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You have to completely suspend disbelief to enjoy this movie. If you enjoy watching things that make no sense whatsoever then this is a movie for you, other than that stay clear of it.
gorthu
I'm finding that I like the Milkyway Image movies where Johnnie To is just a producer more than the ones where he is the director, though Breaking News was pretty good. Eye in the Sky starts off with Kate Tsui on a training mission to see if she is good enough to become a cop in a special surveillance unit. She has to study Simon Yam and be able to give every detail of what he did during the day. And just like every Milkyway movie I have seen, they connect a certain scene at the start of the movie with one that happens towards the end. So she gets the job, but just barely. Simon Yam thinks she has potential, so he decides to let her on the force. Tony Leung Ka Fei plays the leader of a gang of bank robbers. He sets everything up, and the rest of the guys do the roberies. So now of course this is where Kate Tsui and Simon Yam come in and try to catch him.This is a pretty standard story, but well done. I enjoyed the movie a lot. Kate Tsui does a decent enough job in her role, Simon Yam is good just like he usually is, and Tony Leung gives a magnificent performance. I thought the last couple of scenes were kind of disappointing, but the scene towards the end with Tony Leung and Kate Tsui in the restauarant, and the scene where Simon Yam struggles to finish his joke makes up for it.If you are looking for a good cop movie that has a couple of well done sudden violent moments, then there is a good chance you will like this. If you are looking for an action packed or highly stylized movie, look elsewhere.And one more note. This movie is a tight 90 minutes (actually more like 85 if you don't include the beginning and opening credits), which is one of the many reasons why I liked it. And it doesn't feel like it should have been longer. Movies to me are just getting too long these days.
dbborroughs
A Young woman joins the police surveillance unit and begins to track a gang of robbers and their mysterious leader. Good, but really great (which some are hailing it) police procedural. More suspense then action this tale of cops and cameras watching everything we do. You'll really have to forgive the lack of detail. I did watch the movie, finishing it an hour ago, but at the same time as soon as it was over my attitude was "okay whats next?". I think part of the problem is that you can pretty much guess how its going to go. You know the early confrontation will be played out later with a different result and you know that a couple of cliché turns will inevitably come to pass. I liked it but its such an unremarkable film that I can't really recommend it. If you do happen upon it give it a try but don't bother searching it out.
Lee Alon
Forget about the intriguing posters for this one. For those expecting a sophisticated updating of Enemy of the State or some such paranoid-conspiracy theory number, much disappointment lies ahead.And it didn't even take Big Brother to stamp out any creativity in the project. Seems like Eye in the Sky fell victim to its own hushed and brief proviso, amounting to one of the most perplexingly short and underwhelming releases so far this year.Expectations run high as Tony Leung Ka Fai and Simon Yam saddle up to what by all rights could have been so much more. Opening sequences do bring with them fleeting glances of the delightful hi-tech, surveillance-rich spy mood the movie's promotional material sort of wanted you to buy into, but that's the extent of titillation they managed here.We soon realize Eye in the Sky is nothing more than yet another cops and robbers affair, and not even remotely one of the more poignant you've never seen. It does come across that director Yau Nai Hoi previously worked with Johnny To and his crew on stuff like The Mission and Expect the Unexpected, but apparently on his own he can't match those classics.Instead, we get a minimal story, paper tiger villains who crumble all too soon and a fatherly good cop character that seemingly can't die. That last one really pooped the party, which sounds mean, but after building up the melodrama in an almost-touching scene having the guy come back from the dead is simply awkward.So both Simon Yam and good old Tony Leung fail to make a lasting impression here, but what about the supporting cast? Well, a mixed bag as usual. Kate Tsui is Little Piggy, a new recruit to the HKPD's surveillance unit, a gathering of people with the knack to be anyone, anywhere and anyhow. They even know where you buy your saltines and soda. That aside, Tsui is OK for some scenes, but overall there's no raving about her output in this film.Likable soap opera Wayne Lai does his best and is impressive, but gets about ten seconds on screen so what can you do? Likewise, Maggie Siu (PTU) is cool as a constantly-cussing commanding madam, albeit doesn't get explored much beyond.To its credit, Eye in the Sky does have numerous instances of the beloved F word, and finally a classic shootout-with-vans-on-a-deserted-Hong Kong-overpass type of deal between the crooks and bemasked tactical unit cops. Not bad that one! Sadly that last exclamation does not apply to the rest of the movie. Eye in the Sky is simply not worth getting excited over nor keeping your peepers peeled for.Rating: * * *