kong government wants the industrial spies to steal the plates back.
The plot is pretty thin and apart from a few twists and double crosses you know where the film is going. But that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Over the quick run time of 90 minutes the film flies by and never slows down.
Jordan Chan excels in his role as the sidekick, although not the greatest actor, he has great screen presence and charisma which always makes him likeable. Takeshi Kaneshiro is also decent as the lead, although not as quirky as you would hope for. The rest of the cast unfortunately don't have much character to play with.
Someone call Roger Moore!
It's funny to see the technology used in this high tech spy film that was made in 1997 but only released last year by Warner. Everything seems to outdated from the laptops, to computers and of course, the floppy discs. Who knew a floppy disc could store so much evidence or spy data?!
A brilliant transfer from Warner. Really crisp clear video quality, it's hard to think of a Hong Kong Film from the 90s that looks this good. Even the Golden Harvest logo has never looked as polished as that.
A very fun Hong Kong action film, not essential viewing by any means. But worth it for some great mindless action and set pieces and a trip down memory lane to the floppy disc spy era.
6/10
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