Display MoreWe were very impressed with Hard Boiled! It's a magnificent film that's defined half by its incredible, stylistic, over the top action sequences and half by its stunning attention to detail in production. It was very interesting comparing it to Hard Target to see both the impact of Hollywood on director John Woo but also for a fast lesson in learning his visual language. But outside of all that talk it was just supremely thrilling and fun… and it pushed that to a limit you wouldn't believe. The climax that's set at a doomed hospital was spectacular!
The ostensible Wing Commander connection was that Wing Commander III's wild lines (the voices over the public announcement system on the Victory) include a shoutout to star chow Yun-fat, who plays hero cop Inspector Tequila Yuen. He's certainly an impressive actor and it's very easy to see why this movie in particular would've made him a favorite of the Wing Commander III team in 1994!
But as with our other John Woo film, Hard Target, we were eager to see something that had made such an overall impression on the Wing Commander III team. And as with Chow Yun-fat's performance, it's easy to understand why this was so exciting for a bunch of creative twenty-somethings in 1994. The over the top action and the detailed production values are all easy ins to enjoying this film but I think there's also a bit more of a parallel that the 'Maverick' team would've connected with. Like their game, this is a movie that proves you can do incredible things outside of Hollywood. That John Woo could craft this magnificent film in Hong Kong would've been a sign to those upstart software developers working to make their own movie of just what heights were possible.
Sully would never explode a hospital… or would he?
