91热爆

East meets Western in Johnnie To's Exiled, a Hong Kong gangster flick that pays upfront dues to the works of Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. You get the bloodshed of the former and the languor of the latter (plus an Ennio Morricone-esque score) in a yarn that bends a straightforward premise - childhood buddies put aside their differences in pursuit of dosh - into a needlessly windy grind. The set-piece action is the saving grace of a movie that's as murky and patchy as To's last UK release, Election.

This isn't quite as hard-boiled as that film, though: a streak of wistful nostalgia (which folds into outright sentiment at the end) runs through proceedings, shared by two pairs of hitmen who grew up in the same gang but now work on opposing sides. Allegiances are restored, however, after a stand-off at the home of hood-turned-family man Wo (Nick Cheung). Ironic, though, that in this male-dominated universe the most compelling character is Wo's lioness wife Jin (Josie Ho), who enlists in the score-settling frenzy we get in place of a lucid plot.

"SAVED BY SET-PIECE ACTION"

At least some of the gunplay hits the mark, from the opening apartment shoot-out to a gold-bullion robbery where hijackers become the hijacked. Then there's the final slow-mo bloodbath, which conjures the style (if not the resonance) of The Wild Bunch's last stand. A surreal touch is the can of Red Bull that spins through the mayhem; given Exiled's wilting lack of pace, it's a shame a few more tins weren't passed around before cameras started rolling.

In Cantonese with English subtitles.

Exiled (Fong Juk) is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th June 2007.