Truly Dreadful Film

As Good As It Gets

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This is basically the ultimate surveillance film that revolves around the covert operations of an undercover police unit attempting to gather intelligence on a sophisticated crew of jewel robbers. So the way the film works is that you have this sub-division of the police department that has maybe a dozen or so operatives, in civilian clothes, who attempt to identify and gather information on suspected criminals. So let's say that there's a robbery somewhere and a street camera catches the image of a suspect. Well, this sub-division will search the other street cameras in the area and see how far they can follow this guy, to see where he went after the crime was committed. Eventually you're going to lose him, but if you have an idea of an area that he frequently goes to (whether it's near his home or work, etc.), then you dispatch this surveillance team into the streets to stake out the area in an attempt to find him, follow him, and gather information on him.So most of the film concerns the protagonist operatives as they do their jobs, which is really interesting to watch. From the very first minute, the cloak-and-dagger shadowing begins and continues right up to the final moments. This contributes a slow-burn suspense that keeps the viewer on edge. Although technically this is a "slow moving" film, the pacing still seems very brisk due to the premise. And there are also some great moments when a protagonist is in a position that may expose the entire operation.The overall quality of "Eye in the Sky" is impressive on all fronts. The direction is very engaging, with fluid camera-work that keeps things moving while at the same time effectively showing everything that is happening. The viewer is constantly aware of the positions and locations of all of the characters, which is key when you're dealing with the theme of surveillance and "tailing" suspects. Also, the music is excellent and very catchy. It's perfectly suited given the themes of the film.Now what about the acting. It's exceptional, and all of the actors have great chemistry together. We have another appearance by Simon Yam and this is one of my favorite performances from him. When I first saw this movie – years ago – I had seen a bunch of Yam's more nasty, notorious films where he plays the bad guy, so his turn in "Eye in the Sky" as a reserved, intelligent, extremely likable father-figure totally convinced me of his range as an actor. He's fantastic in this. The lead actress is Kate Tsui, who is also surprisingly excellent in this. I immediately became a fan of hers after watching this film, but the only other memorable role of her career subsequent to this was when she appeared in the Donnie Yen's flick "14 Blades" from 2010, where she played a villain. Now I have heard that many of her best roles are in TV dramas, so I definitely need to check those out if I can find them. And finally, we have Tony Leung Ka-fai, who plays the villain here in impressive fashion. This guy is paranoid and very sharp, with a fantastic memory – which automatically makes him a challenge for our protagonists. As an FYI, there are two Tony Leungs on the Hong Kong acting scene. The more popular actor in the west is Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, who you've seen in films such as "Hard Boiled" from 1992, "In the Mood for Love" in 2000, "Infernal Affairs" from 2002, and "Lust Caution" from 2007. I'm a big fan of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai – he has a very suave, slick look to him that is instantly charismatic. But I must say that Tony Leung Ka-fai has significantly grown on me over time, and I think that his role in "Eye in the Sky" represents some of his best work. So that's just another reason to watch this movie.The one thing that might irritate some viewers is that there are a few improbable coincidences that are used throughout. I think that – in that case – it's a bit easier to swallow because right at the beginning of the movie, the theme of "coincidence" is alluded to by Simon Yam's character. He specifically tells Kate Tsui's character that sometimes you just gotta get lucky to catch these guys – and it happens more often that you might think. So they introduce "coincidence" as an "up front" theme of the film, so it feels less like a contivance and more like an interesting aspect.In my opinion, "Eye in the Sky" is a contemporary classic. I could watch this movie a thousand times and not get sick of it. Fans of mostly realistic, suspense-driven "tailing" sequences ala "The French Connection" will be drooling all over themselves. And it's fairly easy to find on DVD – so watch it!

A Young woman joins the police surveillance unit and begins to track a gang of robbers and their mysterious leader. Good, but really great (which some are hailing it) police procedural. More suspense then action this tale of cops and cameras watching everything we do. You'll really have to forgive the lack of detail. I did watch the movie, finishing it an hour ago, but at the same time as soon as it was over my attitude was "okay whats next?". I think part of the problem is that you can pretty much guess how its going to go. You know the early confrontation will be played out later with a different result and you know that a couple of cliché turns will inevitably come to pass. I liked it but its such an unremarkable film that I can't really recommend it. If you do happen upon it give it a try but don't bother searching it out.

