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Beast Cops (1998)

Average rating

(55%)

Starring:	Michael Fitzgerald Wong \| Anthony Wong \| Roy Cheung \| Kathy Chau
Director:	Gordon Chan, Dante Lam
Studio:	E1 ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	110 mins
Genres:	Action/Adventure \| Thriller \| World Cinema
Languages:	Cantonese, Chinese
Released:	December 27, 2001

When a gangster is forced to leave town, his turf becomes a war zone for criminals and the law. Two bickering cops (Anthony Wong and Michael Wong) must battle each other as they try to restore peace to the community. The offbeat action movie features lots of violence and an odd sense of screwball humour. BEAST COPS won five Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Wong), and Best Director (Gordon Chan).

Rating of 3 stars out of 5

This violent cop thriller cleaned up at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1999, bagging five awards including best film, director and screenplay, plus best actor and supporting actor trophies for Anthony Wong and Patrick Tam Yiu-Man, respectively. Wong is the hard-nosed detective, who is prepared to bend all sorts of laws in the constant battle with the Triads; Michael Wong is his more conventional superior, uneasy about his colleague's relationships with the criminal fraternity. It's a familiar enough story but the raw, unflinching direction by Gordon Chan and Dante Lam gives it a gritty ring of truth and the splashes of violence (particularly the finale) are unsettling.

Highest rated reviews

3 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 2.0 stars
Down and Dirty in Hong Kong

David Stone-Haigh from Salford, Lancs. Not at all Near Hong Kong, 29th November, 2004

Anthony Wong goes all under cover cop in this above average effort full of jump cuts and wobbly 'flash back' gritty photography. Very similar to the superior 'The Corruptor' with Chow Yun-fat. Tries to hard to be Hollywood, (see above for more of the same) when it should reflect it's own cinematic roots. Those just after a 'Woo-Fest' should look elsewhere. File under-'must try harder!' Or better still, rent 'Purple storm.' by the same director. Much better film all round, with some terrific action/stunts welded to a gripping story line about a dangerous undercover mission.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1.0 stars
Unleash the weak beast

sam82 from South Glamorgan, 22nd October, 2005

I am a huge fan of Anthony Wong but I found that this film lacked the energy and exicitement that Anthony Wong had previously possessed in projects such as Infernal Affairs and Colour of the Truth. The film starts off slow with an extremely tedious dialogue (between Anthony Wong and Michael Fitzgerald Wong). However the charm and humour of Anthony Wong does not fail is any respect.

Nevertheless the film does pick up momentum towards the end and lives up to its title “Beast cop” for that period only. However the film fails to create that atmosphere of tension and excitement that Hong Kong cinema has created.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4.0 stars
Let the beast out...

adiw from Leicestershire, 15th May, 2005

Directed with a gritty realism which shocked Asian audiences on its original release, Anthony Wong has never been better than here, with his stunning portrayal of an on the edge officer about to explode in to an orgy of violence, Beast cops makes for an entertaining evening of cutting edge drama.

What seperates Beast cops form its rivals is its attention to characters and the thin line they walk every single day upholding the law. Officers on the one hand, human beings on the other, Anthony Wong and Michael Wong make for an engaging screen pairing as the mismatched couple fight to uphold not only the law but their own morals and beliefs too. Culminating in an incredibly violent and powerful final act which you will want to see again and again.

Anyone unfamiliar to Anthony Wong should check out his performance here, Beast Cops is a film that truly delivers.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
Strange...

A Customer from Blackpool, England, 6th May, 2005

If you a re a fan of Hong Kong movies like myself then you may or even may not like this, reason being is that it is literally filmed like no other HK movie I have ever seen. Even the plot is different from any style of HK movie. Not huge amounts of action (until the end) but basically aimed at characters more than anything else. Slow to start off and a bit confusing but once you get into it, its not to bad, a few witty moments keep this film interesting. But still not the best HK movie I have seen.

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Most recent reviews

Rated 4.0 stars
Powerful Drama.

drunkenmaster from , 12th February, 2006

Anthony Wong gives a career best performance in this powerful story of Triads and Police on the streets of Hong Kong. This is more character than action driven with a final twenty minutes that will linger long after the film is over. Able support is provided by Michael Wong, Roy Cheung and Kathy Chau, but this is Anthony Wong’s film. Rarely has an actor shown such presence on film. The only comparison I can make may be De Niro in “Taxi Driver”.

This film shocked Asian audiences when it was released due to the gritty realsim of the violence. Yes, it is unpleaseant, but we are dealing with an shocking subject. Pretty tame by Western standards, but a film worth watching to see an actor take a role as far as a film will allow.

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