Accident (2009)

This film is underrated. Oh well, not every movie can be made by Marvel.This film is about a professional hit-man and his team of self-styled "accident choreographers", who kill their victims by trapping them in well crafted "accidents" that look like unfortunate mishaps but are in fact perfectly staged acts of murder. He is consistently plagued by guilt, and the memories of his recently lost wife don't make things any easier. Even worse, one of his team members dies in an apparent "accident", which forces him to stay one step ahead of their competition.One important thing that you need to understand about "Accident" is that it's a non-stop exhibition of paranoia because the scriptwriting is first-class as it straddles the line between chance and intent through a number of events that may signify an orchestrated murder by another party. The way this works is that some events are immediately shown to be acts of human intent – for example, the opening scene is clearly shown to be a murder that is made to look like an accident – but other events are left ambiguous, and you're not sure if it's an act of human intent or a moment of coincidence (or chance). So you're placed in the same situation as the protagonist because he's also not sure. And that's really the foundation of the entire movie, and it's a solid foundation to stand on.It may be a surprise to you that the story moves slowly, but this could be considered a positive because it allows the paranoia to take center stage and it focuses a lot on developing the main character. The entire film revolves around this guy, making this just as much of a character piece as it is a series of suspense sequences. With that said, the "accidents" themselves are very cool and the direction is top notch. This was actually directed by Pou-Soi Cheang, and "Accident" was his best film in his filmography up to this point – representing an improvement over his previous titles. And I still think this is his best work, despite the fact that he has given us some very entertaining stuff between 2009 and the present day (such as "SPL 2: A Time for Consequences", "The Monkey King 2", and "Motorway").The lead actor is Louis Koo, who earlier in his career appeared in a bunch of the "Troublesome Night" movies. Most fortunately, his roles subsequent to that franchise were far more reliable and entertaining. He's definitely an actor whose filmography is worth exploring because he's been in a lot of good movies. "Accident" is one of them, and I really liked his performance in this. It's a bit on the eccentric and gloomy side, but that's important for his character.I definitely recommend "Accident", which is one of the better slow-burn suspense thrillers in recent memory. It is widely available on DVD, so be sure to check this one out.

This is the sort of movie I love if done right. I will say right off the bat this one is not done well. The premise is good = a gang of contract killers arrange murders to look like accidents. The leader of the gang gets trapped by his own paranoia forgetting that accidents can really do happen. The murders reminded me of those serial action contraptions we had as kids that have one thing lead to another in a complicated sequence--a marble rolls down an incline to land on a lever that activates a spring that pours some water etc etc.....What ever happened to those toys? I guess computer games perempted them.The idea is good why couldn't they have polished it up and made the thing believable? The murders are accomplished by unbelievably complicated serial actions that are just that UNBELIEVABLE---the first target gets out of his car because a canvas sign is covering part of the windshield (this is near the end of one of these unbelievable trip wire sequences)...why doesn't he just drive on? Better yet have the sign cover the whole windshield and make it believable!!! In another murder an old man in a wheel chair rolls down a street out of control to the exact spot where a wire is dangling from a high tension overhead power line---put there by a kite in a rain storm. The visuals kind of sum up the caliber of the film....gory cheesy Kung Fu death sequences with watery blood belching out of mouths..Over all plot where paranoia tricks the main character is also a good idea...but come on write a more convincing story--an eclipse of the sun ruining one of these things dumb! yawn!Art Film Quality? You have to be kidding---well maybe not considering what wins at those things.How is wish this movie had been better!DO NOT RECOMMEND

A fantastic surprise. This movie I absolutely loved. I'd encourage you to get this without reading anymore on the topic. Still, here's my review. The film begins with a well shot scene involving lots of close- ups on the most mundane of objects. It's shot with a taste of suspicion. Imagine the death scenes in Final Destination and that's what we have here. A little more toned down than that but you should certainly have an open-mind for jumps in logic. Accident has the kind of high-concept plot that you'll find scattered around movie land. A gang of assassins makes their hits look like accidents, but it all goes pear shaped when an accident befalls the group themselves. Only, was it an accident. The nature of these assassins work leaves them paranoid and restless. The film is successful because it takes the mature route of exploring its themes. There is some action, but it gradually winds down into a more procedural spy type film. The main character is a man that has dealt with loss, and then dealt it out himself. He sees nothing as an accident, but are the recent events hostile acts against him, or just coincidences? Each action scene is marvelously underplayed, with minimalist-no music. By the time the final credits role I was emotionally exhausted and thoroughly entertained. A high-concept film, that requires both brains and letting some logic slide.

I'm not sure what to make of this movie. It's not a long film, and so repeat viewings may make people appreciate its intricacies more. The film revolves around a small tight-knit group of assassins who work by killing their victims in ways that would appear to have been purely an accident, the "accident" being decidedly gruesome once executed.Led diligently by a straight-forward highly intelligent man they call "Brains", they work to ensure no trace can lead the deaths to themselves. When the tables are turned and a member is killed, the focus closes on "Brain" who struggles to find out what has happened and gone wrong, and who is out to get them.It's a moody film and uses the claustrophobic HK atmosphere well. One problem is that it's hard to decipher all that is happening from one viewing. It can get ponderous and confusing. The acting is generally very good and the action of the deaths very well done, but it doesn't compensate for the lack of clarity. Then again maybe it wasn't meant to be a tidy film and that is the point.Overall, I thought it was okay and interesting enough. Maybe with some more work and time on the script then it could have become far better. Not bad, but just not great.