Vengeance

My original plan was to save Vengeance for a weekend viewing with friends. Well, I have no problem watching it again and again. Once I peeked at some of it, I couldn't stop watching. This is full blown Johnnie To. After Costello's (Johnny Hallyday) daughter is almost murdered by triad gangsters who kill her family, he seeks revenge. The French chef with murder skills of his own hires three hitmen (Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, and Lam Suet) to help him tackle mob boss George Fung (Simon Yam) and his team of expert killers. A friendship develops between the fab four as visions of Memento, Charles Bronson's Death Wish Series, All of Clint Eastwood's Westerns and some of To's films come to mind. You'll especially be reminded of The Mission and Exiled during the shootouts but that's okay. Vengeance is simply a great guy flick and pure heaven for Johnnie To fanatics like me. I get goosebumps every time I see Anthony Wong with trademark sunglasses, a cigarette in his mouth, and a gun in his hand. I also enjoyed the way English, French, and Cantonese languages are spoken together throughout the film. This really adds to it's international flavor. I had plenty of heated moments with Vengeance and look forward to repeated viewings of this instant classic. Now, I'd like to see Johnnie To and John Woo hook something new up with Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Lau Ching Wan and all of To's players. That would be too much fun.

I got to admit, this was one of those rare movies you don't get to see very often, yet this film impressed me. It's got a mix of French style (Johnny Halliday), and gritty HK Action (Anthony Wong and Simon Yam). It has a simple plot line, yet the characters are not cardboard cut-outs. Great praise to Anthony Wong. His cool, calm demeanor gives rick life to the film. Overall, this film is far better than your average "hitman flicks". I'm definitely keeping this in my collection, and will see it again, again, and again.

I first saw Johnny Hallyday in the French comedy heist film "Crime Spree". He had a great career in a France as a singer in his younger days, and proved his acting ability in that film and the original "The Man on the Train". He puts in a solid performance of a one time hit man, now a chef at his own restaurant, who comes to Macau to avenge the murder of his daughter's family. By accident he meets up with a trio of hitmen and hires them to help him find the man responsible for the murders. Slowly, the Chinese trio grow to like him and do indeed help him. In the end a different sort of revenge is done. I was swept away by the fine acting by all in the movie. Made in Macau and Hong Kong.

If you are a real fan of Johnny Halliday, it can be a good film. Otherwise you can take a chance .

I loved this movie!! The chemistry between characters, the story line, the action is phenomenal! Jonnie To and Anthony Wong are my favorite pair and this movie proves why- they're both awesome !! This is a great movie to get English speaking movie watchers interested in Asian movies, as a lot of the dialoge is in English. After watching many Asian films, I no longer even watch American movies! Films like this show why!! Original, action packed, with just enough violence !! Great flick!!!

I am no expert on Johnnie To films. Amazon matched my interest in martial arts, Seven Samari and Magnificent Seven with a recommendation for J. To's "Vengeance". Apparently, it's quite dificult to obtain. There was only one copy available at Amazon, I had to wait weeks and it came with a sticky note with handwritten notations. We were intrigued by the the intrigue. Now , down to the brass tacks: It was an amazing film, totallly out of our zone of familiarity but 100 percent amazing! Yes, you have to concentrate, a Lot. Yes, the actors, characters and plot are foreign and puzzling. BUT, the payoff for staying tuned and keeping pace are well worth the intellectual leap. It is a story of revenge but it is not a silly story. It is a story of someone who really MUST even the score. Johnnie To is oddly sexy, tragic and crazy. His intellectual and fighting skills are equally matched. Physically, he is one of the most visually interesting characters in modern cinema--he is very tall (like Clint Eastwood), very thin and racially, very ambiguous (maybe French and Asian). Morally, he is without ambiguity...he has a single purpose and he executes his purpose with satisfying efficiency. It's hard to get but get it!

This is one of the worst films I've seen, the lighting is terrible. You can't see anything. There's too much violence, I gad to stop watching. Sad that johnny can't find better scripts. He's an incredible talent, lost in this massacre of a film.

An excellent movie. An excellent story. This is one worth watching once or twice.

Arrivé aujourd'hui avec le Coffret REC, très bon état rien à dire, merci Momox ! Notre regretté JOHNNY incarne ici 1 ancien Tueur à Gages, qu'il valait mieux ne pas énerver ! Il débarque à Macao d'où l'a appelé sa fille incarnée par SYLVIE TESTUD, grièvement blessée et seule rescapée du massacre de son mari et ses 2 enfants, à partir de là : JOHNNY rentre dans une terrible colère ! Méthodique, il prépare sa VENGEANCE qui sera expéditive et sanglante, dans ce Thriller musclé hommage au mythique SAMOURAÏ incarné par ALAIN DELON, mais où le spécialiste des Films d'Action JOHNNIE TO va plus loin en faisant de Macao un authentique personnage. À voir et revoir, tu nous manques JOHNNY !!!

Ein sehr ungewöhnlicher Film in meinen Augen. Ein französischer Hautdarsteller in einem asiatischen Film. Die Geschichte ist eigentlich nicht sehr außergewöhnlich, Ableitungen des Themas gibt es in allen Filmbereichen und Zeiträumen zigfach schon. Ungewöhnlich sind eher der Hauptdarsteller und die Erzählweise. In den meisten US-Filmen werden Details am Anfang durchgekaut und dann kann man sich ansehen was daraus wird....hier kommen wichtige Dinge erst zur Sprache wenn es sich aus dem Kontext ergibt, manchmal reichen dazu in einem Gespräch zwei Sätze um das ein oder andere zu erklären. Wendungen und Veränderungen geben immer wieder neue Perspektiven. Dazu die gute musikalische Untermalung und die zum Teil sehr überzogenen, aber oft farbgewaltigen Darstellungen. Ein sehr guter Unterhaltungsfilm, gewalttätig und doch mit einer großen Portion Faszination, sodaß man ihn sicher mehr als einmal sehen wird.

A clever and unpredictable film, Vengeance is a wonderful Johnnie To movie, boasting great performances and the fantastic presence of Johnny Halliday, one of France's icons. Not to be missed!!!!!!!

La película está muy bien , lo único que no la entiendo porque está en inglés , la podían haber hecho en francés que si la entiendo, muchas gracias.

Production korean et française, Génial une vengeance pous ca familles (Johnny Hallyday un Hero ! , Aidé par des hommes d honneurs et attachant ,une fin agréable Un Classic !