Beast Stalker

cover

AKA: The Beast Stalker

Year of release: 2008

Genre: cop drama/action

Director: Dante Lam

Action directors: Stephen Tung, Bruce Law

Producers: Candy Leung, Albert Lee, Cheung Hong-Tat

Writers: Dante Lam, Jack Ng

Cinematography: Cheung Man-Po, Tse Chung-To

Editor: Chan Kei-Hop

Music: Henry Lai

Stars: Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Zhang Jingchu, Miao Pu, Liu Kai-Chi, Sherman Chung, Zhang He, Lau Kong, Wong Suet-Yin, Wong Sum-Yin, Patrick Keung

Rated IIB for violence and language

This movie is available at www.hkflix.com

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Beast Stalker  Beast Stalker

Beast Stalker  Beast Stalker

One of the most critically-lauded releases to come out of Hong Kong in the past couple of years, and the recipient of two Hong Kong Film Awards, director Dante Lam's Beast Stalker is indeed a good cop suspense/drama mixed with a bit of action. But looking upon the movie about a year after its' initial release, it appears that this film may have been a bit over-hyped by fans and critics hungry for quality Hong Kong pictures, which are unfortunately becoming an endangered species in this day and age.

Since Beast Stalker's story depends on some twists to deliver its' full impact, the plot description here will be brief. Basically, Nicholas Tse plays Tong, a cop who accidentally shoots a young girl, and so he makes it his mission to protect her sister after she is kidnapped by Hung (Nick Cheung). The story really isn't all that simple due to the intersection of some of the characters. This sometimes comes off as a bit gimmicky, but overall, the storytelling works. At the very least, it's not yet another "undercover cop in too deep" movie, and the script actually shows competency.

The acting, which is where Beast Stalker took home its' Hong Kong Film Awards via Nick Cheung and supporting actor Liu Kai-Chi, is as solid as you might expect, though perhaps not really award-worthy in the grand scheme of things. Nick Cheung does a fine job, though it may still be hard for viewers to take him as a serious actor when he has spent so much time cast in Stephen Chow-esque comedic roles. Nicholas Tse also performs well, but again, it's somewhat tough to disengage him from his "teen idol" image, especially when he still looks so young. Also, he really overacts during the finale, as if he was making an audition reel for the HKFA voting committee.

Despite these complaints, at its' core, Beast Stalker is still a commendable and well-made production. Ultimately, the movie does everything well enough, but comes off as missing that special something that separates the great films from the "merely" good ones. Overall, though, Beast Stalker is still one of the better films to come out of the region in a while, and well worth watching if you're a fan of Hong Kong cop movies.

RATING: 7.5