To's film 'Exiled' to mediocrity
Lynn Tran, staff writer
May 24, 2007

In the midst of a triad war, five men realize that their loyalty and brotherly bond for each other overcomes all tribulations.

Johnnie To's action film, “Exiled,” is filled with a recognizable cast and fascinating cinematography, but its overly sustained gunfights and humdrum plot detract from the cinematic experience.

The film takes place in Macau during 1998 – the period just before the former Portuguese colony is handed over to China. Not knowing what the future holds, everyone is willing to make quick money, especially the triad members.

Amid this fin-de-siècle conflict, Wo (Nick Cheung) is a renegade who is trying to flee from the triad leader, Big Boss Fay (Simon Yam) in order to live a quiet life with his wife Jin (Josie Ho) and infant son. Fay assigns two hit men teams to kill Wo. As it turns out, Tai (Francis Ng) and Cat (Roy Cheung), Blaze (Anthony Wong) and Fatty (Suet Lam) are all long-time friends of Wo. Blaze has a heavier responsibility because he has been ordered to kill Tai and Cat as well. In this debacle, the five men realize that it is impossible to kill each other because of their friendship. Hence the five men rebel against the triad, they all become Fay’s target.

To’s film is packed with bullet-contest scenes that, at times, were repetitive and too drawn out, making this supposedly action-packed film sometimes innocuous.

Hong Kong-film fans will see recognizable faces such as Simon Yam and Francis Ng. Lam is brilliant as a cold-blooded antagonist, similar to many roles in his earlier films. And Ng is simply brilliant with his cool, existentialist persona.

Combine an old American cowboy film’s settings such as deserted streets, basic props of chairs and tables and a typical saloon, with Hong Kong’s modern-day actors and scenario and you get quite an interesting cinematography for “Exiled.”

With that said, you should also expect quite a bit of fighting scenes and minimal conversational exchanges between the characters. Those who enjoy becoming emotionally involved with the movie shouldn't expect to much with this film’s monotonous script.

In between the relentless and melancholic shooting scenes, To manages to slip in some subtle humor. In one scene, Hui Shui Hung, who plays the pitiful Sergeant Shan, sits and witnesses a majority of the gun fights. Rather than taking action, he counts down his hours towards retirement. In another, a group of skilled gunmen who have no tact in making decisions, rest their judgments solely on the flip of a coin.

“Exiled” is an entertaining film with a wholesome moral about friendship, but definitely not aimed to make to make one ponder about the purpose of life.

Lynn gives "Exiled":

Lynn Tran is a staff writer for AsiaXpress.com. Lynn can be contacted via e-mail at Lynn.Tran@asiaxpress.com.