Following a violent robbery on a Sino-Russian train, cop Cui Zhenhai (Hanyu Zhang) is sent to Moscow to hunt down the perpetrators, led by the mysterious ‘D’ (Xuan Huang).
While the Chinese agents arrive in Moscow, D is preparing for his next heist, and enlists the help of his old mentor, Vasily (Andy Lau), to prepare for it.
As Cui closes in, a showdown is set in motion that could turn the city into a warzone…
The title is the only thing that is slightly underwhelming about this movie.
Directed by Herman Yau, Moscow Mission is a relentless action thriller that never outlasts its welcome.
Filled with well-choreographed and shot action, Moscow Mission is one of the best action movies I have seen this year - the variety of locations and set pieces alone is one of the film’s strong points.
It is a grim affair - women are used and abused, the villain is a few shades off revealing himself as Satan, and there is no sense of humour to be spied. However, the film never feels oppressive. There was no point where I felt bored, or like the movie needed to end. This is an earnest action movie that does not waste its time, and escalates in terms of scale and originality of staging.
The final sequence is pretty melodramatic, but it is in keeping with the movie as a whole.
The cast are solid: Hanyu Zhang as veteran cop Cui Zhenhai; Andy Lau as Vasily, a Chinese exile and black market wheeler-dealer; Xuan Huang as the villainous Miao Qingshan; His accomplice/brother Miao Ziwen (Jason Gu); and Janice Man as Li Suzhen, a female member of Miao’s gang, and Ziwen’s lover.
One of the more fascinating elements of the film is the Sino-Russian relationship, depicted through various dynamics: Cui and his best friend, an FSB agent; Miao’s relationship with blonde femme fatale Marina (Zina Blahusova); and even the rapport between the Chinese agents and the local police.
Perhaps it is a bit of 2023, but the Chinese presence in the former USSR feels lopsided in terms of power - Russia is a chaotic environment which the more sophisticated Chinese cops have to navigate and figure out.
Taking place in 1993, amid the chaos following the end of the USSR, the Russia of this movie resembles the ‘wild east’ depicted in Hollywood movies from the period - the state is corrupt and in semi-collapse, crime is rampant and money is to be made.
A genuinely exciting potboiler, Moscow Mission is worth a look.
No comments:
Post a Comment