Hey folks, Harry here... A couple of days ago we had a look at Johnny To's PTU from Marshy that wasn't all that hot. He was very disappointed in the film and had numerous problems. Well here we have a very different look at To's PTU, and when Commander Bowrington brings up To's THE MISSION... well he gets me a bit charged to see the film, cuz THE MISSIOn is a damn fine film. So different strokes for different folks, like all of To's films... I have it on my list to check out! Here ya go...
I beg to disagree with Marshy on PTU, although of course he is definitely entitled to his own opinion.
I was at the same screening of PTU and Mr. To's little chat with the audience afterwards. I can tell you that majority of the audience were impressed, like I am. It's a great departure from usual commercial fares and while it doesn't share the visual flare and tense-filled scenes in Infernal Affairs (all in all a much superior film), it does come through as an interesting character driven film. I wonder if Marshy, or Harry yourself, has ever seen To's little known masterpiece called "The Mission" which is now in the Hollywood remake machinery with MGM. This film is a companion piece to The Mission. In the older film, it was about 5 top triad henchmen brought together by a mob boss to protect him from assassination. There was an unspoken bond, kinship amongst them that was very powerful and was telling as to how the story eventually ends up in. I remember watching that film and keep windering how it was all going to end and the ending was FANTASTIC. Harry go get a copy of the video!
PTU was the same, except instead of gangsters, we have cops/law enforcers. To wanted to bring out the fact that we all are part of a greater group however way you look at it, and sometimes you are forced to "go along" the ride that the group is headed towards even if you may or may not be agreeable to that direction, it's a fact of life. Moreover, this and The Mission are both wonderful entries into what QT likes to refer to as the bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission genre. I know in my heart of hearts that it's the sort of movie that would make guys like Harry and QT flash ear-to-ear grins after viewing it.
He shot only night scenes since the story unfolds from midnight to about 4 am in the morning. And yes, it was mainly because he didn't know how to end the story but I thought he found a great way to tidy up all the loose ends with one big scene in the end. The performances were understated (except for Lam Suet as the bumbling detective) but excellent, and some of the scenes of Simon Yam and his PTU patrolling the dark alleyways of Hong Kong are daunting and haunting at the same time.
Just a different opinion, I didn't want to just post this on talkback because Marshy's posting might have killed off the chances of this film getting US distributor interests, and I urge you Harry to publish this so someone might take a shot at this wonderful little pic!
Call me Commander Bowrington
