Go Do Gaai Bei (1997)
Genre: Action / Drama
Duration: 98 minuten
Alternative titles: Full Alert / High Level Readiness / 高度戒備
Country:
Hong-Kong
Directed by: Ringo Lam
Stars: Ching Wan Lau, Francis Ng and Amanda Lee
IMDb score:
6,8 (1.480)
Releasedate: 18 July 1997
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Go Do Gaai Bei plot
Kwan, a former expert in blowing up old buildings, is in prison for murder. However, his influence on the outside world is still so great that Inspector Pao rightly fears an escape. Because the horse races in Hong Kong involve very large amounts of money, Kwan is ordered by the Taiwanese Triad (the Chinese mafia) to rob the heavily guarded vault of the gambling proceeds. The multi-million dollar drive makes Kwan an even more cunning and tougher adversary than he already was. After his spectacular escape from prison, it becomes a matter for Pao to get the ruthless villain back under lock and key.
Actors and actresses
Inspector Pao
Mak Kwan
Chung Lai-Hung
Yee
Zang
Chan Wah
Chan Gwok Biu
Lee Ga Bo
Brother Fai
Lau Chi Yung
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
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- 87625 messages
- 12894 votes
Typical Lamb.
Ching Wan Lau and Francis Ng can battle it out in this police thriller. If you did not realize while watching that this is a mid-90s film, it is emphasized again by interweaving the transfer of the British into the story. Something just about every movie did back then.
Lau and Ng do quite well, but Lam simply delivers another average genre work. A few nice chases, a bit too much police work, a bit visually substandard and a not very good soundtrack. A classic HK police thriller.
Lam always lags behind his contemporaries and genre peers, as he proves once again with this film. There are a few nice action scenes, but they only make up a small part of the film, the rest is less so. I didn't expect much more from it.
2.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
frolunda
-
- 1115 messages
- 4602 votes
So far the best, and certainly the most interesting film by director Ringo Lam that I have seen. Compared to many other similar Hong Kong films from the 1990s, Full Alert (1997) is less action-oriented, slightly more realistic and also contains more drama elements.
The story about a bomb expert who is imprisoned for murder, but is also suspected of preparing a major burglary, and is therefore considered a flight risk. At the same time, the police try to find out about his plans and the identities of his accomplices. The various events that subsequently take place have quite a few consequences for the mutual relationships among both the police force and the gang members. Although these consequences do not go too deep, they are well woven into the story by director Ringo Lam (who was also partly responsible for the screenplay). Something that in turn has a positive effect on the quality of Full Alert.
The choice of actors/lead players naturally helps determine credibility. The film also scores on this point, Lau Ching-wan (police inspector Pao Wai-hung) is not only my favorite actor from Hong Kong but is also known as one of the best character actors there, and he lives up to that reputation here for me. completely true again. Francis Ng (explosives expert Mak Kwan) is also convincing here, and there were few dissonances with the rest of the cast. I only had some doubts about the role of Amanda Lee (Kwan's girlfriend).
However, the other successful factors make Full Alert a fascinating, entertaining and very strong film.
Highly recommended.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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