Chameleon Films Australian Blu-ray Synopsis: Wo (Nick Cheung) unwisely returns to Macau where Boss Fei (Simon Yam) has put a price of his head. His childhood buddy Blaze (Anthony Wong) is given the contract, while another lifelong friend, Tai (Francis Ng) is sworn to defend him. The scene is set for the kind of simmering confrontations that fans of Johnnie To prize so much. As characters loom out of the darkness, the tension is so thick you could pick it up with a pair of chopsticks. Exiled is undoubtedly the high point of To's work in the gangster genre. It seizes on elements central to the Hong Kong action film, such as the conflict between loyalty and self-preservation, and the way that male bonding is certainly stronger than death, and maybe even stronger than automatic weapons. It succeeds brilliantly in making these genre elements fresh through Johnnie To's enormous talent and passion for filmmaking. The film is full of memorable set-pieces where taut confrontation is savoured in the moments before it explodes, and where inventive wide-screen compositions and crisply edited action provide a feast for any cinephile. (109 Mins)

 

Megastar Hong Kong DVD Synopsis: The time is 1998. The setting is Macau. Every loving soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. For the jaded hit men, they wonder where this journey will end. Against this background of fin-de-si cle malaise come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost. (109 Mins)

 

Views: After retiring to Macau with his wife and baby, retired hitman Wo returns home to find that an old triad boss has now put a price on his head. There to take him down is an old friend, Blaze, assisted by his sidekick Fat Bor. At the same time, his best friend Tai has arrived to defend him, along with his sidekick Cat. But when a respectful shoot-out ends without any fatalities, the five old acquaintances agree to go after their old boss, Fei, to put a stop to him and gain some last rewards in the final hours of Macau's time under Portuguese rule – although not without their own losses!

 

For me, Exiled is nothing short of perfection in terms of a Johnnie To film. It also highlights just how incredible of a director he truly is, knocking the likes of John Woo off his out-dated pedestal (something I've also said that Dante Lam has achieved for many years now). While I'm certainly not knocking the handful of incredible titles Woo has delivered over the years; namely with A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2, The Killer, Bullet In The Head, and Hard Boiled, I firmly believe that Johnnie To has been a lot more consistent in his career. This is especially evident with his works from 1997 onwards that would see him deliver an incredible amount of titles across a wide range of genres from triad-dramas to heroic bloodshed, and romantic-comedies to police thrillers, To Kei Fung just seemed to have the magic touch and rarely failed to deliver something that didn't entertain in one way or another. Exiled plays like a sequel of sorts to The Mission; Johnnie To's 1999 film that saw most of the same actors play most of the same characters (to some degree). But aside from the terrific performances from all involved, To layers the film with a wonderful score and plenty of gorgeous cinematography – all of which elevate the beautifully directed action-scenes on offer that are the definition of the term, bullet-ballet...

 

Although there is a simplicity to Exiled and it tells a tale that we've seen many times throughout Hong Kong cinema, Johnnie To still manages to reinvent the genre in certain ways and keep things fresh. In fact, it was such a privilege to see it in glorious HD courtesy of this stunning Blu-ray release from Australian label Chameleon Films. Produced by To and his Milkyway studios, the film is wonderfully captured by DOP Cheung Siu Keung and cinematographer To Hung Mo. The man behind the lens of most Johnnie To films – as well as many other hits such as Fight back To School 1 & 2, Satan Returns, Thunderbolt, and Ip Man 4 – Cheung Siu Keung delivers yet another stunning film aided by some great lighting that just makes his cinematography pop. It's also worth noting that the same man directed both In The Line Of Duty 6: Forbidden Arsenal and In The Line Of Duty 7: Sea Wolves, as well as the Once Upon A Time In China inspired film, White Lotus Cult – the first of the Sam The Iron Bridge Trilogy. In fact, To Hung Mo has accompanied Cheung on many of the Milkyway productions as a cinematographer, as well as a wide range of other Hong Kong titles over the years. Actor and director Law Wing Cheong; the man behind Johnnie To's Running Out Of Time 2, PTU sequels Tactical Unit: The Code and Tactical Unit: Comrades In Arms, Wrath Of Vajra, and Donnie Yen's box-office flop Iceman 3D – gains the credit of Executive Director once again; a role he has held on many of To's movies including The Mission, Fulltime Killer, Breaking News, PTU, Running On Karma, Throwdown, Election, and more. Here, he is assisted by Jeff Cheung – a popular assistant director on titles such as Extreme Challenge, Infernal Affairs 2, Anna In Kung Fu Land, That Demon Within, and Cold War – and also cameos here as one of Boss Fei's henchmen.

