I have already finished watching "Burning City". Giant screen hall, 136 minutes long. After reading it, I couldn't conceal my excitement and couldn't calm down for a long time. To this day, when I think back to the end of the film, I stood there waiting for the end

I have already finished watching "Burning City".

giant screen hall, 136 minutes long.

After reading it, I couldn’t conceal my excitement and couldn’t calm down for a long time.

To this day, thinking back to the end of the film, I stood there waiting for the ending credits, thinking that the three firefighters would return as heroes. However, in the end the miracle did not happen.

Before I talk about this movie, I want to make a complaint.

Why did the box office on the first day, including spot screenings, only just break 30 million?

Although, when I saw that the producer Jiang Zhiqiang was going to make Hong Kong's first environmental disaster movie, and launch it during such a cooling off period for Hong Kong films and a period of slow release in theaters, I knew that this was a huge "gamble".

After all, the mainland box office of Hong Kong films has been stagnant for a long time. Even many Hong Kong film co-production projects have been stopped.

The theme, Hong Kong’s doomsday crisis caused by foreign garbage, is obviously a disaster movie that all Chinese-language movies are not good at.

Director Pan Yaoming is an ace photographer who has filmed " Vengeful Lawyer " and " Monster Hunt ", but his last directorial work was "I am not the God of Gamblers" on Douban 4.8.

seems to lose more than win.

But Boss Jiang just wants to "fight for the reputation of Hong Kong movies."

He found Andy Lau, Karen Mok, who had been away from the big screen for many years, and veteran Hong Kong film stars such as Tse Kwan-ho, Lam Baoyi, who was recently nominated for the Golden Rooster Best Actor, Cheng Zeshi, Huang Weide, and Wong Minde.

Finally, I made what I consider to be the best Hong Kong commercial film in recent years.

I was pinned to the seat motionless for almost the entire movie viewing process. I didn’t even dare to swallow when I was nervous, as if moving my Adam’s apple would affect my task.

The last time a Hong Kong film shocked me like this was Andy Lau's "The Bomb Disposal Expert 2".

But the result is that, on the one hand, as Zhang Yimou praised, "the special effects shots and disaster shots are very good and realistic, and many big scenes have filled the gaps in Hong Kong movies." There is also the director of the " Wandering Earth " series director Guo Guo Fan said that the film brought "a shock to the face."

But on the other hand, at least the film's first-day box office is far from worthy of its quality.

But is a rare and excellent film in Hong Kong films in recent years really not worthy of being seen by more people?

I am not convinced.

After watching "Burning City", if you want to ask me what my most direct impression is, I will use two words to describe it, surprise!

Why is it unexpected?

I am surprised, not because Andy Lau is still in charge of acting this time.

I was surprised, not because the visual effects of the movie are so explosive, but the whole film's pace is so tight.

I am surprised that it is not a movie that dares to make a movie that directly exposes the harm caused by foreign garbage. There is even such a line: The world is not for the rich. Seeing this, I really want to applaud in the cinema.

I’m surprised, it’s not Karen Mok who is so energetic!

is not an old Hong Kong drama, so enjoyable.

I was surprised that it was not the film or drama that gave off the flavor of " Chill " produced by Jiang Zhiqiang.

is not even in "Burning City", there is no happy ending.

I was surprised that a Hong Kong movie actually made a disaster movie with a Hong Kong background. It talked about foreign garbage issues that made sense. At its core, it was not a traditional Hong Kong-style police movie.

Can you believe it, friends.

In the past, I always thought that Chinese-language films were not good at making disaster films, and Hong Kong films were even less good at making disaster films.

Now it seems that this is not the case.

The movie not only shows the burning of funds, but also creates a strong sense of local Hong Kong. The impact of the explosion made me feel the temperature of the fire in front of the screen.

To be honest, before watching "Burning City", I really went for Andy Lau and Bai Yu.

After reading it, I was really attracted by the plot.

Disaster movies are never just about showing visual spectacles, but more importantly, using a complete story to alert the world. This movie does it.

As a result, the door to Hong Kong disaster films was kicked open by "Burning City".

