Gen-X Cop [DVD]

I don't know what the Editorial Reviewer was watchin', but th' original Cantonese Language track and English subtitles are present on th' disk. Viewers are urged to watch th' Cantonese track w/ subtitles as th' original performances are top-notch, and alot of well-spoken English is present on th' Cantonese track. Why? Because most of th' young stars featured in this film were born/or grew up in the USA, Canada, or Australia! Thus, th' original audio track features some well-spoken, non-butchered English (unlike, say Jackie Chan's dubs) peppered betwixt th' Cantonese dialogue. Th' plot, altho' not spectacular (action films..c'mon), is pretty tight and follows a logical progression from beginning to end. Unlike Mod Squad, or US cop flicks and shows, this cop flick takes place in HK so th' rules and conventions are completely different making this all th' more enjoyable! In other words, you won't find yourself picking nits which is VERY relaxing.

Asian actress/supermodel fans may want to keep their eyes peeled for hot newcomer Jaymee Ong. Half Chinese and half Australian, Jaymee's hot sexy looks accompanied by her lovely Aussie accent'll have you exclaiming,"Tia Carrere, Michelle Yeoh, Sung Hi Lee, Who are They! " in a heartbeat. HK Comedy fans'll dig that Chinese Joe Pesci guy who serves as th' group's mentor. Th' young stars of th' film are fantastic; many of whom are featured in current HK hits like "The Purple Storm", "A Man Called Hero" (also listed on amazon.com), and "2000 AD." Heck, one guy looks like a Chinese Matthew Lillard if you're into that guy...

Star Wars Episode II fans may want to listen to the head Japanese badguy's well-spoken, sinister English. If th' 20-something yr. old Japanese badboy Lucas supposedly hired to play th' new Sith is as cool as th' young Japanese fellow in Gen-X cops, all will be well in Star Wars-land. It's rare to see an Asian villain speaking English with his own voice! 4.5 out of 5 Stars!

Absolutely awesome! This is how I felt about "Gen-XCops". A story about three rebellious generation-x cops hired toinfiltrate the underworld. I recall several director's discussing about the current situation of HK films and how there is not enough originality and they tend to copy or redo something that was popular on many other films.

Gen-X Cops is different. Police Academy this is not. You get three talented young no-named actors who really kick ass in this film. Notably Nicholas Tse who plays the character of Jack. In the featurette included in the DVD, Jackie Chan even gives respect to the man because he also does his own stunts. There is one scene where he comes out of a swimming pool with gasoline on top of the pool on fire and he emerges out of the pool. These are just a few scenes that you see Nicholas Tse do. Pretty boy? This guy is not afraid to take on risks and this person is definitely a rising star to keep your eye on.

One of the things that makes this movie rock is the dedication of the director Benny Chan (Big Bullet, Who am I?). Although he admits that it was difficult to film the movie because the three gen-x actors loved to play around the set and are loud, he knew that was the chemistry that made these guys click and the way the movie turned out, he definitely clicked with them.

Sam Lee who plays the character of Alien is so weird and very funny, you can't help but like his character. Then there is the "playboy" Stephen Fung who plays the character of Match. According to Tse, a person playing himself...a playboy. These guys get along so well and are a perfect click which makes this movie even more enjoyable. One scene has the three friends outrunning blasts in a building. A scene that they can only shoot once with no mistakes. The only time the three were ever quiet on the set according to Chan.

The movie also features our favorite gangster guy, Francis Ng who is a great gangster guy in movies such as "Young and Dangerous" and comedy movies such as "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star". It was a pleasure to see him in this movie as Lok.

You'll notice that three languages are used in this movie (Btw, I watched it in Cantonese in English subtitles, I'm not into dubbed in English movies): Cantonese, English and Japanese. The Japanese star in this film is Toru Nakamura. Popular for his awesome work in Japanese dramas such as "Nemureru Mori" (The Sleeping Forest) and "Ko-ri no Sekai" (The Ice World). He speaks in English and in Japanese in this movie but I think it was pretty cool they included him in this movie trying to attract Japanese viewers. In this movie he plays Akatora. The bad guy! For those who followed his works, he can definitely play a hardcore bad guy! The man is definitely a talented actor.

It was also a pleasure to watch Grace Yip who plays Y2K and the introduction of model, Jaymee Ong (who plays the character, Haze) of Australia. Last, you can watch the special cameo of martial arts star, Jackie Chan.

It also helps that you have people involved in this movie such as the special effects team that blew up the White House on Independence Day and a professional aerial team who worked with Chan to make one hell of a movie.

