

Director: Herman Yau
Cast: Nick Cheung, Anthong Wong, Francis Ng, Rain Li

The official website
see
http://www.ontheedgethemovie.com/

Synopsis:
The film revolves around the days after an undercover cop has successfully completed his mission to get the head of the rookie captured. Officially back into his duty as a "normal" cop, how would he survive the suspicions of his peers and how would he face the gang he has just betrayed ...

My thoughts:

-- Because the genre/topic has been frequently visited by Hong Kong films, the director has a daunting task ... how can he make it different from the others?! how can he make it memorable?! Fortunately, he is blessed with a good cast ... all the 3 men are pretty well known in Hong Kong cinema (as "actors" rather than "idols") ... hee hee ... unfortunately, there is not enough in the script to let you "like/hate" them ...

-- in terms of style/technique, the film is injected with tons of flashbacks; there is a conscientious effort in the transit/edit (so, commendable!) ... 

as for the story, pardon me, i thought the initial half was average to above average, but not a "wow" ... i.e., you will not be bored but neither will you be kept on the toe ... fortunately, near the end, it got better ... at least there are some scenes that will grip the audience (incl. a rather violent scene) ... also worthy of mention, none of the characters are totally good or evil ... nowadays, most directors/script writers are "careful" in crafting good characters who have a negative side (albeit minor) and bad characters with a positive side (so that you will be less harsh or more forgiving) ... so, commendable! ...

the typical themes covered incl: trust and betrayal; friends and foes; love and romance; family and brotherhood; etc 

-- in the ending notes, it reiterated the fact that most "undercover cops" would not survive more than 3 years when they are back as "normal" cops ... reality is always harsh ... sigh ... 

Conclusion:
Above average. To me, it only got better near the end ... I am slightly tougher on the film (probably because many of us have watched this genre/topic too often in Hong Kong cinema, such that it is difficult to have a breakthrough) ... 

well, if audience are captivated or if audience are touched, what else can a director ask for?

PS: I think a few minutes have been censored (due to excessive violence)