OPERATION HADAL is Lost at Sea

OPERATION HADAL (Blu-ray)

2025 / 130 min

Well Go USA

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Boat Captain😾

It was with considerable anticipation that I approached this third installment in director Dante Lam’s tenuously linked “Operation” series. The first film, Operation Mekong, pitted the Chinese police against ruthless drug smugglers, while the follow-up, Operation Red Sea was about an elite Navy squad taking on terrorists in order to rescue Chinese dignitaries. Like Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy, the connecting threads between them were largely aesthetic. The stories and characters were different, but in terms of style, pacing, some of the same actors and gobs of bloody, bonkers violence…yeah, this was a franchise, and a damned entertaining one (especially Operation Red Sea, one of 2018’s best action films). 

Unfortunately, the third time is not a charm. Despite boasting many of the same elements (and returning actors) as the first two films, Operation Hadal is a crushing disappointment...and sometimes unintentionally funny.

Gosh, where to start. How about the most obvious one…the characters. I’ll be the first to concede that characterization was never a high priority in this franchise, but here, it’s nearly non-existent. What we mostly learn about the major players are their names and titles. Beyond that, they’re either talking heads or defined by action. There’s almost no middle ground. But that’s arguably the least of the movie’s problems…

The other two films may not have always smacked of realism, but were at least grounded enough to seem plausible. Conversely, Operation Hadal dives head-first into sci-fi territory with an outlandish plot that evokes some of the more ridiculous, Roger Moore-era Bond films…with a bit of The Hunt for Red October thrown in. The Chinese Navy becomes engaged in a game of cat and mouse between their submarines and those from the fictional country, the State of Siekerman (presumably Americans), who plan to detonate a powerful nuke capable of triggering underwater volcanoes, resulting in earthquakes and tsunamis that’ll wipe out most of Asia.

Well, this guy certainly missed the boat.

Wait, it gets better (and by that I mean worse). Some of our heroes don flying jet-packs to engage the enemy, descending upon an oil rig like a batch of Avengers. Later, it’s revealed that the State of Siekerman has a secret underwater base (seriously), which is not only guarded by soldiers, but killer robot dogs armed with machine guns and missiles. Rather than awe, these scenes elicit eye-rolling, along with a few chuckles.

Even forgetting the ludicrous sci-fi aspects of the film, the narrative is a baffling mess, so convoluted that there are numerous points where the viewer isn’t exactly sure what’s going on, compounded by an overall lack of visual distinction among the various underwater locations. Most of the time, we’re only aware of where an action scene is going down because a title card tells us so. 

And speaking of action, there’s enough for two or three movies…guns, fists, knives, blood, destruction, explosions, all powered by a perpetually moving camera and marginally convincing CGI. But right from the get-go, it’s so relentless, hyper-edited and repetitive that the effect is ultimately numbing (especially with that deadly running time). Even a cinematic chest-thumper like Michael Bay sometimes knows when to slow things down to let a movie breathe. 

Those who get their kicks watching someone else play a video game might find Operation Hadal fairly amusing. For others, especially those of us who enjoyed Dante Lam’s first two “Operation” films, this one is a soulless, dramatically anemic letdown.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING-OF FEATURETTE

TRAILER

ON THE RUN: An Unusual Partnership

ON THE RUN (Blu-ray)

1988 / 89 min

88 Films

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Badass😸

I’ll say this much…this bleak and brutal Hong Kong action film doesn’t pull its punches. On the Run is the first film I’ve seen by director Alfred Cheung, and if this is indicative of his work, the guy’s got no qualms over killing off characters other directors might be compelled to spare. In this case, it adds some welcome unpredictability to an otherwise standard crime thriller, as does the unusual pairing of its two main protagonists.

Heung Ming (Yuen Biao) is a cop whose estranged wife (also a cop) is murdered by a mysterious assailant, Chui Pai (Pat Ha). Though his status in the department is pretty lowly, Heung vows to find the killer. When he manages to track Chui down and capture her, he informs his superintendent, Lui (Charlie Chin), so he can make the arrest. Instead, Lui sends his men to kill them both because the entire squad are corrupt, ruthless drug dealers.

Shouldn't have picked at it, Heung.

Here’s the interesting part…since Heung is framed for his wife’s murder, he and Chui end up on the run together with his young daughter, Lin, in tow. Not only do the two learn to trust each other, they make a formative team when turning the tables on their pursuers. In fact, Chui becomes every bit as protective of Lin as her father. This quasi-family dynamic is pretty engaging, and if nothing else, it’s certainly an unusual partnership for a film of this type.

Elsewhere, On the Run maintains a grim tone, punctuated by frequent bursts of action and bloody violence (with a notable emphasis on eye trauma), culminating in a histrionic climax that’s simultaneously satisfying and silly. The basic story itself - a manhunt for someone wrongly accused - is nothing new, but it’s presented with a lot of flair and includes some unexpectedly affecting moments. However, the tacked-on denouement, presented as a title card, feels arbitrary and unnecessary. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Running Away is an interview with director/co-writer Alfred Cheung; Predicting the Future is an interview/analysis with David West.

