"Concluding a remarkable run of homegrown films which included A Better Tomorrow, , and Bullet to The Head, the auteur bid adieu to the Far East with arguably his career masterpiece, a visceral amalgamation of hyper-kinetic violence, pitch-black humor, and erm, smooth jazz, which redefined his genre of choice. Woo nails the gonzo tone immediately, its opening scene showcasing his stylized "bullet ballet" approach in all its glory while surpassing the body count of most Hollywood actioners in their entirety."
"Thanks to some impressive multi-tasking - see how he takes out an army of gangsters while simultaneously sliding down a stair rail - gun-toting cop Tequila (Chow Yun-fat) somehow leaves the gangster-occupied teahouse he'd been surveilling with his life intact. His partner, Benny (Bowie Lam), on the other hand isn't so lucky, setting the wheels in motion for a tale that's part-revenge flick, part-gangster epic, and part-unlikely buddy cop bromance."
Hard Boiled receives a 4K UHD/Blu-ray release that highlights John Woo's late Hong Kong work. The film blends hyper-kinetic violence, pitch-black humor, and smooth jazz with an operatic, stylized "bullet ballet" visual language. Gun-toting cop Tequila (Chow Yun-fat) survives an explosive teahouse encounter while his partner Benny is killed, prompting a revenge-driven, gangster-epic arc. Tequila pairs with antisocial, origami-obsessed undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) to infiltrate rival Triads and stop a new crime boss. The protagonists uncover a weapons vault beneath a hospital capable of arming a national military. Woo makes a brief cameo as a worldly bartender amid escalating carnage.
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