Welcome to the Galactic Theater, where we'll explore the works of master manipulators of light waves, examine the themes brought to play, and critique the final products of months of hard work.

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.

That said, on to the review!

Take three young police officers-in-training in Hong Kong kicked out of the program for various reasons. Add one older police officer out of favor with the higher-ups with a medical/mental problem and a vendetta to avenge a friend's death. Stir in the friend's younger sister, determined to help out no matter what. Flavor with a Japanese terrorist with a personal agenda, with a healthy dash of stolen armaments and highly volatile rocket fuel. Serve with plenty of bullets, lots of hand-to-hand fighting, extreme sports, and explosions. If you cooked it up right, you may end up with something like Gen-X Cops.

Jack, Match, and Alien were kicked out of the police officers' training program. It just so happens that Detective Chan was there to witness it, ostensibly on a special assignment to find some new cops to do undercover surveillance work. All that he'd seen thus far were officers whose appearance screamed "Cop!" But after meeting--seeing--Jack, Match, and Alien, he immediately works hard to convince them to work with him. After jumping out of an airplane after them, they agree. It's a near thing, since Chan's reputation has other police officers belittling him and anyone he associates with.

Here are the facts. A Hong Kong crime boss nicknamed Dinosaur has turned up dead, and a seized collection of explosives has vanished. Everyone suspects it's the work of a Japanese terrorist named Akatora, no one has any proof to link the crime with the criminal. Chan is certain there's a connection through Daniel, Dinosaur's younger brother, but no one believes him. Enter Jack, Match, and Alien. Together with a slain police officer's sister, Y2K, the three set to work investigating Daniel's hangouts and tracking his movements. Then, after their covers are blown, the three improvise and manage to infiltrate Daniel's crew. What follows, however, is a confusing series of strike and counterstrike, with shifting allegiances and false promises claiming lives and causing extensive property damage. But just when the case seems to be solved, everything takes a sharp twist, and it's a whole new game. Will the Gen-X cops get their man, or will those missing explosives lay waste to Hong Kong?

Gen-X Cops is about exactly what the title says: cops belonging to generation X. It's a high-speed fast-paced action movie with its fair share of drama and comedy mixed in. It's also a martial arts film, so there's a fair share of hand-to-hand combat as well.

I've read some other reviews of the movie, and some of them say that there's little character development, and the characters lack depth. That the characters are all satisfying stereotypes that do not move beyond the boundaries of those stereotypes. I beg to differ. It's true, some of the characters seem to offer little other than comic relief and necessary bodies; that includes some of the main characters. In all honesty, that is about what you'd expect from any sort of action flick.

Some of the characters, however, demonstrate surprising depths that move beyond the bounds of those stereotypes. Of the three Gen-X cops, I especially like Jack. He's a sort of pretty boy, but he's not the lady's man (that's Match) or the comedian (who'd you expect--Alien). Now that stereotype might set up a preconception, but of the three, Jack seems to have alternately the hardest and the softest heart. He's willing to do a lot to get the job done, but at the same time, he does his best to keep everyone alive, even the bad guys. His own life may be in jeopardy--for example, when he's trapped between Daniel's men and the men of another crime boss, Lok Wai-Lan--yet he tries to save even the ones who'd be better off dead. Somehow he even manages to form tenuous but definite bonds of respect with the criminals he's trying to get the goods on, to the point that one of them sacrifices his own life to save Jack. That's not the shallow pretty boy stereotype, is it?

I'm not all that familiar with Chinese/Hong Kong actors and actresses, so I can't offer any criticisms or critiques on their ability or acting style. The continual mixing of English and Chinese (sorry, I can't distinguish between Mandarin or Cantonese) can be somewhat disconcerting, but considering that there are also Japanese terrorists involved who don't speak Chinese, I suppose English is a reasonable middle language which most can be expected to speak. Then again, considering that Nicholas Tse (Jack) and Stephen Fung (Match) spent some time in school in North America and Daniel Wu (Daniel) is U.S. born, and that there are sizable populations of Chinese in North America (such as Vancouver), I guess it's more common than not.

As movies go, Gen-X Cops is thoroughly enjoyable. It's much different from older Hong Kong films you might remember, but different doesn't mean worse. The influx of youth might be a turn-off for some audience members, but don't let it be. Give the movie a chance, and then decide whether you like it or not, okay?

Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the link to order the VHS version or the DVD version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.

This page uploaded April 1, 2003.

Back Home Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page