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Date: 7/1/2019
What I’m watching: a watershed Chinese action movie and a romantic comedy that is refreshingly different.
On Blu-ray: Heroes Shed No Tears
One of the directors who burst onto the international film scene in the early 1990s was John Woo, who has been working in the Hong Kong film industry since 1968 without much acclaim.
All of that changed with the release of “A Better Tomorrow” in 1986. The film, which mixed heroics with themes of friendship and loss, was a sensation in the Asian market and started international recognition for Woo.
He had spent much of his time turning out comedies and the success of this film changed his fortunes overnight.
It also meant his first attempt at an action picture, which had been sitting on a shelf awaiting release, got into theaters. It was titled “Heroes Shed No Tears.”
Essentially it is a chase film. A group of Chinese mercenaries are hired to capture a renegade Thai general who heads a huge heroin operation. They are to return him to officials in Bangkok alive in exchange for a reward and relocation in the United States.
The capture goes pretty well but it is the travel through a part of Vietnam that takes its toll on the group. A firefight with border guards puts into motion a chase of our heroes led by a vengeance-fueled Vietnamese army colonel.
There is no complicated plot here. It’s our heroes trying to do the right thing while attempting to stay alive.
Woo’s signature use of violence is in its infancy here. He is not afraid to shed blood in ways that border on a horror film.
One can also see by watching this film where Woo was going in terms of recurring themes such a loyalty between friends and the importance of family.
The result is an uneven film with its at times awkward mix of violence and cloying sentiment. There is a major subplot involving the leader of the mercenaries (played by the stoic Eddy Ko) describing the love between him and his young son, who is on the run with him. Those scenes are played for all of the tears one could muster.
Woo is known not only for his Hong Kong films but for his American output including “Hard Target,” “Broken Arrow,’ ‘Face/Off,’ and “Mission: Impossible 2.” The most recent Chinese movie I saw of his was the two part “Red Cliff,” a historic drama that I highly recommend.
Is this a good movie? I can’t really recommend it except to say if you’re into John Woo’s work, it is essential viewing. If you’re looking for a wildly over-done, over-the-top action film, it may be also worth your time.
The film looks great in this restored version, by the way.
On Netflix: Always be my Maybe
Romantic comedies have an established story-telling rhythm. We know there will be a sequence of events that will bring our two lovers together, threaten to tear them apart and an ending in which we see them overcome the forces that are designed to keep them apart.
So, with a romantic comedy we know what is going to happen. It’s the journey that counts and this film’s journey is fun.
Ali Wong and Randall Park not only star in this film, but also co-wrote the film. The result is a rom-com with some biting comedy, but also has two leads who seem completely comfortable in the roles they created for themselves.
Friends since middle school, Wong plays Sasha Tran, now a nationally famous chef, while Park is Marcus Kim, a plumber who lived with his widower father. The two friends/almost lovers had a bad break-up 15 years ago and fate has tossed them together again.
Wong and Park are flawless in their roles as two people who still care for one another but have allowed so many other elements of their lives to get in the way. They are a couple for whom you will root.
Watch for an insane cameo appearance by Keanu Reeves.
I liked this movie a lot. It’s solidly entertaining and a great summer movie.