Hard Boiled

Tequila slammers, toothpicks, babe in arms, hundreds of smashed tiles and thousands of spent rounds. A perfect piece, down to the smallest detail, from John Woo, Fat and everybody else involved. This ode to action is incredible not only for a John Woo movie. Especially the brothers’ finale in the hospital is inimitable and unmatchable. If you are used to politically correct American productions, you will be shocked by the mass shooting of civilians or the brutal action overflowing with visuals typical for John Woo. Often in his pictures the action element plays just a supporting role to a drama involving two men, and here it is the same, although that motif takes much more of a back seat here. Even the scenes with kids, which elsewhere would be superficially cheap, are handled perfectly here. The entire movie gets by without any humorous element, with the honorable exception of two “sorta" snappy lines at the very end. The only negative aspect of this movie is the rather too disruptive music. One of the zeniths of Hong Kong “gun" movies. (2005-04-25)

Neat action and cool lines. Both John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat are on their best form here. Technically almost perfect action scenes, ingenious and still surprises after all these years. I’m telling you, this movie suited me down to the ground. Tequila’s apt remarks were really to my taste. A classic that I plan on watching again soon. (2014-01-26)

It's excellent, perhaps the best among all the films where John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat collaborated, but I can't help feeling that when you've seen one of their films, you've seen almost all of them. The gunshots are absolutely captivating; here, you really feel like human bodies are being torn apart. Especially at the end, it's a violent orgy. Otherwise, it's not a film that would make me orgasmic. It’s action-packed, but I might have expected a bit more from it. (2014-02-13)

As a film critic, watching Hard Boiled was a missing piece in my collection, especially since most viewers claim it’s the greatest classic in the action genre in cinema. And I must admit, in terms of this rating, it truly has no competition. John Woo created a revolutionary film where shootouts need to be both effective and visually striking; his depiction of these sequences is truly unparalleled—it’s a feast for the eyes, whether it’s the moments in the warehouse or the final half-hour showdown in the hospital (I wouldn’t even want to count how much ammunition was fired in total; that number would probably have a lot of zeros), which left my jaw on the floor. So, in this respect, the film is excellent. On the other hand, the story doesn’t offer a thrilling experience full of unexpected twists that will blow you away. It’s a template-like linear affair that moves along nicely (at least it avoids boredom). Yun-fat Chow is perfect. So, I definitely recommend watching the film; it’s worth it. I give it 80%. (2020-08-23)

Had I seen this film at the time of its release, I would have gone higher with the rating for sure. Today, however, the film doesn't offer much anymore, the competition is really strong! There is not much of a story to speak of, at least there's a decent portion of action that is very brutal, clear and very innovative for the 90's. Today only 75%. (2014-06-21)