Forget about the intriguing posters for this one. For those expecting a sophisticated updating of Enemy of the State or some such paranoid-conspiracy theory number, much disappointment lies ahead.And it didn't even take Big Brother to stamp out any creativity in the project. Seems like Eye in the Sky fell victim to its own hushed and brief proviso, amounting to one of the most perplexingly short and underwhelming releases so far this year.Expectations run high as Tony Leung Ka Fai and Simon Yam saddle up to what by all rights could have been so much more. Opening sequences do bring with them fleeting glances of the delightful hi-tech, surveillance-rich spy mood the movie's promotional material sort of wanted you to buy into, but that's the extent of titillation they managed here.We soon realize Eye in the Sky is nothing more than yet another cops and robbers affair, and not even remotely one of the more poignant you've never seen. It does come across that director Yau Nai Hoi previously worked with Johnny To and his crew on stuff like The Mission and Expect the Unexpected, but apparently on his own he can't match those classics.Instead, we get a minimal story, paper tiger villains who crumble all too soon and a fatherly good cop character that seemingly can't die. That last one really pooped the party, which sounds mean, but after building up the melodrama in an almost-touching scene having the guy come back from the dead is simply awkward.So both Simon Yam and good old Tony Leung fail to make a lasting impression here, but what about the supporting cast? Well, a mixed bag as usual. Kate Tsui is Little Piggy, a new recruit to the HKPD's surveillance unit, a gathering of people with the knack to be anyone, anywhere and anyhow. They even know where you buy your saltines and soda. That aside, Tsui is OK for some scenes, but overall there's no raving about her output in this film.Likable soap opera Wayne Lai does his best and is impressive, but gets about ten seconds on screen so what can you do? Likewise, Maggie Siu (PTU) is cool as a constantly-cussing commanding madam, albeit doesn't get explored much beyond.To its credit, Eye in the Sky does have numerous instances of the beloved F word, and finally a classic shootout-with-vans-on-a-deserted-Hong Kong-overpass type of deal between the crooks and bemasked tactical unit cops. Not bad that one! Sadly that last exclamation does not apply to the rest of the movie. Eye in the Sky is simply not worth getting excited over nor keeping your peepers peeled for.Rating: * * *

First time director Yau Nai-Hoi's Eye in the Sky gets the two thumbs up from me. It's an excellent movie with a strong storyline that gets zoned into the moment, with no room spent on unnecessarily bloating the movie beyond what it should be. Director Yau, a frequent collaborator and scriptwriter for Johnny To classics, brings to Eye in the Sky, a taut 90 minutes cop-robbers story on surveillance, of the men and women who do the thankless anonymous tasks behind the scenes on following suspects and trawling the streets for them.Surveillance is never easy, and trust me I know, from work experience. While there are countless of CCTV cameras and various technologies, nothing beats having up to date field intelligence. The opening film of the HKIFF, I had hoped to have watched this on its first screening, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I had one week to trawl the streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon, and being able to identify the locales used, was an added thrill.Although this is a cop thriller, it doesn't have the usual car chases, explosions or fancy gun battles. It's quite muted in these aspects, however it brings about a refreshing realism to the story, a great departure from the days when action has to be stylized (flying through the air shooting two guns anyone?) The way the surveillance team operate, with its arsenal of disguises, tricks and vehicles, and the skills that one must possess - keen observation, alertness and an elephant memory, makes it like a cross between The Recruit and Mission: Impossible.Eye in the Sky tells the story of a new recruit, nicknamed Piggy (Kate Tsui) by her mentor Dog-Head (Simon Yam), as she undergoes an on-job training of sorts in their case to track down some armed heist robbers, led by "Hollow Man" (Tony Leung Kar Fai). It becomes a tight cat and mouse game as identities are attempted to be established, and the team comes up against a villain who's truly aware of his environment, turning the tables as the hunter might become the prey.There are strong performances all round, led by the veterans Simon Yam, in a change of alignment given his outings last year as villains, and Tony Leung, as a chillingly observant, cool and methodical sudoku-playing mastermind. In her first movie role, I thought Kate Tsui did remarkably well in her role as Piggy, the newbie lacking field experience, yet being thrown in the deep end of the pool to sink or swim. Perhaps it is truly her being new to the scene, that eased her comfortably into a role which is similar to herself, but the story does allow her room to showcase some of her acting chops, and she holds her own well against the veterans. Maggie Tsui too added some comedic moments as a foul mouthed police madam.Eye in the Sky is a recommended Hong Kong cop thriller (time to let go of mole stories) which is tight, and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you follow the surveillance team through high angles (akin to CCTV camera angles), tight teamwork and features an incredible soundtrack as well to keep it fast paced. You must watch this when it makes it to our shores in Singapore, tentatively scheduled for mid April.