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Simply Perfect

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Man, it's a common problem with some of these large HK productions - that it wants to have everything.The story behind the movie is basically a terrorist plot to infect. But then it adds long lost brother relationship. And adds a corrupted Malaysian cop plot. Add a female doctor to kidnap. Man, overboiled.There are some good action scene but mostly in the beginning shots in Jordan.The scene on the train shifted from action to famly drama. Dante likes to do that. But it always takes me out of the movie.And Jay is too stoic when go along side Nicholas. Sigh...

Dante Lam is fast becoming one of the most consistently good directors from Hong Kong. With Beast Stalker and Stool Pigeon under his belt, Lam once again impresses in The Viral Factor. There is something about this film that takes hold of you and despite the tame finale; Viral Factor manages to come up with plenty of guns, body counts and high stake stunts to entertain action fans. Casting Lam's regular Nicholas Tse and Liu Kai-chi springs no surprise in the good acting department, but it is the mis-cast of Jay Chou that ruins an otherwise pretty good flick.Jay Chou has zero facial expressions, his eyes are too small for any type of impact and his face is that of a wooden statue. Comparing with the matured reigning Best Actor in Tse, Chou is purely poor and totally out of place. Tse on the other hand oozes with confidence and in one scene his eyes was so intense that it bulges out to the audience. Tse has all the hall-mark of a versatile actor and another Best Actor gonk does not seem far away. Liu Kai-chi once again gives a scene stealing display as the gambling addict yet loving father. Another weak link is the villainous turn from Andy On and it is clear that he lacks the menacing presence that is required of the role. Like Chou, On is too wooden to have any impact on the audience.All in all, The Viral Factor is a decent Hong Kong action-er that shoots and shoots from start to finish. With some indifferent acting display and a tame finale, the film ultimately suffers and stops it from elevating the film to the same level as the wonderful Beast Stalker or even The Stool Pigeon for that matter. In hindsight, if Chou and On are replaced by the likes of Nick Cheung and Francis Ng respectively, the film will probably go leaps and bounds. Still, The Viral Factor entertains from start to finish and for Hong Kong film nowadays, one shouldn't expect perfection… Neo rates it 7.5/10

This is another typical action movie from HK that will be loved by those who watch with their right-sided brain but not those with left-sided brain. Better still if watch without working on the brains.Anyway, you have no time for the brain. Scenes are fast, action start right from the beginning till end, mostly well filmed, fast paced but the whole story, main plots and sub-plots right to the action details are full of multi-layered coincidental happenings or actions and events all in the nick time that the audience will find it unconvincing and unbelievable. If only they have paid more attention to the script instead of the action. Revealing the characters or more of the story will spoil the fun, there are also too many loose ends. One important role's mum actually got lost in the middle of the action. Most of the acting are good except for Jay Chou who look lost throughout the movie but it's OK considering his "problem". The location of KL(Kuala Lumpur) made the movie better; instead of usual HK.

There was a time not very long ago, when movies from Hong Kong meant one thing : "ACTION" sometimes an overdose of it. But regardless of the naysayers, they were quiet brilliant at it. But then they grew either too frivolous or too serious and sometimes too pretentious for their own good. Dante Lam (one of the better ones out there) in the face of this gradual change has earned himself a name for sticking to his "guns"; literally. & if the experience of his latest offer is anything to go by, the trend may just catch up again. I for one will not be complaining.The GOOD : This potentially could be the most accomplished HK "action" movie in a contemporary sense of the word and setting. There have been a few masterclasses but most of them are either from the age of the Kings & Queens or of characters with super powers (yawn inducing). "The Viral Factor" does not have any gravity defying stunts nor does it have a single shot which is used to glamorise the protagonist or the antagonist. With all due respect to Donnie Yen, considered the best action man in town and my favourite too, there have been too many caricatured villains in his movies. Nothing like that in TVF. Its bare knuckles, blood splattered walls, rusty nails / water pipes, plenty of body bags, big guns in extended street chase sequences, car crashes, rocket launchers, helicopter chases and the list goes on. You absolutely have to give it to the director for his no holds barred approach from start to finish. He does not pretend its anything else. The leads Jay Chou & Nicholas Tse, have done a fantastic job and quite possibly have produced their best work yet. Chinese lads are not known for histrionics but some demanding & long single shots have brought out the best in them. Nicholas Tse in my book has grown to be in a different league compared to his "Dragon Tiger Gate" days and character.The story although not a pathbreaker has a sense of nobility in it with a platform for a large spectrum of emotions. The almost unseen city skyline that of KL (in a movie before this) is used as a backdrop and that adds on the rare but tingling after taste that the movie leaves. I was very curious to see how it'd turn up and its fair to say I am mighty impressed as I have lived right in the middle of almost all the places the story evolves through. The BAD : The screenplay does not do any huge favours to the story and is the biggest let down of the movie. It stands as the biggest deterrent to what it could have been. Mostly because, the 2nd n 3rd acts which is the glue that holds the end to the start tends to give a convoluted feel. There is nothing wrong in the story, but the sequence of events and there by its impact could have been spot on with some crisp writing. The editing leaves a little to be desired coz if that was snappy, TVF could have been an immortal piece of ACTION cinema. All these also mean that the runtime could do with some some chopping. Another sore point of the proceedings esp. for the non English speaking crowd, is the amount of English used in the script. Some of them were necessary and fits well. But I could not digest the main baddie delivering almost all his lines and most importantly the ones that mattered to the eventual development of the story, in English. And if it counts at all, I don't speak Cantonese or Mandarin nor understand 1 bit. Considering this is predominantly aimed at the Chinese with a more than liberal approach begging the westerners to pay a visit, the subtitles alone would have sufficed.The FINAL WORD : Its recommended for the action fan. Go and have Yourself a great time at the theater. One of the best ways to kick off a new year.Read more reviews http://mayurdeep.com