Two brothers, divided by the stringent line of the law, set out to bring down a deadly criminal leader in this big-budget Hong Kong action film.
Jon (Jay Choy) is a former law enforcer who discovers he has an estranged brother, Yang (Nicholas Tse), a wanted criminal. After a conflicted reunion, they team up and attempt to hunt down Yang's criminal boss across the Middle East, Malaysia and Hong Kong before he can unleash a deadly virus.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Want even MORE bang for your buck? Then the Viral Factor is for you! The Chinese title for this flick is "Uphill Battle" and director Lam seems to have taken that definition to heart, because the protagonists barely have enough time to catch a breath between catching bullets. This is an adrenaline-fuelled ride that makes most American actioners look tame, which perhaps is why so many of the American reviews are so harsh on it. Movie Buzzer seems to be the only review that got it and Variety was reasonably kind. Yes, the plot is a bit of a mess and a grab-bag of well-worn themes from both Hong Kong and Hollywood and yes, John Woo did this sort of thing better twenty years ago, but this is not a thinking man's action movie; it's aimed a little lower than that. It's a swift kick in the balls that sends an electric current racing to the brain and back for two straight hours of almost non-stop gunfire, car chases, stunt work, explosions, leaping, falling, brawling, stabbing, kicking and screaming that, by the time the end-credits roll, has you in a sweaty heap and gasping "Bloody hell!" It's quite a ride and some of the set pieces are brilliantly done. I suspect director Lam had Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" and "Bullet in the Head" in mind when making this, and a touch of "Hard Boiled" for good measure. But there's no "poetry of violence" here, no Chow Yun Fat, baby in one arm, gun in the other, blasting his way through a hospital ward in slow mo (although there is a nod when a female protagonist takes a bullet literally in the head in slow mo in the film's opening scene). This is a "wow pow" flick. Suspend your disbelief, forget the plot holes, don't look for subtleties, just strap in and enjoy the ride!
A John Woo vibe of operatically staged action laced with pumped-up personal stakes.
An awesome action spectacle.
Wants to be both an action movie and a soap opera. But the merging of the two is clumsy, and so is the film.
The apparent byproduct of watching too much Bad Boys II.
Globetrotting, gun toting, car chases, explosions: The Viral Factor has all the action-junkie goods and then some.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 26th Jan 2012.
Release date: January 26th 2012.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
