Glossy, sobering action film with a strong central performance from Louis Koo, who picked up Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards for his efforts. It’s a Chinese Taken with Koo playing a single dad policeman whose daughter is nabbed while visiting a friend in Thailand. He buddies up with Wu Yue to investigate, who gets his own subplot involving his pregnant wife and police chief father-in-law, who is also involved in another subplot about the upcoming mayoral elections and a governmental aide who is trafficking organs through his gangster connections who also seems to be involved in the sex trade. Wilson Yip still spins a stylish, pleasing web of tension and pathos, even if this one is particularly light on levity. The only jarring moments are, unfortunately, Sammo Hung‘s fight scenes, which are irritatingly edited and laden with distracting wire moments which separate the film from its dramatic moorings. Its a strange artistic decision, particularly considering how performers like Chris Collins and Tony Jaa don’t need too much trickery to look great. Putting gimmicky moments aside, its still quite a convincing, rousing drama.

AKA: SPL 3: Paradox.