Johnnie To gives me a wild end of year treat with his tale of French chef who comes to Macao to get revenge for his daughter. She was shot and her family killed in a hit for an unknown reason. The chef, played by Johnny Hallyday, hires three hit men to help him get revenge. The trouble is things are not quite what they seem and complications set in.

This is a wonderfully awkward film, awkward in part as the result of the multiple languages being spoken through the film (the mix of English, French and Chinese require that you see this with subtitles. They also create some awkward speaking performances as people are not always comfortable with what they are saying) and partly the result of the way things unfold. It takes awhile for the film to click but once it does the film blossoms into one of the better films of the year.

To be certain there is action and twists galore, but the best thing in the film are the actors. Anthony Wong, Suet Lam and Ka Tung Lam are the men Hallyday hires and they are wonderful. You sense the bond between them. Hallyday is a revelation in a role that is at first simple, and then becomes something more. To say that his stoic face hides many things is an understatement. Not to spoil anything, but what first seems like a kick ass attitude soon becomes something else entirely. There is something going on here and Hallyday pulls it off winningly. Its hands down one of the best performances of the year. You go with the film where ever its going because you like Hallyday and his friends....

...which is a good thing because there are two sequences in the later part of the film that almost derails the film. Both sequences follow in close proximity to each other (one is a weak shoot out in a field and the other is what happens after that) and are going to be the point at which many people either give up on the film or press onward. I kind of gave up, but this being a Johnnie To film and what had gone before was so good I figured that To would pull it out. He did and the film ends with one of the great gun fights of the year.(I blame the sequences on screenwriter Ka-Fai Wai who is one of the best writers in Asia today, but at the same time he often takes things in an odd direction just look at Running on Karma, Himalaya Singh, The Mad Detective or Written By). I think if you're willing to go with the bumps you'll find the film rewarding.

I really liked this film a great deal. For those who like more than just straight forward action this is a must. Honestly there is a great deal going on here and it makes you think as it makes you go wow.

One of the Better films of 2009.

A decade ago, director Johnny To made an impression on many when he released "The Mission". Several years later, he explored similar ideas in "Exiled". Now, in 2009, Johnny To releases another movie and like the former two, it is a story of stoic killers dealing with issues of duty, loyalty, friendship and revenge all wrapped up in violence and tragedy.

To's style is unmistakable and yet reminds you of many high profile directors. There is of course the resemblance to Asian cinema in the vein of Woo. To like many of his contemporaries likes to mix modern, stylish action scenes with the bleakness of Noir films. The fact he is a fan of Jean-Pierre Melville shows big time, especially in Vengeance. I would also say he puts his mark on films as much as Sergio Leone did decades ago.

If you've liked The Mission and Exiled, chances are you will enjoy Vengeance although it is the weakest of the three in execution. Many scenes are reminiscent of the other two (particularly Exiled) and it features many of the actors. I thought the blood splatter effects from gunshots in Exiled were bold and promising. Unfortunately, here they aren't as stylish and clash a bit with the action.

Johnny To likes to concentrate on style. The stories are primal, the characters are archetypes. The Mission had an extremely simple core story, allowing the scenes to flow one after the other. In Exile, the plot was more convoluted while being less interesting. Vengeance is a return to a simpler plot. Unfortunately, it relies on extraordinary coincidences making suspension of disbelief impossible. You just have to enjoy the ride.

A good film but not the director's best.

It is not very often nowadays that you will get to see Johnnie To's new production frequently in the cinema, compared to his heydays with his working partner, Wai Kar Fai. Both had churned out several box office hit and flops during the early decade of the 21st century, and it is believe that good things are worth the wait. Vengeance is the answer to To's long awaited latest action thriller, after directing two previous productions beyond his normal scope of story line.

With his usual suspects (Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Lam Kar Tung and Lam Suet),To recruits French rock star Johnny Hallyday to be the leading actor in the Hong Kong – France production. Nominated for Palm D'Ors in Cannes Film Festival 2009, Singapore has the opportunity to get the release of Vengeance in its original Cantonese-English version, since Hong Kong productions are barred from releasing in Cantonese version due to Singapore censorship regulation. This gives Singaporeans a true blue experience of the idea and message To wants to bring to his audience. And yes, it is a must to catch it in cinemas.

Vengeance begins with Costello (Hallyday) seeking revenge for the massacre of his daughter's family. He recruited three professional assassins, namely Kwai (Wong),Chu (Lam Kar Tung) and Lok (Lam Suet). While Kwai, Chu and Lok helps Costello in hunting down the killers responsible for the massacre, the investigation leads them to the mafia boss and employer, George Fung (Yam),who is behind the massacre.

Vengeance marks the last chapter of To's gunman trilogy (The Mission, 2001; Exiled, 2006),where the trilogy shares the same trademark of a mass gunfight, and stories revolving professional killers force to stand on the side they believed in, or made to believe in. While a mass crossfire between both conflicting sides is inevitable in To's trilogy, he never fails to surprise the audience in presenting the gunfight. Just like the mass shootout at the hotel in Exiled, Vengeance shows us with the crossfire at the garbage recycle center, where large cubes of compressed old newspaper becomes the shield for the gunmen.

Also, expect several scenes without any dialog, as To wants the audience to watch the body language, so as to do the interpretation themselves. The movie lives to the genre of an 'action flick', where body language is an action to tell the story.

Hallyday takes the leading role of Castello, which is something fresh that an audience can look forward to. Here, he is a chef with a past, where being a former professional killer, he had a short lived memory as a bullet was left in his brain. This creates a Memento like scenario, where he tracks down the people looking for using Polaroid pictures. He has the support of the three killers, who assist him in tracking down the killers behind the massacre. While there seems to be some kind of mirror reflection from Exiled, we do not see the fun elements that exist in Exiled. A sense of sorrow replaced the fun in Vengeance, where the killers do not kill for brotherhood (which explains why the fun elements steps in at Exiled),but for the sense of obligation, which slowly developed to personal revenge.

While Wong and Lam Suet were portraying similar roles in Exiled, Lam Kar Tung was given more opportunity to explore the role of the killer, compared to his minor role as a gang leader in Exiled. Similarly, Simon Yam was reprising the same role he had in Exiled, which makes no differences in both movies. Michelle Ye and Maggie Shiu, as the two leading actress, ends up being a sidekick in Vengeance, where Ye plays a pregnant woman taking care of Costello, while Shiu as the police inspector handling the massacre. This can be deduced that Vengeance is more of a masculine thriller.

In overall, Vengeance is one of the few thrillers in 2009 that must not be missed. If you love an action thriller, don't miss it. If you think that all Hong Kong thrillers are the same, Vengeance is something new that you can look at.