How many years has it been since Andy Lau played a villain role on the big screen? In my impression, Andy Lau's villains can be traced back to 2002's "Infernal Affairs" and 2007's "The Disciple". Andy Lau has participated in more than 200 films and has a deep understanding of mov

How many years have it been since Andy Lau played a villain role on the big screen?

In my impression, Andy Lau's villain can be traced back to 2002's "Infernal Affairs" and 2007's "The Disciple".

Andy Lau has participated in more than 200 works and has a deep understanding of movie roles, but why do he get so few villain roles?

He has never answered this question directly.

But after watching the new film "Stealth" , which was released on New Year's Eve, Mr. Tomato is almost certain: The reason Andy Lau does not play the villain is because he plays the role so well that it can easily cause psychological shadow to the audience, so we must be cautious.

Andy Lau has had many successful roles this year.

But Lin Zhenan in "Stealth" is completely different from these characters.

After two days of release, the box office exceeded 100 million. This "Stealth" has a magic that many Hong Kong films do not have.

And a large part of this magic lies in Lin Zhenan, played by Andy Lau. In the

video, Lin Zhenan , who lives in Hong Kong, is a gold medal lawyer.

He manages his appearance meticulously, wears suits and leather shoes, smiles all over his face, is sincere and friendly to his wife and friends, and is a good gentleman no matter how you look at it.

But the occurrence of a drug trafficking case revealed another side of Lin Zhenan.

A batch of up to 4 tons of drugs arrived in Hong Kong. The boss behind the scenes was arrested, and Lin Zhenan was the lawyer of the boss, Uncle Chao.

Uncle Chao, who was arrested, did not panic at all. Instead, he looked at the clock at the police station and waited for the time to go out, because every time there was a problem, Lin Zhenan would help him solve it.

But this time, he miscalculated.

Although he was tough, he cleared away all the evidence and people in his hands that were sufficient to accuse him.

But he didn’t know that Anan beside him was an undercover police officer.

Anan discovered the key evidence of Uncle Chao's drug trafficking. At this time, even Lin Zhenan was helpless.

Uncle Chao told Lin Zhenan that he no longer needed a lawyer.

After hearing this, Lin Zhenan turned around and walked out of the police station.

When he was looking at his watch with a fascinated smile downstairs, Uncle Chao fell from a height. He ended his life by jumping off the building.

What’s strange is that although the boss was arrested, the 4 tons of drugs in Hong Kong have not stopped. Who is the real boss behind

? The police searched hard but were unable to break through.

At this time, another undercover police officer played an important role.

Xiu Hao has known Lin Zhenan for many years and is the most trusted person around Lin Zhenan.

His investigation found that Lin Zhenan was the big boss behind the scenes. Not only did he have direct contact with the drug-making warlords, he also "innovated" and started selling drugs online on the dark web in Hong Kong.

The police know almost nothing about all this. Lam’s team of hackers can even invade the Hong Kong police’s information database and obtain the police’s personal information.

Unfortunately, Xiu Hao’s information was also among them.

A long-standing battle between brothers is about to break out.

As a Hong Kong film, "Stealth" has many elements of classic Hong Kong movies, such as drug trafficking, undercover agents, gangsters, brothers... But as a movie released during the New Year's Eve period, "Stealth" still puts watchability first. Bit.

This visibility is reflected in three levels.

The first layer is the highlights, cool points and explosive points.

During the New Year's Eve, what the audience is looking forward to more is actually a movie that can make people feel happy and give people an adrenaline rush.

In terms of story, "Stealth" exceeded expectations. Its main plot is delicate and solid enough, the rhythm is fast and powerful, and it is full of suspense.

Especially the back-and-forth battle between the undercover and the drug dealer, mixed with brotherly love, is very addictive.

In terms of commercial elements, "Stealth" also leads the New Year's Eve films.

At the beginning of the film, there is a stunning and violent drug dealer chase scene.

The drug trade in the abandoned factory includes drug dealers, buyers, Flying Tigers, and anti-narcotics police. The four parties are wrestling with each other, and bullets are flying everywhere.

