Review by: Michelle Tan
Click here for pictures
Wesley Snipes could never be James Bond even in this
politically correct movie world of today for the very apparent
reason that he's black. So he tries to come close as Neil
Shaw, a secret agent within a secret sect of the United
Nations, who gets the dirty job done as long as the ends
justifies the means. Of course, we must not forget the
complementary sophisticated gadgets and superb martial arts
fighting skills that can kick the butts of any opponent.
The opening scene tells you
just this. A millennium eve celebration is brewing at a lavish
Hong Kong hotel. Shaw scales the outside walls so he can
embarrass a North Korean defense minister by broadcasting his
sexual coverts with under-aged girls live to the partying
crowd on a giant video screen, and blackmail him by
intercepting defence secrets. "I want you back at the
negotiating table with the South Koreans tomorrow
morning!" shouts Shaw before the goons found him and got
their butts kicked by Shaw on the catwalk, to the cheers of
the crowd who thinks that it's all part of the show. And Shaw
then proceeded to make a grand exit by para-jumping out of the
high-rise hotel onto the get-away van waiting below, and
miraculous avoided getting shot save for a graze on the
shoulder, even when he was literally a sitting duck. Ah, such
is the world of a James Bond wanna-be.
Eleanor Hooks (the equivalent
of Bond's M) who is Shaw's boss next wants him to bug a
Chinese ambassador whom they suspect may be working with a
crooked Chinese businessman to derail a pending US-China trade
agreement.
And if you haven't guessed it
by now, the ambassador got shot and Shaw is set up, arrested,
escapes, have the Chinese triads and FBI hot on his heels,
protects a beautiful Chinese translator, and at the same time,
tries to find out who is setting out to frame him.
It's a maze, with lots of
sub-plots with twists and turns and double-crossing that you
really have to pay attention to follow through. One thing to
appreciate here is the fast pace of the story line, which
keeps you guessing, though it can border on preposterous at
times.
Don't expect too much. Go into
the cinema hall with the intention of seeing some pretty cool
action scenes, plenty of gun-play and you will leave pretty
pleased. The plot is rather predictable and you would probably
have guessed out the bad guy pretty early in the movie but
it's a popcorn chomping kind of movie that you'll enjoy, and
just as quickly forget.
|
Shaw
is part of a top-secret team working for the United Nations,
solving crises and helping to maintain world peace. On a new
mission involving security for a high-stakes trade pact
between China and the United States, the Chinese ambassador is
assassinated and Shaw is framed for the crime. Shaw must learn
who framed him and why, fighting off Chinese Triad gangsters,
high-tech assassins, and the FBI. The only people who help
Shaw are a beautiful Chinese translator and a skeptical agent.
In addition to saving himself, Shaw has to race to keep the
trade deal from collapsing and the United Nations from being
humiliated and weakened.
