Line Walker

This film is a bit difficult for me to critique due in large part to the fact that it is has such an intricate plot with several twists which complicate things even more. That being said, this film essentially takes place in Hong Kong where a drug lord by the name of "Tung Pak-ho" (Li Guangjie) is trying to ascertain the identity of a mole within his organization. Unfortunately, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) is unable to establish contact with this mole because the data base containing his name has been deliberately erased which seriously impacts their ability to ascertain the true facts of the situation. In the meantime, an internal power struggles between some of the more powerful members of this international drug cartel erupts into violence leaving the police unable to distinguish the mole from the criminals. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent action film which had plenty of top-notch stunts to enhance the overall entertainment value. Again though, it was a bit hard to follow at times but even so it kept my attention from start-to-finish and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Shi Tu Xing Zhe aka Line Walker is a Hong Kong film that was released in 2016. As Hong Kong film, the language is Cantonese which makes me difficult to understand. And they didn't make it an official subtitle but the one I got had English subtitle, so, I could watched it. The presentation is very good. That I must admit. Because I was blindly watching for 23 minutes. The film is about undercover thing. So, it indeed gives a different taste. But because of the poor presentation, I didn't like it that much. I didn't know this movie until they filmed the second one in my country, Myanmar. Some parts of Shi Tu Xing Zhe 2 is filmed in Yangon, Myanmar six months ago. That's how I knew about this film. Because they filmed in my country, I've decided to watch the second film, but it doesn't out yet on DVD or something like that. So, I decided to watch this film to know what the film is all about. Although the presentation is a bit confusing, the film is somehow enjoyable because of some twists it has. But it indeed forgot to explain some things. Thus, I'd say it's kind of inferior to the other action films. Speaking of action, actually, it doesn't have that much action. I was expecting some actions, so, yeah, disappointed. And also, I want to mention the title. When the film is finished, I realised that the title and the film are not the same. They gave the wrong title. If they have chosen the right title, it'd be better. All in all, this film left some things unfolded, but for some times, it's enjoyable.

Too many gimmicks, too much pursuit of reversal, but let people see the confusion, many plots are lack of logic.

With this being a Hong Kong movie was already more than enough to grab my attention. So when I sat down to watch "Line Walker" (aka "Shi tu xing zhe") then it was without knowing what the movie was about. However, I did know that it had Louis Koo and Francis Ng on the cast list, two of the more renowned Hong Kong actors. Usually I am not overly keen on action/crime thrillers, but I do still watch them, and I must admit that usually the Hong Kong cinema usually do spew out quite good action/crime thrillers. So this genre was definitely not a cumbersome anchor to the movie. The storyline, was initially quite simple; a group of undercover police officers have their true identities revealed because of a leak. However, there is more to it than just that. And director Jazz Boon and writer Cat Kwan did manage to keep the movie quite interesting and also ensured that the audience are thrown curve balls every now and then as the story arc takes a surprise turn and twist. There is a good amount of action combined with some drama, but also a good amount of suspense. So there is something for just about everyone to enjoy here. Louis Koo did a good job in carrying the movie alongside with Nick Cheung. Now, I am not overly familiar with Nick Cheung, but he was quite good in "Line Walker". I am a big fan of Franic Ng, and he was quite good in this movie as well, just a shame that he didn't have a bigger role. I can't really claim to be familiar with Charmaine Sheh, but she also did a good job. All in all, if you enjoy a good action crime movie, then "Line Walker" is well-worth sitting down to checking out, regardless of you liking the Hong Kong cinema or not.

LINE WALKER is a fairly enjoyable crime thriller from Hong Kong, made with minimal interference from Beijing. Apparently this is a spin-off from a TV series about a cop whose file was wiped, leaving him undercover for good. The likeable Louis Koo plays the hero of the hour, up to all kinds of hijinks with the reliable Nick Cheung; the entertainingly odd Francis Ng plays the cop hot on their trail. The plotting is a little convoluted and murky at times but generally keeps you watching, and there's a wealth of well-shot action sequences to enjoy which don't skimp on the violent mayhem. Yu Xing is particularly effective in a small role as an assassin character who gets our heroes sweating.

"Line Walker" is another one of the long line of movies with cops, crooks and moles. In this case, it is based (continues) the story of a TV series where a series of police undercover found their files deleted and on the hide, no one knowing they were actually cops. The intro to the movie tells us that all the cops where found, but we soon discover that there was one left behind. From now on we will have the typical game of cat and mouse, where we are supposed to find who is a mole, who is a policeman, who is what and why and for what purpose. All this has been done before ("Infernal Affairs" is an amazing example), but in "Line Walker" it falls into a convoluted plot, that jumps from one place to the other (it feels as if some parts of the movie have been cut) and can't really hold the viewer's attention. The actors all do a good job. Louis Koo, Francis Ng, and all the others are as charismatic (and blank sometimes) as ever, and bring the story to life in its low moments. The action scenes are fine, even though a little bit messy sometimes and fall into the yes-we-can't-really-shoot-what-can-we-do problem. All in all, it is an average movie, that will be better enjoyed (probably) by fans of the TV series.

Good movie!

Shi tu xing zhe