HK DVD cover for 'The Last Blood'  UK VHS cover for 'Hard Boiled 2'

The Last Blood

AKA: 12 Hours to Die, Hard-Boiled 2, Hard-Boiled 2: The Last Blood

1990

Director: Wong Jing

Stars: Andy Lau, Alan Tam

The Dali Lama is on his way to deliver a speech in Singapore, and anti-terrorist Lau has been assigned to protect him. On the way out of the airport, a group of Japanese terrorists manage to shoot both the Lama and gangster Tam's girlfriend as well. It turns out that both the Lama and the girlfriend have the same rare blood type. Lau and Tam reluctantly join forces to save the only man with the blood needed, with the Japanese terrorists close behind.

Okay, first off, The Last Blood (which has been re-titled Hard-Boiled 2 for some overseas versions) has absolutely nothing to do with the John Woo actioner. In fact, it was made two years beforehand (I suspect that it was retitled and re-released after Hard-Boiled became a hit). The only thing vaguely similar to the two films is a shootout in a hospital.

At any rate, as with most Wong Jing films, there's next to no plot or story development. Some people really hate Wong's style, but I dig it. Let's face it -- most films have crappy plots anyway... why not just get straight to the blood and guts? You won't mistake this movie for a cinematic masterpiece like The Killer, but it is a fairly enjoyable 90-minute romp, even if it just boils down to an extended chase/gunfight sequence. A couple of points, though: if you're not familiar with HK pop culture, you're not going to get a lot of the jokes (Lau and Tam are both popular singers and some of the jokes are based on that). The movie is also extremely violent in parts, which might put off some viewers.

RATING: 7

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This DVD is available for purchase at www.hkflix.com

HKFlix