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2000 AD
On the DVD: The 1.77:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer is clean and generally free from grain; the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is as powerful as any heard on a Hong Kong movie, although listen though headphones and a fair degree of background hiss is clearly audible in the quiet scenes. The film can be viewed with the original Cantonese dialogue and English subtitles, or dubbed into English. Either way, a surprisingly large amount of the original dialogue is in English. There is a 19-minute "making of" documentary, though this is bland made-for-television promotional fare. Much better is the 14-minute interview with director Gordon Chan and a 17-minute interview with Andrew Lin who reveals how once shooting had begun his originally heroic part was re-written to make him the villain, thus explaining why the plot makes so little sense. Best of all is the commentary by Chan and Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan, which is packed with information about the movie, Hong Kong cinema and filmmaking in general. By itself it makes the DVD a worthwhile purchase. --Gary S Dalkin
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £1.49 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
2000 AD reunites Aaron Kwok and Andrew Lin from the ferociously pyrotechnic Black Sheep Affair (1998) for a slick but muddled Hong Kong/Singapore co-production conspiracy thriller about computer espionage. Kwok and Lin make fine adversaries, and have one excellent martial arts battle on a vertigo-inducing rooftop. Otherwise the action involves powerfully staged Heat-style gun play rather than martial arts, one set-piece car chase/shoot-out being strongly influenced by the Riviera pursuit in Ronin (1997). Beginning as a serious thriller, Kwok's nerdish computer games designer transforms into an invulnerable action hero, and any sense of plausibility is sacrificed for regulation mayhem. Cluttered with more characters than it knows what to do with, 2000 AD combines aspects of The Net (1995) and Entrapment (1999) into a largely nonsensical plot. Lin's villain is given vital information which later he is completely ignorant of. We never find out exactly what he is planning, or who he is really working for, and in one mystifying sequence he crashes the Singapore stock exchange, yet the event has absolutely no effect on anything. Though the cast is engaging and the direction polished the finale is an anti-climax, symptomatic of a highly entertaining movie which promises more than it delivers.
Expected much better
Review date: 2008-07-17 Rating: 6 out of 10
I watched the trailer for this,and was eagerly looking forward to seeing the film.Sadly,as what usually happens,the trailer was much better than the watching the film itself.There is action,but simply not enough off it.I was very disappointed to see no damsel in distress role,for Phyllis Quek.It deserved that written in,but it was not to be.I'm afraid this was a golden opportunity lost.
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Reviews
A GOOD HONG HONG LEGENDS RELEASE
Review date: 2007-08-06 Rating: 8 out of 10
With 2000 AD, director Gordon Chan cements his status as modern Hong Kong cinema's "King of Gun Battles". While his peers seem intent on putting together shootouts which are either a) amateurish and poorly edited (Extreme Crisis, Blood Rules), or b) oblique and artsy (The Mission), Chan proves there is at least one director left in Hong Kong who can deliver thrilling and explosive gunfights like nobody's business. He's not a John Woo clone though. Unlike the slow-motion beauty of Hong Kong cinema's most successful export, Chan prefers a hard-hitting and realistic approach. Think of the gun battle in Michael Mann's HEAT, and you will get an idea of how Chan likes to shoot and edit. Besides the action scenes, 2000 AD is an average Hollywood-style thriller. The story won't change your life, but you will be amused and that's enough. Best of all, the movie is WELL-PACED! That's one skill the current crop of HK directors seem to lack - Their films are too slow. Not 2000 AD. Well paced, good acting, amusing story, and awesome action. What are you waiting for?
good action
Review date: 2005-12-14 Rating: 8 out of 10
Good martial arts film. The english voice overs as always are pants so i didn't watch it in english
Slick but muddle techno-thriller
Review date: 2003-05-10 Rating: 6 out of 10
Gordon Chan, director of some classic Hong Kong flims of the 90's(Fist of Legend, Beast Cops and underated Jackie Chan flim 'Thunderbolt')brings us this big budget techno-thriller starring Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok.
To be honest I was letf slightly disappointed as while the flim was good, I was expecting much more with its big budget(for a Hong Kong flim), producers from the award-winning action flim 'Purple Storm' and the directing talent behind the camera.
There are a couple of problems which I have with the flim; the story can be quite muddle at times. The first half of it can be confusing to know wants going on and as explain on the Amazon review, there are some unanswered questions and motives though the movie.
The action scenes are made up of mostly Ronin/Heat style gunplay i.e car chases/shootouts, automatic weapons. Whlie the scenes are nicely done with the usual Hong Kong ballistic style, they seem in my opinion not to have that inventiveness and this is what I think makes Hong Kong action flims 'stand out'
Some of the cast are also disappointly underused, I would of like to have seen more of Andrew Lin and Ken Lo.
With its problems, I still liked the 2000AD and it has many things going for it. It looks nice, has razor-shape editing and camera work, some good action set pieces and a engaging lead performance from Aaron Kwok. While it isn't Gordon Chan's best work, its still enjoyable, just don't expect it to be in the same league as his earlier 'Fist of Legend' work.
For a better HK flim, try 'Time and Tide' by Tsui Hark. It might be less slick than 2000AD but its very fast paced and has some outrageously staged John Woo-ish action.
Great action
Review date: 2001-09-19 Rating: 10 out of 10
Hong Kong Legends , deliver a good DVD with both crisp picture and sound . The movie is fast and well made , it has a good storie and some realy nice action moves ....
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Aaron Kwok; Phyllis Quek; James Lye; Daniel Wu (II); Gigi Choi; Hoi Lin; Ray Lui; Francis Ng; Ken Lo; Yu Beng Lim; Wenyong Huang; Cynthia Koh; Shucheng Chen; Keagan Kang
Creators:
Aaron Kwok; Phyllis Quek; James Lye; Daniel Wu (II); Gigi Choi; Hoi Lin; Ray Lui; Francis Ng; Ken Lo; Yu Beng Lim; Wenyong Huang; Cynthia Koh; Shucheng Chen; Keagan Kang (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Contender Entertainment Group
Manufacturer: Contender Entertainment Group
EAN: 5032438504787
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-09-03
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 99 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Cantonese Chinese (Original Language)
Language: English (Dubbed)