dbborroughs One of at least five recent sequels to Johnnie To's PTU. This is one of the middle films and is being shown as part of the New York Asian Film Festival.The plot has two squads of PTU cops, one led by Simon Yam's Sam and one led by Maggie Siu's Mae competing with each other for attention of their boss, who has eyes for Mae. Mae's group comes out on top and looks to be reassigned to a choice spot while Yam's men will be sent to a back water island. Before that can happen there is a violent robbery and the crooks escape into a mountainous park bordering China proper. The police are sent to find them and quickly find that they are in way over their heads.Good program film is a a bit too restrained in its middle section which, despite run ins with various people, including the bad guys, seems to be mostly cops wandering about. Its not bad, the plot moves, but its not up to either the opening section, nor the climatic stand off. I don't know how this film fits in the series, but it kind of clear that there is a great deal of back story and unwritten relationships (at least for this film) going on. Thats good because things feel real, but bad because there is a sense at times that we are missing something. I'll watch it again once I find out what the order of the films is and perhaps readjust my feelings based upon context. As it stands now its a good, if unremarkable action film thats worth a look. truth be told, the film has me curious enough to want to try to see the other films in the series sooner rather than later.Worth a look if you run across it.

gohmifune There isn't much to say, other than this is the latest entry in the PTU based Tactical Unit series. The short version is, if you like one, you'll like the others.The long version is that this is solidly acted, but maybe just a little subdued. The actors know their characters, and by this point, so do the regular viewers, so there are no discrepancies. All of the actors are in character, and the dialog follows suit. At this point, it really is just the main Trio of Simon Yam, Maggie Siu, and Lam Suet driving everything, which isn't a bad thing at all.The story is good, if a little light, but PTU and Milkyway Productions in general, are straight forward, and become more about camera work, acting, and pacing, than story. Needless to say, everything technically is solid. Like the other entries, music is good, but almost non-existent.All said and done, it is a good watch, and like most Johnnie To related productions, mostly review-proof.