: About the story

The original intention of creating the whole movie was a true report about "toxic foreign garbage transfer" that Jiang Zhiqiang accidentally saw many years ago.

The core conflict is "an apocalyptic crisis caused by foreign garbage."

The movie posits a possibility: What would happen if cesium-137 caused a disaster in Hong Kong?

The answer is: 2 million people were evacuated and 7 million people were affected by the disaster. From the top management of the Hong Kong government and fire fighters to ordinary citizens and unscrupulous businessmen, the radiation crisis affected everyone in Hong Kong.

The story opens at a waste recycling station at the foot of Queen's Hill in Fanling, Hong Kong. Mountains of garbage are burning, large piles of containers collapse, black smoke and thick smoke rise into the sky, and people with their whole bodies on fire run out of the fire.

The radiation detector sounded an alarm, and the radiation value exceeded 3,000 at its highest.

While firefighters rushed to put out the fire, Fan Weili (played by Andy Lau), a former high-ranking official and environmental protection expert who was ordered to do so in danger, came to the scene to investigate.

After seeing the condition of the injured, he discovered that the recycling site is a huge toxic waste market, and there is a radioactive leakage crisis in Hong Kong. What to do with

? Disaster relief.

There is still one day left for the typhoon to make landfall. Once it makes landfall, strong winds and rain will intensify the spread of cesium 137 and turn this place into a "dead city".

A race against natural disasters and man-made disasters has begun, and the rescue time is only 24 hours.

From here on, the story is divided into two lines: Andy Lau and Bai Yu.

The firefighter line played by Bai Yu shows the fearless professionalism of frontline personnel, the help of ordinary people in the face of man-made disasters, and the gloom and shine of human nature. It can also be said that it is part of the martial arts drama.

During this part of the process of laying out the sense of crisis, there are big scenes of hard-core explosion scenes, as well as thrilling scenes where lives are hanging by a thread, which is full of immersion.

The friendship between the firefighters is the shining point of human nature in the entire movie. For example, even though they knew the danger, they still went deep into the fire zone to save lives. In order to save their brothers Ah Shui and Finger, a team of people sneaked in again within 30 minutes. Nuclear radiation source area.

Of course, in the finale, the three firefighters finally chose to stay underground in order to connect the detonator.

Another storyline is the process of arguing and gambling between a crisis response team composed of government officials and an expert named Fan Weili played by Andy Lau.

This part is in the same vein as the "Cold War" series. Especially when the top officer Cecilia, played by Karen Mok, sat in the office and had a verbal exchange with Fan Weili, I almost felt like I was watching "Chilling War 3".

This game eventually led to insider trading between Cecilia and the wealthy businessman Gao Peide (played by Wang Minde).

It was his illegal smuggling of "foreign garbage" that triggered this city-burning crisis.

And the finale of the film not only has to deal with this crisis, but also depends on how the black-hearted businessman is defeated.

When I first watched the movie, I was also worried that the movie would become another personal hero show.

However, the further you look back, the more complete the story of the movie becomes, and the further you look back, the more flavorful it becomes.

The movie is 136 minutes long, and there are no peeing spots throughout the whole process. By the end of the movie, I felt a little unfinished.

The movie is by no means a brainless fun movie, nor is it a replica of past Hong Kong movies, but it tells a real story of a local apocalyptic disaster in Hong Kong.

: About Andy Lau

Like everyone, before the release of "Burning City", I was skeptical about Andy Lau playing Fan Weili.

I am not questioning Andy Lau's acting skills, but like everyone else, I think that the easy-going Andy Lau is not good at playing such domineering roles.

But after watching the movie, Andy Lau slapped me in the face with his amazing performance.

He plays Fan Weili, who was the star of hope of the Hong Kong government in the past. Until one of his unintentional mistakes caused the firefighter's wife to die in a customs fire-fighting accident, he resigned and turned to study environmental pollution issues.

Although he is no longer an official, since Fan Weili mercilessly exposed a group of high-ranking officials and silenced everyone with the words "it's not your family who have the right to know", the character played by Andy Lau has a certain kind of personality. A strong sense of oppression.

is arbitrary and domineering. Except for Mok Wenwei’s character, everyone must act based on his face.