Some people might get upset about the use of English. It's not the best and if you watch a Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chow Yun Fat American movie, you are either used to it or your a person that moans about the English. Just sit down and watch the movie without zoning in on the language, let the story and the action be the main thing you are watching this movie for. I'm sure this movie was expensive to make as well and Gen-X Cops in my opinion has a much more of an interesting storyline.

I think one of the reason why I like this movie is because I can identify with the three actors and I like how hip this movie really is.

The video quality in the film is pretty good and I was happy top see the widescreen version done anamorphically! YES! Also, the sound is presented in 5.1 (Cantonese and also in additional languages) and trust me, it was a great experience to hear those sounds from all sides of the room.

Are there many extras on this DVD? At first, I quickly glanced at the menu before the movie and I said to myself...probably not. I was wrong! After enjoying the movie so much, I then checked out the extras included on the DVD. Bare in mind it was 10:30 p.m. when I finished the movie. It was cool to see the trailers but then I watched the deleted scenes and oh my! It's about 40 minutes long? Well, ok...it's mixed with parts of the film, so I guesstimate that it was 30 or so minutes of extra footage. Most movies with deleted scenes are about 5-10 minutes long or even shorter. It was a pleasure to see the extra scenes. Some I felt would have been nice for the movie but I wish there was a director's commentary to explain why he took it out...but what the heck, they jammed some scenes into this deleted scenes segment already. Very cool to watch!

Now, it's almost 11:30, I have yet to watch the making-of documentary. This one was pretty long and it was very...I mean VERY awesome! You actually get to see Nicholas Tse perform those risky scenes and you also get to see/hear the comments by the director and by others of each other. Also, a comment at the party by Jackie Chan who says something about Nicholas Tse. Overall, the extras are pretty damn good! To end the documentary, you get the music video performed by Tse, Fung and Lee.

It's almost 1 a.m. now and I'm just pumped up! This movie was very awesome! It was definitely much more than I expected. Also, it is pretty cool to see a DVD out in department stores with Asians on the front cover. I hope Media Asia Films releases another DVD and I can't wait for Gen-X Cops II.

This DVD is highly recommended for action movie viewers.

GEN-X COPS
[Te Jing Xin Ren Lei]

(Hong Kong - 1999)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital

Jackie Chan co-produced this routine blockbuster as a showcase for some of Hong Kong's hottest new teen stars, including Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, Stephen Fung Tak-lun, Daniel Wu Yin-cho and comic relief Sam Lee Chan-sam. The convoluted storyline posits Tse, Fung and Lee as a trio of rebellious young cops, recruited as undercover agents by police commander Eric Tsang Chi-wai to investigate the shady business dealings between low-level Triad underling Wu and a Japanese crime lord (Toru Nakamura) who has seized a shipment of deadly explosives for nefarious purposes, prompting a sequence of betrayals and counter-betrayals amongst members of the opposing criminal factions, until events reach an explosive climax during a showdown at the newly-opened Hong Kong Convention Center.

Veteran director Benny Chan Muk-sing (A MOMENT OF ROMANCE, NEW POLICE STORY) marshals proceedings into a cohesive whole, though the movie fizzles badly after a dynamic opening sequence before rallying again somewhere around the halfway mark. The action scenes are staged and executed with all the breathless abandon one expects from HK cinema, but many of them unfold so quickly, it's often difficult to know who's doing what to whom, or even why, and crucial plot points are sometimes lost along the way. Few of the actors emerge with any credit, though Nakamura is admirably solemn as an English-speaking Japanese villain who clings to old-fashioned notions of truth and righteousness in a world where such virtues no longer have currency. The young leads are OK (Wu's transition from beleaguered second-in-command to ruthless hard man is surprisingly convincing), while Tsang spends much of his screen time trading insults with his younger, slicker police counterpart (Moses Chan Ho).

Stand-out set-pieces include a breathtaking skydive from the roof of a high-rise building, and the climactic scenes at the Hong Kong Convention Center which utilize ambitious visual effects supervised by a US effects team, headed by Oscar-winner Joe Viskocil (INDEPENDENCE DAY, APOLLO 13). Sensitive viewers may be irritated by some xenophobic comments directed toward the Japanese villains, and there's a couple of dialogue exchanges which play directly to bigoted attitudes about gay men, but the offence is fleeting, if unnecessary. Ultimately, this big budget fluff - designed to compete with a flood of Hollywood blockbusters dominating the HK box-office - amounts to little more than a feel-good fantasy thriller, as slick and hollow as the very films it seeks to emulate. A huge success on its home turf, the film spawned an inevitable sequel, GEN-Y COPS (2000).