Blood Brothers by Alexi Tan (2007)
9 December 2007The curse of the music video director’s, this is a gorgeous, even sumptuous film, but even with an all star cast, action by Phillip Kwok Chun Fung, and not only an adaption of John Woo’s A Bullet In the Head (but moved to 1930’s Shanghai), but with John Woo attacked as an extecutive producer, but the film still falls absolutely flat. There is nothing to the story, the characters are so underdeveloped that they are laughable, and you just don’t care about any of them, and the action is so badly shot that you even that doesn’t elevate. This film is really a waste of talent all the way around.
Daniel Wu is Fung, a country boy in love with a gorgeous women named Shen Zen (Lulu Li), but whose best friend Hu (Tony Yang) and his other brother Kang (Liu Ye) who protects them, decide to go to Shanghai to make it big he goes along. Fung and Hu work as rickshaw pullers, but Kang works at a club called Paradise, run by the gang boss Hong (Sun Hong Lei). Kang brings his two friends there to see the place, and they see the gorgeous singer Lulu (Shu Qi) who Kang instantly likes, but she is in fact in love with Hong’s right hand Mark (Chang Chen) who is also Hong’s killer. That night Mark decides to Kill Hong, and goes to do it, but is wounded, and ends up getting helped out by Fung.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Kang gets a job to steal some good for Hong, and Fung leaves with their pistol, but they are ambushed, and almost killed, but Fung returns and guns down all the men with a single shot each (for never having used a gun he is a damn good shot). This makes Kang’s star shine and he starts gaining power, but Hu can’t hack his brutal ways and starts drinking heavily.
Fung sees Lulu and likes her, and tries to make her happy, bringing her to a movie set, since she dreams of being in movies, and starts to fall for her, but eventually realizes that Mark is with her, and wants her to leave with him.
Eventually Hong realizes that Mark and Lulu are cheating on him, so he orders Kang to kill them, but Fung refuses and goes to help them get away. Kang attacks, and Hu tries to stop him when Fung is shot, and Hu actually shoots Kang. Mark, Lulu and Fung get away, and had back to Fung’s village.
Kang goes to Hong and Hong attacks him, so Kang kills him and takes over as boss.
Shen Zen is taking care of his sick mother and sister, and they all set up in the village, but Kang sends hit man, and Lulu is killed in front of Shen Zen. So Mark and Fung head back to take on Kang.
The two kill all of Kang’s men, but Fung is badly shot by Kang, who finally apologizes for killing his brother, and Fung does not want him killed, but for killing Lulu, Mark kills him and leaves, and Fung does not leave, so he must die from his wounds.
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So much potential, but totally wasted.