Both newcomers to Mr. To and longtime admirers should be prepared for a master class in directing.
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A formula thriller done as an elegant genre exercise. Johnny Hallyday was brought in by To as a last-minute sub for Alain Delon, and could have been the first choice: He is tall, weathered, grim and taciturn.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
To's smooth, balletic style, noirish lighting schemes and compositions are made for the big screen, and because his work is (sadly) not distributed well in the United States, take this opportunity to see it in a theater.
Few directors make action movies with the pizazz of Hong Kong's Johnnie To, although his films rarely get runs in New York. That's all the more reason to see his Vengeance.
50
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
More than once does To's grandiose imagism miraculously grant this rote thriller a gleam of the sublime, as in a trash-dump face-off staged as an epic field maneuver, or a campground shoot-out timed to the fickle light of the moon.