The first time I saw this movie I only had time to watch roughly the first half. At that point in the movie I was blown away by the story, the characters, the atmosphere, and the somewhat dark humor of the film. I thought I was seeing among the better "film-noir" type flicks I had seen in a while.

Then I watched the second half...

And then Simon Yam showed up...

And then I just thought the movie sidetracked (or rather derailed) into solid mediocrity.

While Simon Yam's ridiculous performance didn't help, the story (or maybe the direction of the story) went from from being "out there, but interesting" to "excessive," to "completely ridiculous." Watch it and you'll see what I mean.

As for Simon "direct to video" Yam: I guess he has had his moments in HK cinema...and I certainly liked some of his performances when he was a TVB actor...and I have certainly NOT seen all of his "movies"...but I just cannot take him seriously anymore. Maybe I am missing something...

Just as an aside, I have seen at least three versions of this movie, each with different soundtracks (of widely varying quality). The mix of languages can make things really difficult. I strongly suggest listening to the original Cantonese soundtrack, which should mean you will get the Mandarin, the Japanese and the English. Got that? Actually the mix of languages really adds to the atmosphere...especially at the beginning.

Definitely worth seeing, if not buying.