大象传媒

The cruel hand of fate plays a big role in PTU, a stylish police thriller from Hong Kong legend Johnnie To. After bumbling cop Sgt. Lo (Suet Lam) loses his gun during a foot chase, he's forced to ask brutally efficient Police Tactical Unit officer Sgt Mike Ho (Simon Yam) to help him bend the rules and get the weapon back before dawn. Eerily shot and frighteningly amoral it's Asian cinema's take on the brutal and uncaring universe of classic film noir.

With films like The Mission and Fulltime Killer, Johnnie To's already established himself as one of Hong Kong's most talented producer/directors. Here he's on fine form, following the cops as they trawl the city's underbelly. Since they've only got a few hours before dawn, the police code of practice is conveniently forgotten: one cop removes his boot to kick a suspect half to death without leaving telltale marks, another makes a perp rub one of his tattoos until it bleeds. Yam's glacial sergeant watches it all, scarily impassive. Whatever it takes to get the job done.

"A STRIKINGLY FATALISTIC THRILLER"

Deserted nighttime streets and To's prowling camera give the humid city (and the movie) an menacing air; everything here moves slowly, even the cops. They already know what we eventually discover: it's fate, not the police who are in charge. As chance coincidences pile up with deadly results, Lo and Ho's best-laid plans are scattered to the wind. With barely knowable characters and little action, this is a strikingly fatalistic thriller. It may have more style than substance, but it definitely earns its alternative English title: Into The Perilous Night.

In Cantonese with English subtitles.

PTU is out in UK cinemas on 22nd June 2007