But Fan Weili has been living with guilt for his wife in his heart. He spends all his time working and forgetting food and sleep to make up for his mistakes in the past. This tenderness is the foundation of the character.

Andy Lau is impeccable whether he is acting out the verbal battle or his awkward and tacit cooperation with the brother-in-law played by Bai Yu.

Of course, the most amazing thing is the last scene. The character would rather go to jail than bring down the high-ranking officials and shady businessmen involved in the case. The last sentence he yelled at Wang Minde is really powerful.

I believe that with this restrained, struggling and contradictory character, Andy Lau will definitely be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards next year.

: About Bai Yu, Karen Mok, and Lin Baoyi

Like everyone else, I was worried about Bai Yu joining this film at the beginning.

Nothing else, I am worried that Bai Yu will not be able to integrate into a co-production with mainly Hong Kong actors.

But it turns out that the director was very smart in letting Bai Yu take on most of the action scenes, and also hired actor Xie Junhao, who has been filming in the mainland for many years and has played classic roles such as Jiu Jian Xian, and veteran domestic entertainment actor Wu Yanzhu to partner with him. play.

As a result, this fire captain character is by no means a side character, but has an independent story line and highlight moments.

The character has both a high-burning side and a vulnerable side when talking to loved ones.

I think Bai Yu did a really good job.

But the most amazing thing in the whole film is Karen Mok.

Mok Wenwei had not filmed for more than ten years before this, but it turned out that Jiang Zhiqiang, who asked her to come out, was really good at casting.

As Karen Mok grows older, her aura fits perfectly with the role of a high-ranking official in the film. She plays the calculations and entanglements of this high-ranking executive vividly, especially when she plays opposite Andy Lau.

The sentence "The government does not do things by random guessing" and the sentence "You used to be an official" can be called the lines of the year in Hong Kong movies.

In the end, the two presented the most tense rivalry scene in a Hong Kong film after "Cold War".

I think it is reasonable for Karen Mok to be nominated for Best Actress in the Academy Awards for this role.

The two leading actors are eligible to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, but what about the supporting roles?

The most amazing thing is Lin Baoyi.

Lin Baoyi’s character was mixed in with a bunch of high-ranking officials from beginning to end, with few close-ups, but he was able to play this character in a tolerant and calm manner, with aura and righteousness, and he had no idea that he was a bad guy.

Wang Minde continues to shine in the evil business world. This time he plays Gao Peide, the owner of Doe Company, the initiator of the disaster. Not only does he hide deeper, but he also acts more shamelessly. He even wants to play the role of a hero who saves Hong Kong.

Wang Minde's most classic role when he was young was the captain of " Flying Tigers ". Unexpectedly, he became more and more brilliant as a villain as he got older.

In terms of female supporting roles, Mei En, played by Wang Danni, and Su Yi, played by Liao Ziyu, are not eye-catching.

On the contrary, Andy Wang's temporary assistant Kelly, played by Wang Yunzhi, is quite exciting, and several scenes with Andy Lau are unforgettable.

: How are the special effects?

The most surprising thing about "Burning City" is the plot. This is not to say that the special effects of this film are not good, but that the special effects of the film do not take over the main role.

The special effects of "Burning City" are lagging behind those of Hollywood's top special effects, but they are still superior to other Chinese-language films of the same genre.

Especially at the beginning of the film, there is a fire at a waste electrical appliance recycling site in the North District of Hong Kong. The director, who has a background in photography, used multiple three-dimensional shooting techniques such as close-ups and multi-angle panoramic shots to capture this violent and mysterious fire with full force.

The camera follows the firefighters into the fire scene, and uses multiple close-up shots to restore the complex scene environment, uncontrollable fire intensity, one after another explosions, and thrilling rescue action scenes, aerial panoramic shots at different distances and multiple Photographed from different angles, it really shows a disaster-apocalyptic scene of planes crashing, buildings collapsing, and the earth shaking.

