Taxi Hunter

Taxi Hunter really shows what a great actor $$ID=Anthony Wong$$ is. He has said that this is one of his favorite roles and it shows. It could have very easily changed into the stereotypical Cat III psycho (a trail blazed by Wong himself in his and Yau's previous pairing The Untold Story) but Wong gives his character a degree of humanity that makes us sympathetic to him, even though some of the things he does (such as shooting a man in the legs multiple times just to see him cry in pain) are reprehensible. As in The Untold Story, Yau's direction is nothing extraordinary, but does get the job done... and proves you don't have to use a bunch of camera tricks to make a visually satisfying movie, something more directors -- both in the US and HK -- should take note of. The story (while having some similarities to the US film Falling Down) is pretty original with a good ending that will leave the viewer wanting more.

If there is fault to be found in the movie, it is in the portrayal of the police. As with The Untold Story, the cops (for the most part) are once again portrayed as buffoons and add comic relief which, frankly, Taxi Hunter doesn't need. It's an intriguing character study in of itself that shouldn't depend on gags to interest the viewer. All in all, though, Taxi Hunter is a great movie that shows another side to the "true crime" genre.

Review Courtesy of Neil Koch