Hard Boiled: The Epitome of a Shootout

“You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.” -Al Capone

Hong Kong has a long history of producing unique and highly stylized actions films. From the Wuxia martial arts films in the 1930’s to the classic Bruce Lee martial arts films of the 1970’s Hong Kong has had a major impact on the action genre as a whole. One of the most prolific directors of Hong Kong cinema is John Woo. John Woo rose to prominence during the 1980’s and would eventually immigrate to the United States in 1993. His last film before leaving Hong Kong was the 1992 action film Hard Boiled. Hard Boiled is a well-crafted and innovative action film that tells the story of a cop seeking revenge, Triad smugglers, and double cross. From the opening minutes to the finale Hard Boiled is the epitome of what an action film should be.

Hard Boiled begins with Officer “Tequila” Yuen and his partner Benny in the middle of an attempted sting on gun smugglers. All is going well until a rival gang member provokes a fight and then a massive shootout ensues. In the following chaos Benny is killed in the crossfire leaving Officer Yuen to finish the remaining gang members in a vengeful gun battle. Yuen reports back to the station and through the investigation he learns of a massive feud going on between two of Hong Kong’s most powerful arms dealers. Chaos threatens to engulf Hong Kong as the war between the two arm dealers, Uncle Hoi and Johnny Wong, has reached a fever pitch. Officer Yuen disregards the orders of his superintendent again and again and puts himself right in the center of the storm of violence. During the conflicts Yuen has found himself confronted, sometimes at gun point by a Triad member that seems out of place. This “Triad” soldier forms a bond with Yuen after he is double crossed in a boldly gang fight. Both Yuen and Alan are now on a quest of not only vengeance but to take down the biggest arms dealer in Hong Kong before he has the chance to cause even more havoc.

John Woo is a legend in the Hong Kong film industry. With a career that extends as far back as 1968 his body of work has become an influence to many action directors in both the East and West. His first major hit was in 1986 (A Better Tomorrow) and he would continue to produce hits into the mid 90’s before starting a career in Hollywood. With his trademark use of slow motion, Mexican standoffs, and highly choreographed action sequences he raises the bar for action films, especially with Hard Boiled. The film was shot over a period of nearly five months and while it had originally to not be as gritty as his previous works, Woo made the film more stylized and intense as production went on. The film however did it a major snag when the original screenwriter Barry Wong died so several scenes were cut and the original conflict were altered as Woo and others stepped in to mend the script. As a result more characters were added in with little backstory or development and several more were recast or rewritten. While the patches in the script can be seen with additional characters that feel unnecessary the characters that survived the edits are certainly entertaining even if they do fall into stereotypical character tropes. “Tequila” Yuen is your typical rebellious cop that doesn’t go by the rules; Superintendent Pang is the stereotypical by the book, hard-nosed commanding officer, etc. While we have seen these sorts of character molds many times before in action films, they don’t bore or drag the film down at all. The script does provide some great dialogue in the scenes that are supposed to be intense and keeps the dialogue sparse when the action is the main focus of the scene.

The cinematography and filming for Hard Boiled are at times gritty and other times genius. John Woo uses some daring and unorthodox choices for filming in the film. Probably the best example would be the obscenely long, long take of Officer Yuen and Alan charging through a hospital hallway while gunning down Triad henchmen left and right. The camera work has strange angles that would normally seem out of place but in a John Woo film, these sorts of things are almost expected. The gun fights fluctuate between realistic and over the top faster than the shells hit the floor. Most of the time you don’t even see characters reload and the laws of physics are basically ignored in almost every stunt. However if you can suspend your disbelief you can appreciate the intricacy and creativity put into this highly choreographed gun battles. With explosions, blood, and gun duels filling the screen this John Woo film has some of the most creative and highly stylized action scenes filmed.

The soundtrack for Hard Boiled doesn’t contain any heavy metal tracks or songs that were modern at the time. Instead John Woo used his love for jazz music as the inspiration for the soundtrack. Jazz music is heavily used in the film; even Officer Yuen plays jazz clarinet in the bar during the opening scene. The music adds to the atmosphere quite well from haunting saxophone solos during the moving scenes to wild rhythms during fights all the music blends into the movie quite well.

John Woo often uses a similar cast for most of his films and one of his most frequently reoccurring actors in his films is Chow Yun-Fat. Chow Yun-Fat plays the main protagonist Officer “Tequila” Yuen. Most of the parts in this film require a great amount of physical stamina, athleticism, and condition so all of the cast members that take part in the action scenes definitely have my approval for that, especially Chow Yun-Fat. As for his actual performance he does well at fitting the typical rebellious cop that plays by his own rules well. When he has to be tough he’s tough, and when he has to be sensitive he can be caring and sensitive. Chow Yun-Fat is a talented actor but his role doesn’t really give him much to work with aside from the typical stereotypes of the character mold. Tony Leung Chi-Wai plays Alan the mysterious covert agent that eventually joins forces with Officer Yuen. Most of Alan’s character is kept secret except for a few dramatic moments on camera when he reveals his true character to other characters or sometimes just the audience itself. Teresa Mo plays Officer Yuen’s girlfriend that fluctuates from being fed up with Yuen to realizing how much she truly does care for him. Phillip Chan is the predictable hard-nosed superintendent that tries to keep Officer Yuen in line despite most of the time it will fail. Anthony Won Chu-Sang plays Johnny Wong, the main antagonist quite well and plays up how evil he can be at times. He’s not an overly confident or egotistical villain; he’s just obsessed with the power he has in Hong Kong and will eliminate anyone that threatens his power. Overall the acting is decent all around but it never really breaks out from the mold the characters are set in.

Overall Hard Boiled takes the usual clichés and common qualities of action films and uses them as only John Woo can. Most of the flaws are the result of nit picking because it is so easy to get lost in the over the top and immense presence of the action scenes. Gun smoke and explosions are constantly filling the background and the soundtrack is often grenades going off and men shouting as they are cut down in a hail of bullets. The setup for every action scene is intense, you can practically feel the electricity as the situation heads to a bloody and violent end. Combine the chaos of some of the most incredible gun duels ever seen on screen with John Woo’s expert directing and camera work with fast paced and high octane hand to hand combat scenes Hard Boiled is an essential for all lovers of action films.