Vengeance (2009)

Though I agree to a certain extent of why you don't like this movie, you have some pretty weak reasons why. "you barely care about the family murdered in the beginning". You are not supposed to care about the family, you are supposed to care about Costello. You are supposed to bond with him, Kwai, Chu, and Fat Lok as a team. "his amnesia never presents itself at all until the end of the movie, and Fung just suddenly realizes he has it with no explanation how." Costello takes pictures of Kwai, etc. because he cannot remember. The amnesia doesn't get really bad until the end, after having shot at Fung (meaning he knows what he looks like), that he needs the sticker to remind him who Fung was, and since Fung is a smart guy (BOSS!) I'm pretty sure he doesn't need someone to tell him that Costello has amnesia. This movie has many similar themes to other Johnnie To movies, and although it's not his best work, he does a very good job. If you don't like the English dialog because it's not perfect of "silly" go move to HK and help them make a better script and teach them better pronunciation. Also, remember this is a French/Honk Kong production, not an American one, so things like "serious crimes unit" are OK, since most of the target audience doesn't speak English as well as we do. They don't know the difference, and it really doesn't matter. Check out To's other films, like the Mission, Exiled,etc. if you haven't.

if you ignore all the deaths.Awesome movie. I went into this movie not knowing anything. Grabs you right away.If you don't speak the language, get the dubbed version so you can better enjoy the cinematography (sacrilege to some but I thought I was going to be watching subtitled, but once it got going I decided this was better for an action film).I really enjoyed the interactions with these characters. I mean I really enjoyed these actors.I won't bore you with recaps of the movie because there are plenty here. As a side note this is supposedly part of a trilogy/pseudo trilogy including "The Mission" and "Exiled" but this is my only experience so far. I hope they are just as good...now where to find them? Forget Kill Bill....Enjoy this one!!!

Oh my - When Billy The Kid met Memento met Tokyo Eyes met The Limey on steroids… The only film ever in which I enjoyed watching Johnny Hallyday. Anthony Wong is just bloody amazing, as in everything I saw with him - not much I concede, according to his length impressing filmography on IMDb.I discovered Johnny To a few years back when The Mission came out, and since then, I am trying to watch anything he did. I skipped this one when it came out, being frightened by the infamous French/Belgian 60's idol presence - I just can't stand him as a public person. I was so wrong. Even though the first Hallyday's dialogue are just plain dreadful (the hospital scene at the beginning), Johnny To managed to take control and silence him. And the miracle works out. When you forget even about the meaning of the word, what does vengeance means ?

Johnnie To gives me a wild end of year treat with his tale of French chef who comes to Macao to get revenge for his daughter. She was shot and her family killed in a hit for an unknown reason. The chef, played by Johnny Hallyday, hires three hit men to help him get revenge. The trouble is things are not quite what they seem and complications set in.This is a wonderfully awkward film, awkward in part as the result of the multiple languages being spoken through the film (the mix of English, French and Chinese require that you see this with subtitles. They also create some awkward speaking performances as people are not always comfortable with what they are saying) and partly the result of the way things unfold. It takes awhile for the film to click but once it does the film blossoms into one of the better films of the year.To be certain there is action and twists galore, but the best thing in the film are the actors. Anthony Wong, Suet Lam and Ka Tung Lam are the men Hallyday hires and they are wonderful. You sense the bond between them. Hallyday is a revelation in a role that is at first simple, and then becomes something more. To say that his stoic face hides many things is an understatement. Not to spoil anything, but what first seems like a kick ass attitude soon becomes something else entirely. There is something going on here and Hallyday pulls it off winningly. Its hands down one of the best performances of the year. You go with the film where ever its going because you like Hallyday and his friends.......which is a good thing because there are two sequences in the later part of the film that almost derails the film. Both sequences follow in close proximity to each other (one is a weak shoot out in a field and the other is what happens after that) and are going to be the point at which many people either give up on the film or press onward. I kind of gave up, but this being a Johnnie To film and what had gone before was so good I figured that To would pull it out. He did and the film ends with one of the great gun fights of the year.(I blame the sequences on screenwriter Ka-Fai Wai who is one of the best writers in Asia today, but at the same time he often takes things in an odd direction just look at Running on Karma, Himalaya Singh, The Mad Detective or Written By). I think if you're willing to go with the bumps you'll find the film rewarding.I really liked this film a great deal. For those who like more than just straight forward action this is a must. Honestly there is a great deal going on here and it makes you think as it makes you go wow.One of the Better films of 2009.