when a gang of professional thieves, led by tien yeng seng (wu jing), rob a security van using explosives devices, the resultant blast kills, all-action cop, chan chun's (nicholas tse) fiance. tien and his gang (including andy on) flee with $100,000, seemingly, dropping from the face of the earth. six months later, hard-boiled cop, fong (shawn yue) and his team pull over a suspicious vehicle, only to be brutally attacked by tien and his gang; they're back in town with some unfinished business.

the only link the police have to tien's gang is the missing, ex-cop, wai king tat's (aaron kwok - does a photo count as a cameo?) brother, wai king ho (jaycee chan). wai is a humble, straight-laced cop who plays by the rules and is happy to get by, being amiable; he is deeply upset to find that his older brother now seems to be affiliated with such a vicious gang, even if he hasn't seen or heard from him for six months. chan and fong, thinking alike, track down wai to see if he has information about his brother which can lead them to tien. wai knows nothing but, after a run in with some small-time hoods, the three begin to bond and set out to track down tien's gang and figure out why they've cme back to hong kong.

after ushering jackie chan back into the bosom of hong kong, benny chan has been doing his best to churn out some quality hong kong blockbusters; i wasn't a great fan of 'new police story', but i quite enjoyed the slightly convoluted 'divergence' and the rather silly 'rob-b-hood'. i'm very pleased to say that 'invisible target' is the most successful of this quartet; sitting somewhere between 'divergence' and 'new police story', in tone and content, but surpassing both of them in terms of quality.

'invisible target' mixes a weaving narrative, with just the right amount of twists and turns (unlike 'divergence', which went over-egged its pudding), and some full-on action that delivers more than 'new police story' did. there's even room for some well placed comedy, hitting a lot more often than it misses; particularly in scenes which involve wai's grandmother and the lighter moments that take place between the three leads. the narrative moves at a good pace and is as strong as required, even if there's a few moments of melodrama which cause the occasional stutter, but it is by no means the main attraction.

'invisible target' is probably the best action film to come out of hong kong; all things considered. it's not the best martial arts or crime drama, but i think it has the action bases pretty well covered. from the start of this project, benny chan had always stressed that he wanted his leads to do as much of their own stunt-work as possible; choosing nicholas tse and shawn yue, who had impressed him in 'dragon tiger gate', and wu jing, who seems to be re-establishing himself as a talent to watch closely, after 's.p.l.' and 'fatal contact'. then there's jaycee chan...

to say jaycee puts in the least physical performance is true. however, he still manages to take his fair share of kicks, punches and falls, even dishing out some beatings when required: he is his own man though and, unlike the amiable cop that his father used to play so well, jaycee is not an action lead. jaycee's strength is in his earnest portrayal, his ability to gel our three heroes together and in the comedy that he brings to the film; especially when juxtaposed with the non nonsense approach of both nicholas and shawn's characters. perhaps my biggest criticism of the film involve the scenes of melodrama that involve the young chan. now, i'm not sure if a better actor could have done better or if a stronger script could have helped him out; either way, these moments are easily forgotten in the grand scheme of things.

after the film's pyrotechnic introduction and gunplay, shawn yue is the first person to get his hands dirty; taking on a bunch of lam suet's hoods in a restaurant. this pretty much sets the tone for the film's action; very physical, with decent choreography, editing and more broken glass than i've seen in any other film. shawn does a good job, as the slightly older member of the trio, who still finds himself getting into more than his fair share of scrapes; looking good whether he's kicking ass, being beaten by wu jing or holding a firearm.

nicholas tse, though, is the film's real action star; he's come a very long way since 'young and dangerous : the prequel'. nic does a very good job here; whether he's chasing people across rooftops, going one-on-one with wu jing or fighting off a bunch of hoods, alongside jaycee or shawn. it is the aforementioned rooftop chase which provides one of the films most exciting sequences; beginning with a gunfight, things soon degenerate into hand-to-hand combat and reach a crescendo with an exciting pursuit across rooftops and through the streets. it's been a while since we've seen hong kong stars take such risks and produce such effective results as a consequence; lets hope that Mr tse keeps up the good work.

finally, there's wu jing. after his early career promised so much, wu jing seemed to fall out of the loop, until he came back into view with his excellent turn in 's.p.l.' and his outstanding performance in 'fatal contact'; sure the film was flawed, but his physical performance was a joy to watch. here, his character is slightly under-written and he isn't given as much exposure as he was in 'fatal contact', but his contribution shows him to be the most talented martial artist presence in the film.

so, despite not having the greatest martial arts or gunplay, that we've seen in recent years, when all the elements of the film are put together, with some gentle cgi enhancement, a wealth of pyrotechnics and smashed glass, putting it simply; 'invisible target' delivers on all fronts. more of the same, please...