Many viewers out there cut their teeth on seminal films from directors like John Woo, Kirk Wong and Ringo Lam that were produced during the "golden age" of Hong Kong movies which focused on undercover police operations. In fact, there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of movies produced in Hong Kong over the years that have featured undercover officers trying to do their duty as a cop while living the life of a gangster -- the ultra-popular Infernal Affairs trilogy being the most notable of the more recent crop of pictures.

But there have been surprisingly few Hong Kong crime dramas which have shown what happens to these officers after their mission is over. And that's exactly why On the Edge is one of the more solid films to come out of HK over the last year. Instead of re-hashing the same old plot yet again, it actually tries to break some new ground in the genre. Even though it is not totally successful, it is still very much worth a look if you're a fan of the "old school" hard-boiled HK crime movies.

Nick Cheung plays the undercover cop in question here, a young man named Harry. After Harry busts a crime boss, Dark (Francis Ng), he is handed a measly reward, given a cramped apartment, and sent to work with a hard-nosed detective, Lung (Anthony Wong). Lung's rough tactics cause Harry to question his profession, but he cannot even go back and talk to his best friend (Derek Tsang) or girlfriend (Rain Li), because they -- like the rest of his former gang -- now regard Harry as a traitor. Stuck between two worlds, things take a even worse turn for Harry when he is framed for murder.

What really makes On the Edge stand out are the performances of the actors. Herman Yau started out as a director of gore-fests like The Untold Story, but has since emerged as one of the more solid dramatic directors working in Hong Kong. As could be expected, both Anthony Wong and Francis Ng provide great "bookends" of sorts for the movie, being counterpoints to the emotions Harry is dealing with. Both of them deliver multi-layered takes on what are often cookie-cutter characters, which makes the film so much more enjoyable to watch.

The movie's big surprise is Nick Cheung. Best known for his comedic roles, he has been going in a more dramatic direction over the past few years, and this is his best work to date. I still wouldn't rank him up at the top eschelon of HK actors, but Cheung's performance here is very much far removed from his earlier work (which seemed to consist of imitating Stephen Chow) and has established him -- at least in this reviewer's humble opinion -- as a "serious" actor.

Sadly, things aren't all a bed of roses here. Even though On the Edge only runs at eighty-nine minutes, it still felt like it could have been tightened up a bit. Herman Yau goes a bit overboard with flashbacks, and the movie's pacing suffers as a result.

Also, the ending came off as a bit flat. There's a nice car chase (directed by the under-rated Bruce Law) and a tense stand-off, which is followed by a semi-cheesy slow-motion musical montage that kills one hell of a lot of momentum the film had going. And, if the viewer doesn't get the point of the movie, it's drilled home by a totally unnecessary title card which spouts statistics about undercover cops.

Even with these problems, On the Edge still comes recommended, especially in this day and age when it seems like every crime movie Hong Kong is producing is trying to be Infernal Affairs 4. At a time when most HK directors seem to be taking the safe route, it was truly refreshing to see a bit of originality and daring.

[review from www.hkfilm.net]