A timely statement on the role that the media plays in our lives, and how it can be used/abused if you just know how to play them. As the title suggests, the breaking news that rankles the police department involves some heavily armed thieves who make good their escape from Inspector Cheung and his men, but not before a policeman who begs for mercy is humbled by the leader in front of the TV cameras (thereby seriously tarnishing the image of the cops in the eyes of the media and people). Suddenly HK is not a safe city anymore, and legislative enquiries are set in motion. The police department decide to use the very media that has tainted them to clean up their reputation.

Commissioner Rebecca Fong leads every security unit at her disposal (OCBs, CIDs, PTUs & SDUs), short of the military, to cordon off a residential apartment complex, where the bank robbers and coincidentally a couple of contract killers, are laying low. Against the backdrop of a swarm of reporters, news channels and news agencies, a “show” of strength is played out, where guns and explosions rock the complex and criminals hold hostage, buy time, play the media and try to make their getaway. Against all the mayhem, a committed cop Cheung and his motley crew fend off bullets, grenades, orders and other units, to march on ahead to “nail those bastards” at any cost. Everything and everyone turns a shade of grey before the film reaches the climax.

Richie Jen as Yuen, the leader of the robbers comes across as soft spoken, charming and thoroughly intelligent, who is always two step ahead of cops, and knows how to use the media to his advantage. Kelly Chen is equally good as Commissioner Fong, a calm and calculated woman who grasps the opportunity to further herself. Despite such stellar performances surrounding him, Nick Cheung shines out as the tunnel-visioned cop Cheung who believes in action speaking louder than words.

Johnnie To turns an otherwise routine cops-and-robbers actioner on it’s head, and fashions an immensely enjoyable fare that you can watch as a side dish to MI:III. He has creatively grown since his slow-mo days, and doesn’t rely on big stars for his films, but rather on good scripts and capable actors that suit the characters .
For those of you looking for some more stuff from the talented To, kindly check out RUNNING OUT OF TIME, PTU, the hugely popular ELECTION and the current smash hit EXILED.

MPAA RATING: Not Rated
DURATION: 86 mins.
CAST: Richie Jen, Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung
DIRECTOR: Johnnie To