Right, well I stumbled upon "Mad Detective" (aka "San taam") in 2019, blissfully unaware of its existence prior to finding it. But given my love and admiration for the Hong Kong cinema, I needed no persuasion in sitting down to watch it.
While the storyline in "Mad Detective" sure was unconventional and rather avantgarde in terms of the usual movies that you see from the Hong Kong cinema and also by director Johnnie To himself, then this wasn't exactly the finest moment in Hong Kong cinema, nor in Johnnie To's directorial track record.
The storyline was somewhat befuddled and somewhat difficult to really keep up with, because directors Johnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai were setting out to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what they managed to deliver. Which was essentially a shame, because the movie suffered from this. It could otherwise have been a truly outstanding and remarkable movie, but the end result, sadly, turned out to be mediocre at best.
Actors Ching Wan Lau and Andy On carried the movie quite well. And of course with the likes of Ching Wan Lau, then you know you are getting a top notch performance. And it was interesting to see him in a movie such as this, and this role shows what kind of a diverse actor he really is. Just a shame that the storyline was working like an anchor around the actors legs.
Aside from Ching Wan Lau and Andy On, then the movie also boasts some other interesting names and familiar faces to the cast list, especially for a long time fan of the Hong Kong cinema like myself.
Sure "Mad Detective" was entertaining enough, but something of the enjoyment was smoldering away because of the rampart storyline and the fact that the two directors seemed to work in opposites of one another. I got through the entire movie, but felt my attention span start to falter throughout the course of the movie. And despite of my love for the Hong Kong cinema, then "Mad Detective" is not a movie that I will be watching a second time around.
While the storyline in "Mad Detective" sure was unconventional and rather avantgarde in terms of the usual movies that you see from the Hong Kong cinema and also by director Johnnie To himself, then this wasn't exactly the finest moment in Hong Kong cinema, nor in Johnnie To's directorial track record.
The storyline was somewhat befuddled and somewhat difficult to really keep up with, because directors Johnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai were setting out to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what they managed to deliver. Which was essentially a shame, because the movie suffered from this. It could otherwise have been a truly outstanding and remarkable movie, but the end result, sadly, turned out to be mediocre at best.
Actors Ching Wan Lau and Andy On carried the movie quite well. And of course with the likes of Ching Wan Lau, then you know you are getting a top notch performance. And it was interesting to see him in a movie such as this, and this role shows what kind of a diverse actor he really is. Just a shame that the storyline was working like an anchor around the actors legs.
Aside from Ching Wan Lau and Andy On, then the movie also boasts some other interesting names and familiar faces to the cast list, especially for a long time fan of the Hong Kong cinema like myself.
Sure "Mad Detective" was entertaining enough, but something of the enjoyment was smoldering away because of the rampart storyline and the fact that the two directors seemed to work in opposites of one another. I got through the entire movie, but felt my attention span start to falter throughout the course of the movie. And despite of my love for the Hong Kong cinema, then "Mad Detective" is not a movie that I will be watching a second time around.