I was so stupid. Loving action movies and not watching this symphony of mayhem.
Even if this was not Woo’s last Hong Kong film prior to heading for Hollywood, it feels like a finale.
There is an underlying theme of time passing, of change coming.
The Hong Kong handover is not explicitly referenced but it can be read into it - the cop with torn loyalties, who eventually has to leave Hong Kong; the elder gangster who is determined to stay. Or for fans of really obvious metaphors, there is Tequila protecting the newborn baby (a new life, a new opportunity for a different world).
The film is not just a culmination of Woo’s heroic bloodshed work, it is a love letter to/upping the ante/reaction to Hollywood. Woo was partially inspired by watching Die Hard, and there are a couple of moments throughout the film that feel like homage (the gun in the box of roses ala Terminator 2).
The film has a relatively simple plot, providing set-ups for the massive set-pieces:
The opening in the restaurant - featuring the iconic moment of Tequila sliding down the bannister double-gunning - would be enough for one Hollywood finale.
Instead it is the movie flexing - the initial flourish, before the real mayhem kicks off.
The second major shoot-out is Johnny’s ambush of Uncle Hoi’s gang.
This conflagration is also a clash of ideologies, as undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) is forced to choose between his mentor, elder gang boss Uncle Hoi (Kwan Hoi-San), and young buck Johnny Wong (Anthony Wong).
Uncle Hoi operates with a sense of loyalty, looking out for his gang members; meanwhile, Johnny Wong is more concerned with accumulating wealth and power, no matter the cost.
In this sequence, Tony Leung Chiu-wai really showcases what a powerful performer he is.
He plays to the melodrama of the character without going for maximalism. So much of this scene’s emotional impact is watching Leung’s conflict flicker across his face.
Chow Yun Fat is also excellent as his reluctant partner.
Tequila could be a cartoon, but Fat has the charisma and the humour to make it work (the whispered ‘sorry’ as he opens the cabinets in the morgue).
Chow Yun Fat asked John Woo to play his bartender buddy so that their scenes would not be cut, and Tequila would get some additional character development.
Tequila must have been a hard character to take, from the page, but the performer’s star persona fills it out.
The coupe de grace is the finale.
Taking around 40 mins - it is a mini-Die Hard riff:
We get multiple groups of characters in different parts of the hospital - Tequila and Alan in the basement armoury; undercover officers in the waiting room; Johnny in the control room.
It also turns into a siege, including with the use of heavy artillery to hold off the cops outside.
Taking a new Hollywood narrative concept and using it for one set-piece is the prime example of the largesse and imagination of the whole enterprise.
This is also the sequence which cements the film’s - and Woo’s overriding themes of brotherhood and loyalty.
Loyalty defines all the characters. It defines how they live and interact with each other.
Tequila and Alan’s bond is sealed when Alan puts his body on the line to open the hidden armoury - with flashbacks to Tequila’s partner’s death, intercut with Alan flying back from the electrical discharge.
Tequila runs to his side, all animus is gone - and the armoury doors open to trigger the final battle.
While our heroes’ bond gives them the strength to face down Johnny Wong’s goons, Wong is ultimately undone by his non-relationships with other people. Ignoring concerns about patients, he orders the final firefight in the hospital.
This action is a step too far for even his implacable henchman Mad Dog (Philip Kwok), who attempts to kill Johnny after he murders a room full of innocents.
It is a testament to Woo that the hospital set-piece never loses steam, building in scale and scope, without losing focus on the relationship between its leads.
If you have not seen Hard Boiled, make up for that right now.
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