The Blood Rules (2000)

A gang of four heavily-armed thieves pull off a hit at a hotel, blowing an Indonesian businessman to bits before making off with a briefcase filled with diamonds. The four - Mike (Michael Wong), Jean (Suki Kwan), Q (Jackie Lui) and Shoot (Lam Suet) - intend it to be their last hit for a while. The cops will doubtless be hard on their case after the audacious robbery. But the man they work for, Uncle Lam (Wong Tin-lam), isn't so keen that they take a break from work.

Uncle Lam has another hit planned for the gang - a "transaction", as he puts it with businesslike air. He's lost money on the stock market and his bar business has turned for the worse*. His new target is Chicken Sam, a Taiwanese triad on the run in Hong Kong. Chicken Sam has lost his wealth through gambling. But he keeps his remaining assets concealed on his person, Lam explains. And by that he means literally on his person - the pearl Buddha bracelet around his wrist and "the seven diamonds planted on his dick".

Charged with the unsavoury task of extracting these riches from Chicken Sam, the gang of four set about planning their attack. In the lead-up, tensions are high within the group with Shoot attracted to Jean, who in turn is in love with Mike, who for his part is married and devoted to his son. It comes to a head when, on the night before the hit, Jean catches Mike snaring himself a quick fling in a bar (his slick pick up line: "Are you lonely tonight?"). The group are nonetheless on the job the following night, and the attack leads into a string of events that test each member's obedience to their rules. Not least among their principles is loyalty to one another.

The Blood Rules is a surprisingly good-looking film. At various times it seems director Mak and his fellow filmmakers took cues from local production house Milkyway Image's work. The gunplay here is stylised, and the framing often sharply lit and at times thoughtfully composed. Two players from Johnnie To's The Mission are back. And Wong Tin-lam's character is again found sitting at a dining table in his own bar as he did in The Mission, these days constantly munching on his tofu instead of spaghetti.

Noting these similarities isn't intended to dismiss this film as a cheap copycat affair though. The Blood Rules manages to look attractive for its budget. Interesting angles and close-ups are dotted throughout, the editing is tight enough to keep a consistent pace, the sets are nicely chosen and the music is approriate. Overblown poignancy occasionally detracts, as do gaping lapses in continuity within a fish shop action sequence, but like recent hitmen flick Killer the general attention paid to visuals lends some weight to the movie. The story keeps to a reasonably consistent track without meandering into frayed ends. The passions between Jean, Mike and Shoot inject some character depth into a script that pits the protagonists against a clever cop, angered triads, an SDU team and two burly gweilo bodyguards.

Of the cast, Michael Wong leads up the pack confidently and shines against co-star Jackie Lui's run-of-the-mill acting turn. Though Suki Kwan looks quite drained during the opening sequence, she brightens up further into the piece as her more dramatic scenes come on. But overall it's Lam Suet who comes across with the more interesting character as a quiet gun expert with a tropical fish business bought with his spoils.

The very attractive painted billboard for The Blood Rules at The President in Causeway Bay

* It's not surprising that business at Uncle Lam's bar has slumped. The old fella keeps a personal chef in the middle of the place to cook up fresh stinky tofu. Readers outside Hong Kong may not know this preparation of beancurd - suffice to say, its smell is so pungent that the Environmental Protection Department can shut down shops and stalls selling it and prosecute the owners!

Credits:

Directed by Marco Mak
Starring Michael Wong, Suki Kwan, Lam Suet, Jackie Ma, Wong Tin-l and Samuel Leung (cameo)