 

Anthony Wong and Francis Ng headline the show, with both delivering fantastic performances along with their co-stars. Having already been in the business for almost 2 decades by the time the role of Blaze in Exiled came about, Wong quickly won his legion of fans usually by portraying a sleazy, nasty, unlikeable character – many of which won him a host of awards over the years. From brutal Cat.3 films to action-comedies, wuxia fantasy to drama-based thrillers, and more, there isn't too much Wong hasn't turned his hand to; even going on to impress in the action department with roles in films such as House Of Fury, Ip Man: The Final Fight, and The Four Trilogy. Throughout the 200+ films of his career so far, Anthony has shared the screen with the equally prolific Francis Ng many times over the years; here playing the role of Tai. Starting off his career in the Hong Kong film industry just a year after his co-star, Francis followed a similar path of roles throughout his career and has long impressed fans and critics alike with his wide choice of roles. Both have also worked with Johnnie To many times over the years, and while they rarely disappoint, I'd say that their roles here in Exiled stand as some of their most enjoyable. Johnnie To regular and all round fan favourite, Lam Suet, stars as Wong's sidekick Fat Bor – offering a little comic relief as always, and holding his own against his co-stars. Although he made his feature film debut a few years after the aforementioned stars, as a terrorist in 1989's Andy Lau flick Proud & Confident, Lam has went on to star in over 260 films to date; some of which were main roles and some as fun cameos. He is matched by the great Roy Cheung, an actor who has often been underrated over the years yet has equally delivered some great roles during his 3 decades in the business. Having co-starred with Wong, Ng and Suet many times over the years, it was great to see him back in style as Ng's sidekick Cat -one of his last five films to date. The four of them are joined by the brilliant Nick Cheung who stars as Wo, the unfortunate old associate who is destined to be taken out. Interestingly enough, in real-life, Nick left the Royal Hong Kong Police Force after 5 years of service to become an actor, going on to star in almost 90 films including Against All, The Tricky Master, The Duel, The Conmen In Vegas, the Election Trilogy, Breaking News, Beast Stalker, White Storm, Line Walker, and many more. In 2014, Cheung made his directorial debut with Hungry Ghost Ritual of which he followed with Keeper Of Darkness just a year later, and the The Trough in 2018. He is partnered with the wonderful Hiu Siu Hung, a very recognisable face and prolific actor of Hong Kong cinema since the early 70s. With over 170 films to his name, including Games Gamblers Play, Royal Warriors, A Bite Of Love, Running Out Of Time 1 & 2, Bio-Cops, Anna In Kung-Fu Land, Heat Team, Fatal Move, 12 Golden Ducks, and Line Walker (with Cheung), as well as many more, Hui has always been a welcome addition to any film and does a fantastic job in the role of Inspector Hoi.

 

