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Better Late Then Never

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It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The film centers on a police detective investigating a series of gruesome murderers. As the case pulls him deeper, he soon realizes that he may be a prime suspect.MURDERER is an example of a film that tries too hard to be unique and different from every other film with a similar plot. In fact, it tries too hard that the film falls apart. Let's start with the good: The first half of the film is interesting and captivating. The film lays out the puzzle pieces while our protagonist tries to put them together.Then comes in the dreaded second half. Whatever good was built up in the first half is now broken down, stomped upon, and lit on fire. Stupid and unbelievable things happen here. For example, our protagonist seems to be framed for some murders. Well, the easiest way to find out is some DNA testing, right? Nope. Somehow, nobody in this film ever thought of that. It's as if the film took place 50 years ago when there was no technology or DNA testing.There's also a twist that occurs that is so outlandish and utterly hilarious that you'd question how any of the actors held a straight face in the scenes they're in. At one point in the film, our protagonist says, "This is ridiculous! This is crazy!" He isn't the only person that is thinking that at that moment.However, I will say the film isn't completely terrible. The performance by Aaron Kwok is really good. Also, the film is really well made, from the cinematography to the score. However, one would think someone would have cared to fix the problems in the script. What starts off as a good detective mystery soon transcends into absurdness and soon into hilarity. The film is a prime example of how a perfectly good film can fall apart by a messy script.

SITTING through the first half of this crime thriller, an avid moviegoer would get a sense of 'deja vu'. The viewer recalls popular movies like "Seven", "Primal Fear", "Memento" and later, "Orphan".However, when the plot is unraveled, one would feel hugely disappointed. The script is badly contrived and so full of holes that we feel cheated at having to sit through two hours for this piece of drivel.The movie starts off promisingly with an intriguing premise: what if you are investigating a series of murders and all the evidence point to you as the culprit? Aaron Kwok's detective Ling, who is investing a serial killer that uses electric drill on his victims, is found unconscious on the seventh floor of an apartment building. On the ground below, his colleague Tai (Chen Kuan Tai) is critically injured after falling from one of the top floors of the building.Ling, who suffers from amnesia after the 'attack', believes it is the work of the serial killer - but as he starts his own investigation into the incident, he is shocked to find that he may have been framed by the killer! What's more, he learns that his wife (Ning Chang) and five-year-old son are likely targets.The lame script aside, we have to admit that the build-up is rather tensed and suspenseful - thanks to Kwok and co-star Cheung Sui-Fai who plays his cop buddy 'Ghost'. Kwok gives his Detective Ling the requisite touch of outrage and paranoia that help to sustain our curiosity. Cheung, on the other hand, plays a man of reason and logic - until he is overwhelmed by them.Ning Chang is solid as the long-suffering wife but it is Josie Ho who livens things up as Minnie, Ling's younger sister who arrives from the States.The movie collapses when the 'truth' is revealed. Director Roy Chow (who also wrote the screenplay with To Chi-Long) seems to have spent so much time on the build-up that he has to rush through the ending. Instead of explaining the plot (or mystery), he makes the ending more ridiculous, opening up lots of questions on the minds of viewers. A very unfortunate debut for director Chow. - By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot,com)

The credentials attached to this production is somewhat stellar, and I got to admit I was hooked by the trailer, which stylishly promised something of quality hidden behind the very obvious red herrings thrown around. Lensed by Lee Pin Bing and starring Aaron Kwok, whom I've grown to admire his choice of projects which highlight his developing credibility as a serious actor, this film started off strong, but ended with an unsatisfying, weakened whimper in a schizophrenic manner.Unlike C+ Detective, which also recently starred Kwok in a cop role, and one which I had enjoyed and came with a number of surprises, Murderer got let down by the chief factor in direction and vision. While some may point the blame squarely at the story, I thought it was something that could be forgiven, since it needed something quite ludicrous to pull off that sense of disbelief that would drive Kwok's Chief Inspector Ling totally nuts, and make everyone roll their eyes if he were to tell the truth. And what more than to make his character morally ambiguous as well, not a squeaky clean do-gooder boy scout, with that shade of grey that hovers around even the best amongst us.The film started off literally with a bang, where we can rudely interrupted with a man who had fallen from great heights, and coupled with a bone-crunching impact. A cop is found at the foot of a block, barely alive, and on the upper floors lie Ling, completely dazed. When Ling wakes up, he suffers from memory loss, locking inside his subconscious some very vital clues to a serial killer whom his team had been investigating. A Memento-ish premise has been set, and you're primed for a thrilling ride, complete with complementary scenes of blood, gore and shocking quick edits.Naturally he becomes a suspect, and kudos to the story though in throwing up scenarios that all point toward him, from the murder weapon right down to irrefutable evidence that firmly indicates Ling's involvement, one way or another. Aaron Kwok does his best in providing that sense of despair, which on one hand he tries to uncover the truth and the identity of the serial killer, while on the other constantly worrying if he's truly in fact guilty, and through his dubious actions, make you wonder if he's either a Jekyll and Hyde, or just plain poetic justice if he were to be investigating himself.It developed adequately well up until the half way mark, where until then the story allowed Kwok to run wild with his emotions, showcasing a range that showed why he's a Best Actor award recipient. But alas even Kwok's ace performance failed to make up for director Roy Chow's shortcoming. I felt that while it may be necessary to show hand at the mid way point just who Ling's cunning adversary was, never mind if it could be a tad unbelievable, but the way it was handled was just plain sloppy.Imagine having to listen to the usual villainous monologue bragging just how smart the plot so far had been, or watch how a sequence of events had happened in order to develop this feeling of vendetta. It tried to redeem itself by occasionally suggesting to you that things may probably not be what it seemed, but instead of opting for a more psychological challenge, it laid everything out on the table verbatim, and failed to continue playing you, the audience, in keeping alive that sliver of hope that the revelation could be something more subtly handled, rather than being so verbatim and shoved down your throat as the truth.I had even secretly hoped for a dream sequence where one wakes up aand finds what had happened was nothing but a figment of imagination - I would be pleased with that development in this movie, so that would indicate to you just how badly handled it all was. And to makes things worse, there's this constant shuffle in the last 10 minutes between psychological drama (too little too late) to blood curdling and spouting moments of gore, and even attempting a Seven to a certain extent, which unfortunately dragged the scene a little too long for that sense of gory impact.A whole list of supporting cast, such as Cheung Siu Fai, Chin Kar Lok, Josie Ho playing Ling's sister Minnie, and Ning Chang as his wife Hazel, all fail to add any depth to the movie, being rather throwaway characters in this story which had as much potential as 20th Century Boys (with clues that are locked away in the past, and told through flashbacks), but let down by direction, failing to translate something more cerebral without casting a shadow of comedy in its lacklustre execution and delivery.

A 40 year old midget posing as a 5 year old boy frames his adoption father (a cop) for a series of murder in this laughable suspense thriller that becomes an unintentional comedy by the end. Another misguided effort by Hong Kong cinema to try for a Hollywood touch but fails miserably. There are scenes that copied straight from a slew of Hollywood thrillers. Such as Seven and Angel Heart. Mememto comes to mind. Even the Omen has the unfortunate honor. And the outcome is this freak of a hybrid. For fans of slasher flicks, the amount of blood and gore in this one would serve their appetite just fine. 0therwise, this is not just bad. This is oh-my-god bad.