Fresh and Exciting

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I have several problems with this film. For one thing, I'm not sure the director (Max Makowski) had any definitive idea on what type of movie he was trying to create. At first it starts off as a comedy but then morphs into a crime-drama with elements of romance and then back to a serious drama. Further, he puts some scenes out front and then back-tracks on them only to come full circle toward the end. I found this technique initially confusing but later it seemed all too elementary after everything was said and done. Not only that, but I thought the outstanding performance of Francis Ng ("T") was downgraded to an extent by the attempted comedy all around him. And other than him I didn't see anybody else in the cast who was nearly as good by comparison. In short, this film features a complicated plot with ambivalent direction which utilizes a confusing technique that hampers an otherwise brilliant performance by the lead actor. I think that pretty much says it all.

As I'm writing this review I keep asking myself, "Why should I like this film?" The plot line is hopelessly jumbled, the humor awkwardly rendered, some of the characters are just plain annoying, and the action leaves much to be desired. When looked at from a rational perspective, this film is a mess... but, it's a strangely compelling and enjoyable mess.Featuring a Chinese and American Cast, a Brazilian Director, and shot on location in Singapore, One Last Dance is the story of a kidnapping gone wrong. "T" (deliciously acted by Francis Ng), is a hit-man who is assigned to take out a gang of thugs lead by Ko (played annoyingly by Joseph Quek) who have kidnapped a tycoon's son. T is given his marks through small red envelopes called "lisees" which contain the name(s) of his next victim. Along the way T falls for the beautiful Mae (Vivian Hsu in a thankless role), not knowing she's the sister of Ko. When Ko's name shows up in one of T's Lisees, T faces a hard decision. To be sure there are a lot of things to like about One Last Dance. Francis Ng is mesmerizing as the disenchanted hit-man and helps save this production from its numerous faults. Harvey Keitel is good even though he's not given much to do. Also of note in a positive light, is the film's cinematography and soundtrack, competently filmed and masterfully scored, featuring Pakk Hui's amazing song "Broken Orange" (seriously the song is worth watching the film alone) which nestles its way inside your brain and refuses to come out for days.On the negative side, the film's humor is uneven and often irritating. One wishes they focused more on Francis Ng's character other than Joseph Quek, who attempts to provide the film with a dose of humor but misses the mark more often than not. Another annoyance is the films use of computer generated blood, which, quite simply, looks terrible. Not to mention the irregular plot. I know this film is meant to be "pieces of a puzzle" and as much as I admire the ambitious attempt it seems to needlessly clutter the production. Most people will need a second viewing to pick through all the overlapping and seemingly unrelated scenes to piece together the time line and plot.For all of it's faults, I still came away really liking One Last Dance. It's definitely an original piece of work, is entertaining, and features some scenes of true cinematic beauty. I just wished it was a better film.

Ever since I saw the movie poster many months ago, I was highly enthused to watch this local Raintree Pictures production given the accreditation and hype accompanying its release. Having seen it now, I felt it was a real disappointment and a movie I would love to forget, especially since 'One Last Dance' was the first movie I saw in 2007. My disappointment began right from the start with the Introductory sequence totally eliminating any hopes I had for an intelligent, serious, suspense, crime thriller. 'One Last Dance' really got it all mixed up, genre wise. I strongly feel the director/producers really should make a stand on what they wish to offer the audience ie.thriller,action,romance,comedy??? Random inclusion of cheap and ill-advised humour that may not be easily understood by all is for me the major flaw that killed this movie. This along with certain highly annoying characters in the movie such as Joseph Quek's "Ko" which only commendable 'on screen task' is to bring out the best in the actor himself for he really did annoy me quite a bit. The assembled cast as a whole did a decent job, with the leading guys, Francis Ng, Ti Lung, Vivian Hsu holding their roles well. It was also good to see quite a selection of local actors involved. However, it was interesting to hear certain members' of the audience commenting that "perhaps Harvey Keitel was on vacation in the region when he was approached, and roped in to do a cameo out of goodwill" I would not mind that speculation for I believe his character in the movie could be played by almost anyone else. Overall, I do applaud the 'Memento' like concept of story telling, and the anonymity of the setting (We have no idea where & when the story was set, could hardly even tell it was filmed in Singapore), this I believe is pretty encouraging for Raintree Pictures. However, the CGI and other effects could really be better, and with a concept hinting at sophistication, 'One Last Dance' could really do without the badly executed on screen humour which probably took 3 to 4 marks off the movie. I would forget this and look forward to better movies in the long year ahead...

A very well written story. The film gives a kaleidoscopic view of the underground world with an emerging focus on the role and life of individuals. The film provides reflections on deepest human emotions portrayed in a world where one does not expect such feelings to exist nor the desire to right wrongs. The film is challenging and a puzzle which slowly unfolds. Overall an interesting movie showing the more than two faces of the crime world. What We see is a sobering and even tragic picture of the crime world. There is fine acting and good selection of locations. For English speakers who must follow the translation some of the impact of the film in Cantonese may, unfortunately, not be fully appreciated.