Writer: Chin Vin Sen

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects:
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked: "The Invisible Target”, “Rule No.1”

As arbitrary as the movie title, "Accident" is one action-adventure that could have starred any Hong Kong face at all and the roles are equally interchangeable.

The plot is an elaborate setup of accidents on the bustling busy streets of Hong Kong, reminiscent of entrapments seen in the original "Mission Impossible" TV series. A mastermind criminal (Louis Koo) stages accidents to kill off his targets but meets his match when one of his men dies in a failed operation and all clues point to a mysterious insurance agent (Richie Ren).

Although a lot of screen time went into showing what everybody does in the complex "accidents", there was very little character development other than Louis Koo's scheming role. Even Richie ended up being too mysterious and removed a character to have established a neat cinematic connection. However, we can be happy that Louis Koo's central role is well fleshed out and directed. His spiral down a guilt trip laced with paranoia is rather interesting to watch, aside from turning the movie into a character study of one man as well.

The flow of the story also led us to believe that this movie was possibly edited in a way that omitted important details. Instead the runtime is wasted on excessive mood-setting and "ambience" concerns. This is no surprise when you discover that it's art house auteur Johnnie To who produced it.

In a nutshell, "Accident" is a great showcase of all the Milkyway talents (including Lam Suet) but entertains only as a balancing act between plot credibility and the leading actor's charisma to cover and drive the movie.

Cinema Online, 28 September 2009