Robin Cook I rented this on DVD yesterday and did not realize it was a "character study" type of movie, so I struggled to watch about an hour of it before hitting the Stop button.Even with a character study theme, I just could not get into this film at all. Perhaps it was my mood in wanting to watch something else, or maybe I had other expectations, but setting that aside, I tried my best to move on to finish watching, but gave up. The actors played their roles well, but the global combination did not come together to keep my interest. About the only interesting thing was the sergeant's gun being stolen and he hurried to buy another one, and spray painted it black to appear as police issue. I think this movie should have been entitled, "Who Stole the Sergeant's Gun?" Scenes were well done but putting them together I once again felt robbed for anything cohesive to keep me viewing.Since I didn't finish watching it I'd say there is some merit to renting this film ... maybe. To me, it was a waste of good viewing effort and time. I'll leave it up to you to try it, but it's not one I'd strongly recommend.

cbdunn I just finished watching the import dvd version of this film. A great Crime Drama. Simon Yam proves once again that his screeen presence is amazing. Check out the scene in the video game hall when a young Triad wannabe tries to cop a tough guy display towards Simon. Guess who wins? The movie flows very much like a Docu-Drama. The P.T.U. (Police Tactical Unit) is very much like the "beat cops" division. However, they all patrol in units of six. Like a platoon. You can feel the grit of the downtown streets of Hong Kong. This is one film to see. Also directed by Johnnie To: The Mission, Fulltime Killer. Both have Simon Yam. Another cool film about the P.T.U. is Big Bullet starring Lau Ching Wan and Anthony Wong Chau-sang.

best_wells This movie shows the new style of HK action movie and it's directed by arguablely the best HK director today Johnny To, This movie reminds me of Johnny To's other great movie The Mission (1999) and both films have a similar style that is unique from others, definatelly worth watching.

Harry T. Yung spoiler by innuendoP.T.U. (for Police Tactical Unit) is director Johnny To's much publicised recent work. Comparison with To's classic The Mission is almost inevitable. P.T.U., unfortunately, does not measure up. The main problem could be that To tried too hard, not unlike Zhang Yimou with Hero.While Zhang tried to dazzle his audience with an overwhelming visual kaleidoscope, To was indulged in an attempt to impress his with mental sleight of hand. Both failed. What To has done is to play with every scene like a sleight of hand, building up mounting tension and suspense, culminating in..........nothing. On might say that this is precisely the point, to show the absurdity of the entire situation, a much ado about nothing piece of satire. Even granting that, this sleight of hand thing is still far overdone.This assertion comes out more clearly by comparison with The Mission, which is To's best work to-date. In The Mission, To used a simple plot as his vehicle to do the things he wanted to do: the characters, their interaction, the visual form, the mise-en-scene. Amidst all that, he had time to squeeze in one of the most inspired scenes: the five body guards languidly kicking around a crumbled piece of paper made into a ball while waiting for the big boss.P.T.U. is not a complete disaster. The sleight of hand does capture some attention, at least at the begining. Lam Suet's portrayal of the rather down-to-earth and somewhat comical character does a lot to brighten up the film.The original score by Chung Chi-wing also deserves some credit. Chung, unless I am seriously mistaken, is the one quite well know among people familiar with the local live theatre scene, being credited with a couple of very respectable local musicals.