‘96 Minutes’
It’s incredible how often a simple ticking clock can give an action movie a kick. In Hung Tzu-Hsuan’s “96 Minutes,” which is hilariously 117 minutes in length, the bomb squad officers Song Kang Ren (Lin Po-hung) and Jie Li (Lee Lee-zen) work to defuse an explosive device on their high-speed train and another on a train traveling parallel with theirs. If that isn’t bad enough, their train is also carrying the surviving family members of the victims of an explosion Song and Jie failed to prevent three years ago.
Like other takes on “Speed,” Hung’s film relies on taut editing, particularly the use of smash cuts, to inspire tension. In one scene, a passenger and Song attempt the complex calculations needed to disarm one bomb, the way the camera cuts from their eyes to the ticking clock to the speeding locomotive is not only electric; the technique also shows how well “96 Minutes” knows and loves this subgenre.
Forthright and determined, a customs officer, Chow Ching-lai (Nicholas Tse), attempts to stop shipments of illegal weapons through Hong Kong in Herman Yau’s twisty action-procedural “Customs Frontline.” These munitions are being transported to the imagined Republic of Loklamoa in return for diamonds and ivory. While Chow works against a syndicate that includes notorious arms dealers like Dr. Raw (Amanda Strang), he also tries to help his potentially crooked superior, clear his superior, Mr. Cheung (Jacky Cheung), of accusations of wrongdoing.
From that complex setup, Yau expands outward by placing Chow in a globe-trotting investigation that mirrors plenty of James Bond movies. These sites inspire elaborate set
pieces, with the most extravagant being a raid on a shipping vessel that involves several customs boats and helicopters. The film even concludes with an arduous tussle on a mini-submarine that would probably make Pierce Brosnan proud.
Between “Plane,” “Fight or Flight,” and “Flight Risk,” the airplane thriller appears to be making a comeback. Hailing from Vietnam, the director Ham Tran takes a different approach in his airborne period piece. Unlike the fictional accounts in the other films, “Hijacked” is inspired by a real event, the takeover in 1978 of Vietnam Civil Aviation Flight 501. It primarily follows Binh (Nguyen Thanh Son), an off-duty air marshal instructor who’s flying to be present for the birth of his child when a ruthless gang commandeers the plane.
This midair action thriller features incredible close-quarters fighting, often between Binh and the sadistic Long (Thai Hoa), leader of the gang, and involving other passengers and air marshals who attempt to wrest back control of the plane. The special effects here are also realistically rendered, particularly when a fighter jet with orders to shoot down the aircraft arrives. From these melodramatic flourishes to the film’s blood lust, which outweighs the plane’s fuel, “Hijacked” is a sturdy excursion.
Over a decade ago, a mixed martial arts fighter called Lin Haiya, agreed to pull off a gold robbery for a local gangster, Paquin (Yu Kang). But after the two have a falling out, the gangster murders Lin’s family, leading him to change his appearance through cosmetic surgery. Now he lives a quiet life as Chen (Louis Fan), working as a cook for Mina (Ziqi Zhao). His subterfuge is undone, however, when Mina takes in a woman fleeing Paquin’s human trafficking ring. In retaliation, the gangster snatches the woman back and even kidnaps Mina’s only daughter, Di (Abigail Ren). To retrieve Di, Chen teams up with Officer Wang (Andy On), who’s also investigating Paquin.
“To Live Through Death,” from the writer and director Ren Gaoliang, features seamless camera work that blurs the line between hand-held and Steadicam. In the film’s best sequence, Chen and Wang fend off Paquin’s goons in an intricately choreographed fight on the long walkway of an apartment complex. The camera effortlessly swings in and around flying bodies and across the street for a wide shot, without ever seeming to cut. That amazing sequence alone makes the movie stylistically indelible.
“State of Fear,” from the director Pedro Morelli, relies on a knotty web of rebellion and chaos happening across São Paulo, Brazil, for suspense. It begins with Elisa (Camilla Damião), a teenager whose father, now dead, was a noted member of the underworld group the Brotherhood. When crooked cops kidnap her for ransom, her Aunt Cristina (Naruna Costa), a counselor for the Brotherhood, goes on a quest to rescue her. Unfortunately for Cristina, the Brotherhood has ordered an attack on the police, causing the streets to erupt in fire and destruction.
While Cristina’s weaving through the brutal melees adds obvious anxiety, Morelli is equally interested in the citywide repercussions of the revolt. The opening sequence, for instance, involves a violent raid on a police station that recalls Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.” A later exploration of Elisa’s kidnapper, Borges (David Santos), gives us a window into the city’s systemic rot. Finally, an elegant single take of Borges hunting Cristina and Elisa shows how depraved even an earned rebellion can become.