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Shock Wave
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It’s been an Andy Lau kind of week it seems. First The Adventurers, then this one, and just as I’m getting ready to watching Shock Wave I get Well Go USA’s Chasing the Dragon to review as well! Not that I’m complaining, I really do love Andy Lau as an actor. It used to be a time when all America got was the Hong Kong action films out of China, like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, and Chow Yun Fat movies. Either that or period piece Chinese films if we wanted to see some dramatic acting. However, Andy Lau has been pumping out hundreds of movies from Hong Kong over the last 3 decades or so, and it’s only been recently that we’ve had a glut of his films. He seems to be the “go to guy” for serious acting and dramatic chops over there and he very rarely disappoints in his performances. Even if the film he’s in isn’t the greatest. Shock Wave is a capable action/drama about a bomb removal expert in a hostage situation, and while it doesn’t blaze any new ground, manages to be quite entertaining nonetheless.
Like many Asian films, there’s some continuity issues with Shock Wave, but what is clear is that an undercover EOD (explosives ordinance department) cop named Cheung (Andy Lau) has been working a case against a group of thieves for quite some time. In an explosive confrontation, Cheung blows his cover and helps arrest the brother of the main thief, along with several other of his associates. Sadly the master thief himself, Peng Hong (Wu Jiang) gets away in the chaos. After spending some time doing “normal” cop things, Cheung gets involved with a beautiful young teacher named Carmen Li (Jia Song) and is even given a commendation for all of his hard work. However, things can not go along this peaceful forever, as a series of bomb threats seems to lead back to one man, Peng Hong himself. Before they can apprehend the master bomb maker and thief, Peng Hong breaks his brother out and traps himself in the center of a Hong Kong’s giant under ground transportation tunnel system and sets up a hostage situation.
Called into action once more, Cheung and his crew of Hong Kong police try and figure a way out for the hostages, as well as a way to catch Peng Hong as well. Peng has barricaded himself in there, and there seems to be no way out, but he’s also wired the whole tunnel to blow if anyone make any sudden moves. Unbeknownst to Cheung and the rest of the Hong Kong police force, Peng Hong has made a business deal with the owner of the tunnel and set up an entire escape method that may leave everyone high and dry.
As I said, there’s nothing INVENTIVE about the movie, but in typical Hong Kong fashion, it’s a boat load of fun. I was initially envisioning a sort of Daylight scenario (Sylvester Stallone flick), where Andy’s character would be caught under the tunnel the whole time, but it’s really the criminals who stay down there. The first 1/3rd of the film is spent above ground, and even when Peng Hong and his thugs take over the tunnel, Andy and his crew spend most of their time outside trying to penetrate his barrier of hostages. The final fight scene sends us directly underground and speeds up the action dramatically, giving us your standard fare action gun battles that we’ve all come to know and love from Hong Kong cinema.
Rating:
Not Rated by the MPAA
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• Trailer
Final Score:
It’s another day in the life of Andy Lau, and frankly a very decent one at that. Lau is one of my favorite Chinese actors, and a really good one at that. His films rarely ever disappoint, at least they never seem to have HIM to blame for any shortcomings found within. Shock Wave is an entertaining little thriller, with plenty of action, some light humor and lots of explosive effects for good measure. Cinedigm’s Blu-ray is technically amazing (minus some very sparse extras) and the price is just right for a purchase, in my opinion. Worth it as a fun watch for Hong Kong thrillers.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Andy Lau, Wu Jiang, Jia Song
Directed by: Herman Yau
Written by: Erica Lee, Herman Yau
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Cinedigm
Rated: NR
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 2nd, 2018
Recommendation: Fun Watch