Overheard (2009)

I recently watched this movie in a long flight and even with the not so perfect environment I viewed this in I have to say this movie was great. So much so that I skipped any sleep and watched part 2 and 3 immediately afterwards in one sitting (a wise decision since those were great too, specially Overheard 2 which was my favorite of the three)The movie revolves around 3 police officers who work in the surveillance department and are trying to nab a financial firm suspected of being involved in criminal activities and insider trading. The plot while not really unique is executed well. The main focus of the story however is the trio of Lau Ching-Wan (who plays the head of the 3) Louis Koo and Daniel Wu whose character development and the interaction among them makes the story interesting at all times. Their acting was great and realistic and the movie direction really brings out their best. Another screen presence that really makes an impact is Michael Wong who plays the part of a corrupt financial mogul really well. The combination of witty and brutal in his performance and dialogues are very well crafted and add a lot of depth to the movieWithout spoiling too much I would really recommend you try out this movie if you like the crime/thriller genre and like movies with more to it than all the mediocre stuff that Hollywood has been mass producing for a while. Hong Kong really knows how to make great movies and this one's no exception

I'm increasingly loving the direction that Hong Kong movies have taken in the new millennium - or rather, after the super success of Infernal Affairs in 2002 - towards taut thrillers full of action and twists and polish. However, while most look good on the surface, not many reach the level of quality that Infernal Affairs did (I much preferred it to The Departed, incidentally). Overheard is about a trio from a police surveillance team who illegally use "overheard" insider trading information towards their own gains and have to face the violent repercussions that follow. Quite an interesting story but it wasn't as tight as I would've liked. I mean, oops one of them lets a witness see his face and oops that witness just happens to spot him again while about to flee the country - that's too much of a stretch. The action's good though - there were some tense sequences - and the acting's decent. I'm a fan of Lau Ching Wan and though Louis Koo and Daniel Wu are overrated, they're adequate enough here. Actually I think I've never seen Koo better, though he looked much too pretty for his role.

liked the 1st half. not the 2nd. But if the movie took more time/detail.. to go 120min instead of 90. Maybe.first off, the mafia/business guy is miscast. The speech thingy is kind of show off, but the speeches are kind of shallow - this is the kind of details I'm talking about.another example, there's a direct jump to the execution when all goes haywire in the middle for the 3 guys. Understood they're being hasty but would have like to show that more - that's the kind of took more time/detail I'm talking about.and the ending is sad but kind of made to be sad. Koo should have died in the previous act.

The film is a breath of fresh air from the typical HK "crime drama" genre otherwise encumbered by formulaic plots, predictable character persona, and inane moral proselytizing. Sadly, it fails to live up to it's own aspirations and ends up defaulting on precisely what it needs to distance itself from.The story revolves around three members of a police surveillance squad conducting an investigation into a financial investment group involved in criminal fraud. The focus of the plot, however, is actually on the three officers themselves who stumble upon an opportunity to capitalize on the information they gathered during their surveillance. The audience is given insights into the personal issues they are grappling with, the relationship between them, and why the temptation to breach their moral duty and professional obligations is so powerful. The temptation they confront and the attendant reasons that compel them to succumb to it become the very device that turns them into the film's antagonists.Sadly, the script then makes a wrong turn. Instead of allowing this plot to unfold, it is shelved half-way through the film and becomes a side-plot to a criminal conspiracy involving murder, kidnapping, and revenge, rendering the film from an interesting exploration into a run-of-the-mill crime-drama action flick. None of the actors seemed particularly interested in their roles after that, with perhaps the exception of Michael Wong, who plays the head of the investment group with his usual steel-cold glare and villainous flair. He actually makes an entertaining performance in the latter half of the film when he receives more screen time because no one else seemed nearly as excited to be involved in this project anymore.I don't know why the film's name was translated to English as "Overheard" since the electronic surveillance devices they used were also visual and not just audio. Perhaps something got "lost in translation", like the intention to produce a complex and interesting film.