The five leading men are joined by a great supporting cast, starting with the great Simon Yam who stars as the triad boss Fei. I really enjoyed Yam in this role who, like many of his co-stars, had just come off the set of Johnnie To's other triad film, Election 2, which was made the same year. Of course, Simon had been yet another regular of the directors work for many years and has shared the screen numerously with the most of them at some stage throughout his 240+ filmography. Gordon Lam, who has become more prolific since the turn-of-the-century, stars as Boss Keung and quickly finds himself caught up in the action. I've was never a huge fan of Lam's in the beginning, but have actually grown to enjoy him in many films over the years. The popular Eddie Cheung plays the double-crossing fixer Jeff, and is a regular face of many Johnnie To titles including The Bare-Footed Kid, Running On Karma, Throwdown, Election 1 & 2, Breaking News, Vengeance, and more, and has appeared in many other great hits over the years for directors such as Dennis Law, David Lam, and Roy Chow. It was nice to see Hui Siu Hung appear, although time in a much smaller role than that of his role in Johnnie's Breaking News and others. Hui has been a very recognisable face and prolific actor of Hong Kong cinema since the early 1970s and has over 170 films to his name including Games Gamblers Play, Royal Warriors, A Bite Of Love, Running Out Of Time 1 & 2, Bio-Cops, Anna In Kung-Fu Land, Heat Team, Fatal Move, 12 Golden Ducks, and Line Walker, as well as many more, Hui has always been a welcome addition to any film and offers up some funny moments in the role of Sergeant Shan. Playing another Sergeant – although one of a security firm this time – is Richie Jen who we first meet as he takes-on a gang that are trying to rob him. Aided by the team of friends, Jen is then persuaded to split the gold between them and join them on their escape. Richie Jen is an actor I have learned to love more since I first saw him in Gorgeous, Silver Hawk, and Seoul Raiders. Of course, there's no denying that he has went on to impress over the years with roles in Breaking News, Lady Cop & Papa Crook, Accident, Life Without Principle, Legendary Amazons, and more. One of the ladies of the hour is played by the wonderful Josie Ho, daughter of Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho and lead-singer of a rock band called Josie & The Uni Boys. Ho plays Cheung's unfortunate wife, who delivers some powerfully dramatic moments and gets the chance to join in on the action also. I think the first thing I ever saw Josie star in was Teddy Chen's Purple Storm, quickly followed by For Bad Boys Only and the fun Jackie Chan-produced Twins Effect soon after. I enjoyed her role in House Of Fury, where she would star alongside her Exiled co-star Anthony Wong, although I haven't seen too much more of her films since. That said, Ho has obviously made a name for herself in the Hong Kong film world and has went on to star in over 50 films since the mid-90s, as well as some television shows, earning her multiple awards and critical acclaim. And finally, the beautiful Ellen Chan, who I always had a crush on since I first saw her in the brilliant Top Squad/Inspector Wears Skirts many moons ago, plays the conniving hooker who plays everyone involved her own way in a bid to get rich quick and dispose of those in her way. Since her early roles from the mid-to-late 80s to today, it seems that the face of Ellen Chen has changed enough for me not to recognise her any more. That feisty young girl from the aforementioned Jackie Chan-produced film, Aces Go Places 5, and Tiger On The Beat 2, has transformed into a stunning woman who now stars in less films per year since the turn-of-the-century. Recent works include a mix of roles in films such as this, The Underdog Knight, and Marco Mak's Naked Soldier, to name but a few.

 

Johnnie To utilises the stunning, Portuguese-inspired architecture of Macau to help give Exiled the film a more exotic, Mediterranean feel, and pays homage to the classic Westerns of Sergio Leone on many levels which just works beautifully. America composer Dave Klotz creates an incredible score that compliments every second of frame on screen, and went on to score the Johnnie To produced Eye In The Sky as well as Triangle, which was directed by To, Tsui Hark, and the late Ringo Lam. The action in Exiled – all of which is highly stylised gun-play – was handled by Wong Chi Wai and Ling Chun Pong, with the former also starring as one of Simon Yam's heavies; a role he has often played since making his debut as an extra in the 1978 flick, Gambler's Delight. Since then, Wong has went on to star in over 70 films including classics such as 36 Deadly Styles, The Victim, Lion Vs Lion, Kid From Kwantung, Owl Vs Bumbo, The Killer, Swordsman, Crime Story, and so much more including To's very own Fulltime Killer, PTU, Running On Karma, Breaking News, and others. Between them both, Wong and Ling deliver some incredibly stunning gun fights that are neatly done and so beautifully captured, that they help make Exiled one of the greatest modern-Westerns of the 21st Century – and that's quite an achievement!

 

Overall: Wonderfully acted, gorgeously captured, and brilliantly directed, Exiled is one of my favourite Johnnie To movies and a modern classic of Hong Kong cinema!

 

Chameleon Films Blu-ray Extras: Two Audio Commentaries with Frank Djeng, Video Essay on Exiled, Interview with Composer David Klotz, Exiled Dreams: The Career of Josie Ho, Making Of Documentary, Behind The Scenes, Photo Gallery, Trailers

 

Megastar DVD Extras: Making Of Documentary, Behind The Scenes, Photo Gallery, Trailers