2000 AD [DVD]

2000 AD reunites Aaron Kwok and Andrew Lin from the ferociously pyrotechnic Black Sheep Affair (1998) for a slick but muddled Hong Kong/Singapore co-production conspiracy thriller about computer espionage. Kwok and Lin make fine adversaries, and have one excellent martial arts battle on a vertigo-inducing rooftop. Otherwise the action involves powerfully staged Heat-style gun play rather than martial arts, one set-piece car chase/shoot-out being strongly influenced by the Riviera pursuit in Ronin (1997). Beginning as a serious thriller, Kwok's nerdish computer games designer transforms into an invulnerable action hero, and any sense of plausibility is sacrificed for regulation mayhem. Cluttered with more characters than it knows what to do with, 2000 AD combines aspects of The Net (1995) and Entrapment (1999) into a largely nonsensical plot. Lin's villain is given vital information which later he is completely ignorant of. We never find out exactly what he is planning, or who he is really working for, and in one mystifying sequence he crashes the Singapore stock exchange, yet the event has absolutely no effect on anything. Though the cast is engaging and the direction polished the finale is an anti-climax, symptomatic of a highly entertaining movie which promises more than it delivers.

On the DVD: The 1.77:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer is clean and generally free from grain; the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is as powerful as any heard on a Hong Kong movie, although listen though headphones and a fair degree of background hiss is clearly audible in the quiet scenes. The film can be viewed with the original Cantonese dialogue and English subtitles, or dubbed into English. Either way, a surprisingly large amount of the original dialogue is in English. There is a 19-minute "making of" documentary, though this is bland made-for-television promotional fare. Much better is the 14-minute interview with director Gordon Chan and a 17-minute interview with Andrew Lin who reveals how once shooting had begun his originally heroic part was re-written to make him the villain, thus explaining why the plot makes so little sense. Best of all is the commentary by Chan and Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan, which is packed with information about the movie, Hong Kong cinema and filmmaking in general. By itself it makes the DVD a worthwhile purchase. --Gary S Dalkin

DVD Special Features
Digitally re-mastered and restored DVD transfer.
16:9 Anamorphic version enhanced for widescreen TV's
AC3 5:1 Digital Audio
UK Promotional Trailer
Original Theatrical Trailer
Dual language format (English Dubbed and Cantonese Language with re-mastered English Subtitles)
Interview with director Gordon Chan
'Making Of' Featurette with star Aaron Kwok
Audio Commentary by Bev Logan and director Gordon Chan
Interview with co-star Andrew Lin

A Big Budget, high octane techno-thriller by production giants media Asia, 2000 AD was one of the biggest hits at the year 2000 box office in Hong Kong.

Heart throb Aaron Kwok plays a computer game genius drawn into a web of deadly conspiracy by a shadowy clandestine organisation intent on manipulating the Y2K bug to create financial meltdown throughout South East Asia.

With electric action-sequences by 'Martial Law's' Yuen Tak, and stunning cinematography by acclaimed action-director Gordon Chan (Fist of Legend), 2000 A.D. is a non-stop action adventure with state of the art visual effects and razor sharp editing.