The fragments of the crashed plane, the firefighters running in the flames, the overwhelming flames, and the roofs falling from the sky are all impressive.

In addition, the strong sense of immersion after you invest in the story, the viewing experience is simply not great.

: About "Chill"

Of course, I believe I am not the only one who thinks that the best part of the film is the literary drama.

In "Burning the City" you can see a lot of official drama, the verbal exchanges are full of mediation, and every dispute has outside interests involved. It not only requires the courage to film, but also it is not easy to film well.

In the film, Cecilia (played by Karen Mok) urgently sets up a disaster crisis response team. Expert Fan Weili (played by Andy Lau) is ordered to join at the critical moment. Other team members include the Director of the Fire Department (played by Lam Baoyi), the Director of the Security Bureau (played by Zheng Zeshi) and other officials, all of whom are unified It is led by Acting Chief Executive and current Financial Secretary Cecilia (Mok Man-wai).

Before Fan Weili resigned, he was cecilia’s boss.

However, in the process of handling the crisis, the top management chose to block information in order to prevent social unrest.

Fan Weili and Cecilia, who were dissatisfied with this response strategy, had many quarrels, ranging from when to let firefighters spray large amounts of water to put out fires to whether to sign exemption documents in exchange for blowing up real estate developers' under-construction buildings for disaster relief.

A group of other senior executives were weighing the pros and cons in the conference room, adapting to the situation and wrestling with each other. The smell of gunpowder immediately emerged. For example -

"You are sitting in the air-conditioned room, do you know how dangerous it is down there?"

This conference room showdown is of course reminiscent of the battle between Aaron Kwok's Lau Kit Fai and Tony Leung Ka Fai's Li Wenbin in "Cold War".

It can even be said that the film is a disaster movie version of "Chill".

: About the Hong Kong film

Of course, the film is not perfect.

Even if Jiang Zhiqiang spares no expense, the visual presentation of disaster scenes is still far behind that of Hollywood's first-line team.

The dubbing and lip-syncs of the two non-Cantonese actors, Bai Yu and Wu Yanshu, are inevitably inconsistent.

However, despite its shortcomings, the film still has a rare quality of Hong Kong films, especially the "energy" of Hong Kong films.

Many viewers say that today’s Hong Kong films seem to have lost the enthusiasm they had in the past.

But why is the anger of Hong Kong movies just too much? On the contrary, I think it is a kind of bloody spirit that dares to shoot, dare to speak, and is tough and cruel enough.

And "Burning City" really dared to shoot disaster scenes without any delay. When the straightforward fear hits you, people can't help but think, "What if this is not just a movie."

Foreign garbage is not that far away from reality.

is like a line in Andy Lau’s film, this is a man-made disaster.

with this kind of bloodiness is a Hong Kong movie.

And the bloody one is producer Jiang Zhiqiang. He said: The movie is a gamble for him.

"In a cold period, a big production costs a lot of money."

dares to bet, firstly because he believes that there is no cold season, and the reason why audiences don’t go to the movies is because there are no good movies.

Second, I still believe in Hong Kong movies.

Nowadays, in such short video-first industry announcements, if you can "cheat" the audience into the cinema, you will be a dark horse.

However, Jiang Zhiqiang is ambitious. He knows that Hong Kong movies are in a difficult situation, but he still dares to make real things.

Because he believes that the sluggishness of Hong Kong films is because many Hong Kong films in recent years have failed to meet the audience's requirements for new things, good-looking things, and non-conventional things.

But the more this happens, the more Hong Kong films need to make good movies to win back the audience's trust in Hong Kong films one by one. Is

really possible?

Judging from the box office on the first day, it is not optimistic, but the film may really be able to counterattack based on word of mouth during this cold period.

It’s like a scene in the film. On a bridge where hundreds of thousands of citizens were being evacuated, everyone spontaneously worked together to push a broken down truck.

The kind of help between people at the bottom, the kindness in human nature, is the most touching.

There is a dialogue in the movie: You have to believe them.

After watching "Burning City", I also hope that the audience will give Hong Kong films another chance.

You have to believe in Hong Kong movies.