Lin Jiadong, who is holding a sniper rifle on the top floor, has become the only uncertain factor in this transaction. His identity has not yet been revealed, and every bullet affects the hearts of the audience.

After the factory battle, there is another exciting car chase scene. When the car hits the obstacle and is smashed to pieces, this action scene will come to an end. Behind

, there are many more high-energy gun battle scenes.

Lin Zhen'an's bloody wedding and the last-minute arrest of Lin Zhen'an visually presented the "big gunfight scene" in front of the audience, which was enough to shock the audience.

In addition to gunplay, there is also action.

It is worth mentioning that this time Peng Yuyan, in a suit and leather shoes, became the representative of the action.

He plays the role of the superintendent of the Narcotics Network Investigation Division and often goes out to perform tasks by himself.

There is a scene where he fights with a killer in a winery. Peng Yuyan also took the risk. Under the guidance of Wu Zhi, he fought several times with fists and flesh, real swords and guns.

Watching their "husband" face the knife-wielding gangster with nothing on the big screen, I don't know how many girls' hearts were in their throats.

Finally, "Stealth" also has the standard of going too far in Hong Kong movies.

The scene where the police undercover agent was caught and interrogated was shocking.

In order to present the best effect, actor Zhu Jianran was actually drowned in the water during the filming and reached his physiological limit.

Whether it is waterboarding or the final shot between the eyebrows, the retention of bloody and violent elements is also the basis for Hong Kong films to describe human nature and reveal reality.

The entire "Stealth" can be said to have everything you want. It has everything you need to watch, exciting, and explosive. It is most suitable for this year's New Year's Eve atmosphere.

The second level is about the acting skills of the four emperors and one queen.

"Stealth" can be said to have reached the peak of its cast lineup.

The configuration of "four emperors and one queen" is unique among Hong Kong movies in recent years.

Andy Lau, Lam Jiadong, Simon Yam, Cheng Zeshi and Liu Yase, you come and go in the film, every look is a drama, those subtle emotional changes can only be discovered through extremely careful and immersed viewing.

Among them, Mr. Tomato’s favorite is the gentle scum Lin Zhenan played by Andy Lau.

This character is a villain that Andy Lau can include in the textbooks. He is a villain who has made people fearful over the years not by his image but by his acting skills.

In fact, Andy Lau's role as Lin Zhen'an is very suitable. It's not about the villain's role, but the two people actually have something in common in their temperament.

Andy Lau has been in the industry for 40 years, and he is more or less obsessive-compulsive. He has precise plans for his career, strict management of his figure, and meticulous observation and experience of every role, striving to be the best. .

These are precisely the characteristics of Lin Zhenan.

Although he is a villain, Lin Zhenan has extremely detailed plans for doing things. He hides behind the scenes and never shows his face. He only shows himself as a lawyer, but secretly he is a boss who controls the drug business worth hundreds of millions. He has his own ideas. Intelligent and unruly, he is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of making money and personal interests.

At the same time, Lin Zhenan is an extremely complex and multi-faceted character.

When facing his wife and daughter, he always has a gentle, affable and approachable image. He is personable, his shoes are spotless, he smiles to everyone he meets, and he looks like a highly educated elite.

But underneath the elegant skin, hidden is an arrogant, cold-blooded, murderous and arrogant crazy drug dealer.

Because of Andy Lau's outstanding performance, at the beginning of the movie, the audience could not even distinguish the true appearance of this man.

But later on, especially when he issued the most ruthless silence order, threatened the police with his exaggerated smile, and even lost his mind, in order to track down the police's family, regardless of the exposure of his hacker team, the madness in his bones was terrifying. .

People are complicated. A drug lord may also have two sides of the same person wearing a mask.

There are many such images, but the biggest charm of Andy Lau's Lin Zhenan is that he used his performance to perfectly combine these two sides. There are many scenes where the good guy Lin Zhenan and the crazy Lin Zhenan are both. Seamless switching is achieved.

For example, the moment he saw the computer screen and discovered that Xiu Hao had betrayed him.

