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One of my all time favorites.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

P.T.U. is not the type of film that springs to mind when someone mentions a "feel-good" film, it's also not really an "action" film. What it is, is a slow paced, dark, gritty, and perilous journey through Hong Kong's night life. Complete with gangsters, cops, dirty cops, and the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) run by a charismatic Simon Yam.To be exact, P.T.U. is pretty much Johnnie To's take on film's like Lock, Stock, and two smoking barrels. But this time the focus is less on gangsters and more on law enforcement agents. Also, unlike Lock, Stock, PTU is virtually humorless, and more on the depressing side. It's not a completely original concept, but in the hands of Johnnie To it manages to entertain. Mind you, it's not as bleak as other recent films to come out of Hong Kong (Dog Bite Dog comes to mind) but is definitely not a film one would describe as uplifting or funny.Seargeant Lo Sa (played brilliantly by Suet Lam) is having a bad day. After eating at a local diner he walks outside and finds a "punk" keying his car. Angered, Seargeant Lo chases to culprit straight into an ambush. He awakens in an alleyway beaten, bloody, and missing his police issue revolver. Not wanting to lose a promotion he's up for, Seargeant Lo enlists the help of Mike Ho (leader of the PTU played by the always awesome Simon Yam) to help him find his gun before the night is over. Over the course of the night, Seargeant Lo finds himself stuck in the middle of two warring gangs, while also being investigated by a pesky CID inspector. On top of all that, he must desperately recover his lost revolver before the morning.Those who are familiar with Johnnie To's direction (and like his films) will love this flick and the slow paced punch that it packs. PTU is shot with an almost noir feel, although it's technically in color. The cinematography is beautiful and meshes perfectly to capture the film's dreary moods, juxtaposed with shot's of gloomy cityscapes, streets, and alleyways, PTU leaves it's mark artistically.In PTU, the performances are good all-around. Simon Yam is great as a calm, reserved, leader of the PTU who sticks his head out for Seargeant Lo. Ruby Wong is also good as Leigh Cheng leader of the C.I.D. unit although she's not given much to do. Lastly, Suet Lam is perfect for the role of the bumbling Seargeant who looses his gun and starts a sequence of events which leads to the film's ultra-violent ending. After seeing Suet in many films with smaller supporting roles (Dog Bite Dog, Election 2) it's nice to see him casted for a major role, and he does a good job of it.PTU is a good all around film but has it's share of faults; chiefly the film's score. I don't know what Johnnie To was thinking when he scored the film with 90's guitar rock. The score was way to lively and jubilant for the films dark mood and slow pacing. It nearly ruined a few parts for me because it takes the edge of some of the dramatic scenes. Other than the score, Ruby Wong is underused and the film tends to slow down in certain points. Fortunately, the films opening scenes and violent conclusion help to make up for these issues... although the film needs a new score either way.Bottom Line- PTU is a must for Johnnie To fans. New-comers will also find it entertaining and accessible due to it's re-cycled plot. A good film, just short of a masterpiece but really need a new score.

PTU is undoubtly one of To's best work to date, to me, it's as good as The Mission, with a more developed Johny To touch in it. and for me the best John To film has to be Running Out Of Time. i'd like to point out that PTU is a Johny To's "personal" work, meaning that it's solely produced and distributed by his own production company - MilkyWay Image, and there have only been 2 other movies that are considered Milkyway Image films, or Johny To's personal works, one is 1999's Running Out Of Time, and one is The Misson, he's stated that he'd only make one in about every 3 years(numerous times), in his career he's done a lot of movies, but they are mostly block busters. so if you are interested in other movies by him, just know that they are not really the kind of movies he want to make.

I saw a screening of PTU at UCLA tonight, with the director (and his translator) in attendance. I found the film to be a bit slow in spots, but I was willing to go along with the deliberate pace and slow burn of the film. I think in this country we're way too spoiled on visual chaos, with most studio films thrusting a car chase or a slapstick joke in our face every two minutes or so. It doesn't have to be that way. The film was shot beautifully and there is a quiet cool about the whole thing, very reminiscent of a Lee Marvin vibe as someone else here pointed out.To did stay to answer questions after the movie, and although this did not alter my opinion of the film it did make me appreciate it even more. It was shot over the course of two years, while he would stop to make other commercial films; some actors gain or lose weight on screen! The budget only came out to $400k U.S. Several of the actors were actually crew people from his other films. One person asked him how he made his cinematography choices (i.e. the constant pools of light) and he laughed and said it was strictly budgetary; they couldn't afford to dress every set and they only had a few overhead lights, so voila! I think the limitations of what they had to work with only make the film stronger, much like Jaws is a better movie because the shark always broke down.

spoiler by innuendoP.T.U. (for Police Tactical Unit) is director Johnny To's much publicised recent work. Comparison with To's classic The Mission is almost inevitable. P.T.U., unfortunately, does not measure up. The main problem could be that To tried too hard, not unlike Zhang Yimou with Hero.While Zhang tried to dazzle his audience with an overwhelming visual kaleidoscope, To was indulged in an attempt to impress his with mental sleight of hand. Both failed. What To has done is to play with every scene like a sleight of hand, building up mounting tension and suspense, culminating in..........nothing. On might say that this is precisely the point, to show the absurdity of the entire situation, a much ado about nothing piece of satire. Even granting that, this sleight of hand thing is still far overdone.This assertion comes out more clearly by comparison with The Mission, which is To's best work to-date. In The Mission, To used a simple plot as his vehicle to do the things he wanted to do: the characters, their interaction, the visual form, the mise-en-scene. Amidst all that, he had time to squeeze in one of the most inspired scenes: the five body guards languidly kicking around a crumbled piece of paper made into a ball while waiting for the big boss.P.T.U. is not a complete disaster. The sleight of hand does capture some attention, at least at the begining. Lam Suet's portrayal of the rather down-to-earth and somewhat comical character does a lot to brighten up the film.The original score by Chung Chi-wing also deserves some credit. Chung, unless I am seriously mistaken, is the one quite well know among people familiar with the local live theatre scene, being credited with a couple of very respectable local musicals.