2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By podcasters Kenneth Brorsson and Pjil Gillon; 2) By Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto.

ALTERNATE ENDING - Pretty much the same as the original ending, minus one final scene.

HONG KONG TRAILER

REVERSIBLE COVER - With new and original artwork.

CUSTOMS FRONTLINE Brings the Kaboom

CUSTOMS FRONTLINE (Blu-ray)

2024 / 116 min

From Well Go USA

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Boat Inspector😼

Customs Frontline sounds more like a wholesale furniture outlet than an action movie. Maybe something got lost in the translation, though it is indeed about Hong Kong customs agents. I suspect such a job is seldom as dangerous and exciting as depicted here, but that’s okay. After all, who the hell would wanna watch a cop movie where its characters spend most of their time filing police reports?

Dedicated agent Chow Ching-lai (Nicholas Tse), his mentor/boss, Cheung Wan-nam (Jacky Cheung), and their team come across an adrift cargo ship. The crew is dead, but the ship is loaded with weapons stolen from Thailand. While escorting two Thai agents to the customs warehouse where the weapons are being held, they are ambushed by mercenaries working for an enigmatic arms dealer known as Dr. Raw (Amanda Strang), stealing them back to sell to a couple of countries at war with each other.

"Stand down, guys...that's just my DoorDash delivery."

That’s the nutshell plot, which largely has Chow and Thai agent Ying (Cya Liu) trying to track down both the weapons and Dr. Raw. When focused on the action, Customs Frontline is generally pretty entertaining. There’s fighting, gunplay and plenty o' kaboom, which is all well executed...save for the laughable CGI blood spurting from gunshot wounds (come on, guys, are squibs really that expensive?).

But the film gets bogged down by its subplots. We’re led to expect Chow’s pending divorce to have some kind of significance, but instead, that thread sort of disappears into the ether. Additionally, the film establishes Cheung as suffering from bipolar disorder, a well-presented development that might have made an interesting film itself, but I fail to see how it really serves this narrative.

For the most part, though, Customs Frontline is a pretty decent way to kill a couple of hours. The fiery, destructive climax is especially exciting, which I suppose can be considered our reward for enduring the weak attempts to inject human drama. And if nothing else, it makes the job of customs agent look more thrilling than it probably is in real life.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING OF FEATURETTE

TRAILER

THE ADVENTURERS: Andy Lau Brings the Pain

THE ADVENTURERS (Blu-ray)

1995 / 110 min

From Eureka Entertainment

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Badass😺

When this arrived, I initially thought it was a rerelease of an identically-titled film I once reviewed which also starred Andy Lau. And I had no problem with that. I generally enjoy Lau’s action movies and 2017’s The Adventurers was a fairly entertaining heist flick. But 1995’s The Adventurers is a completely different animal. It’s one of director Ringo Lam’s lesser-known films on this side of the pond, having never been released on Blu-ray until now.

Lay plays Wai Lok-yan, a Cambodian fighter pilot still traumatized from witnessing the murder of his entire family when he was a boy. The man who killed them is Ray Lui (Paul Chun), a treasonous former CIA operative who’s since become rich as an illegal arms dealer. Wai has had revenge on his mind ever since, and after a failed attempt to assassinate Ray, he’s recruited by the CIA to go undercover as a ganglord in order to help bring Ray (and his much bigger associates) to justice.

Andy Lau suffers for his art.

The job takes him to San Francisco, where he wastes no time taking over territories. He also insinuates himself into the life of Ray’s estranged daughter, Crystal (Jacklyn Wu), eventually marrying her to get closer to his target. The problem is he’s also fallen in love with her, which creates a moral quandary, especially after he learns she’s pregnant. And absolutely none of this sits well with Mona (Rosamund Kwan), Ray’s mistress with whom Wai enjoyed a brief tryst. 

It's occured to me that I’m making The Adventurers sound like a melodramatic soap opera. While some narrative elements reflect that, it’s primarily a violent, complex action film. Some of the story doesn’t always come across as plausible, but it’s certainly exciting, with some excellent action sequences. Lau has always been a solid physical & dramatic actor, and he’s in fine form here. As Ray, Chun makes a wonderfully hateful foe, while Kwan could sort-of be viewed as a femme fatale…and a compelling one at that.

The Adventurers is nowhere near as upbeat as the somewhat misleading title suggests. For the most part, the tone is dark and serious, compounded by brutal violence and a massive body count, especially during the kaboom-laden climax. For Andy Lau and Ringo Lam fans, this one-time collaboration is worth seeking out. 

On an amusing side note, the original poster (reproduced on the Blu-ray cover) shows Lau standing in front of a New York skyline, even though none of the movie takes place there.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - Two Adventurers features Asian Cinema journal editor Gary Bettinson, who thoroughly discusses the golden era of Hong Kong action films, focusing largely on director Ringo Lam and The Adventurers; Interview with writer-producer Sandy Shaw.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic David West.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Includes “Unconventional Heroism,” an essay by Han Joon Magnan Park; cast, crew & Blu-ray credits.

TRAILER