Another example is the moment when he saw the video of his daughter and refused to cooperate with the police.

Andy Lau's change of face makes us believe that Lin Zhen'an really exists, and under the guidance of the director, the causes of Lin Zhen'an's illness and the pace of losing his mind step by step are completely convincing.

Andy Lau has acted in more than 200 films. His interpretation of Lin Zhenan is superb. He knows the inner world of such a character well, so he can express the darkness and suffocation of Lin Zhenan's soul through a smile and a line.

Mr. Tomato predicts that many years from now, Lin Zhenan will be a character who has to be mentioned when talking about Andy Lau. This character is really too charming.

Part of Lin Zhenan’s outstanding contribution must be shared with Lin Jiadong.

The collaboration between the two best actors is flawless, and half of Lin Zhenan's madness is set off by Xiu Hao, who plays the undercover police officer.

Fifteen years ago, Lin Zhenan rescued Xiu Hao, and the two became close friends from then on.

But Lin Zhenan didn’t know that Xiu Hao had been lurking next to him as an undercover policeman.

When this news was accidentally exposed, Lin Zhenan's attitude and emotions towards Xiu Hao were extremely complicated.

On the one hand, he was reluctant to part with the friendship for so many years, and on the other hand, their positions were completely contradictory.

When Lin Zhenan asked Xiu Hao, "Do you want to die for me or do you want to die?" Lin Jiadong's expression was still fresh in people's memory.

That kind of fear, guilt and fear made Lin Zhenan's aura stronger several times.

Xiu Hao's various vacillating positions later also showed that in his heart, Lin Zhen'an also had enough weight.

The two movie stars work together to fully present the complexity of human nature between two brothers, an undercover agent and a drug lord.

The most enjoyable part of "Stealth" is also here.

The third level is the new ideas of Hong Kong films brought by "Stealth".

Although police, criminals, and undercover agents are common elements in Hong Kong movies.

But "Stealth" is not just a "formula", it also has its own innovations based on the classic story. The

movie combines the times and proposes live streaming of drug trafficking on the dark web, allowing drugs to be sold all over the world in an instant in the form of live streaming.

The upgrade of this method has a narrative function, and it also allows the new department of "Internet Drug Investigation Section" to meet everyone.

For the first time on the big screen, it fully presented the close cooperation between hackers and drug dealers during online drug trafficking. From source to sales, the entire chain was presented in a popular science way, and it also opened the eyes of the audience for the first time.

The most important thing is that the fight against drugs, anti-drugs and drug dealers in the movie has moved from online to offline.

The attack and defense between online hackers and the police are embodied, with a cyberpunk-like sci-fi effect.

The battle between offline drug dealers and undercover agents supplements online offense and defense, forming effective positive feedback and bringing a better look and feel.

In fact, there are two deepest meanings of "Stealth".

is a tribute to those stalkers.

Mr. Tomato remembers that in the end, at the Martyrs Cemetery, a policewoman complained to Peng Yuyan about the hardships of being an anti-narcotics police officer.

Eddie Peng said: No one forces you to be a police officer.

Yes, from the dead An Nan to the undercover Xiu Hao, the undercover spirit is actually the chivalrous spirit in Hong Kong martial arts films. Under the light of the sword, deep-rooted justice is a style that will never be lost in Hong Kong films.

The other one is to promote anti-drugs.

Andy Lau said that he goes to the anti-drug prison every two months and also served as a guest at the graduation ceremony of the "Anti-Drug Leadership Academy" in Hong Kong, China.

He is actually using his influence to publicize anti-drugs and the dangers of drugs, so that more people can stay away from drugs and help more people find their way back.

As we head towards the last day of 2024, there are Andy Lau, four movie kings and one movie queen. It is an extremely happy thing to have such a movie to accompany the New Year.

A positive movie will give the new year a good start and a good start. I dare to say that "Stealth" will be popular all over the country.

In addition, the viewing enjoyment brought by a high-quality movie is also an indispensable comfort in this year.

No wonder some viewers said: I will definitely watch "Stealth" during the New Year's Eve next year.

(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Department: Miaomiao)