[KFCC] Bullets Over Summer Review

Story: Mike and his partner Brian are put on a case after a vicious armed robbery. The man they are looking for is known only by the name of Dragon. Mike gets a tip that there will be an arms trade between Dragon and a dealer in the following days in a high rise apartment. Mike and Brian convince an old lady living across the street to use her apartment to keep eye on criminal activity across the street. The following day the old lady believes that the two cops are actually her two sons, Mike and Brian decide to play the roles of the woman's sons so they can stay.

Review: One of the best cop-buddy movie from Hong Kong, the movie won in 1999 the "Best Actor" (Francis Ng), "Best Actress" (Law Lan) and "Film Merit" Award from the HK Film Critics. But contrary to the name this is not a high action movie, Bullets Over Summer is more of a drama. Directed by Wilson Wip (Bio Zombie, Juliet in Love), takes a seemingly average action movie context and adds a strong personal and story element to it. This movie had an uncanny charm about it, something that made you glad for having seen it. The most interesting thing is how the story starts off as an average action movie and turns into something unexpected. The story is simple and is a pleasure to follow.

The strongest point in the movie and maybe the element that left this movie so memorable are the characters. From the old senile woman to the two cops and the women in their lives, these characters make the movie. We are not quite sure why, perhaps its because everything is one a very human and very real level. The actors deliver an excellent performance, they really add to the enjoyability of this movie.

The movie starts off with some heavy action, this is kind of deceptive as this is not the pace of the rest of the movie. The movie is devoid of action except for the beginning and the end, but with such a story it is perfect. This is a more a drama and far less an action movie, action fans will probably find the movie to be slow paced and generally not their cup of tea. For those who appreciate a good story it won't seem slow paced in the least as the story is very entrapping.

The subtitles were very clear, note there is quite some dialog to follow so be ready. We don't all agree about Bullets Over Summer here at KFC, some of us did not like it due to the lack of action in the movie. Even if this movie lack action it cannot be denied that it is simply brilliant and is entertaining in a different way. This movie should appeal to a wide audience, anyone who does not require hardcore action should find this movie at least interesting to watch.