Matrixston
Wow! Such a good movie.
Diagonaldi
Very well executed
Derry Herrera
Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Edwin
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
dumsumdumfai
dug this up on my piles of DVDS during reorganizing(i.e. throwing things out for donation) and can't remember a thing (maybe it's just me ) on this one so I watched it again.This has kind of rough beginning. There is no setup beginning, just jumps right into 3 main leads in a bar .. and another guy giving them a small gold plate.Then the slow review happens. Who is with whom, has what background, is scheming behind who's back to do what... all to get some money which everyone is short of.And the story spirals to a frenzy outside a rural area, where protagonists, villains, third party and cops all show up for a stand-off/showdown. I was expecting a more well choreographed ending .. but it seems the producers went for something more symbolic then anything. It works but didn't release the tension for me.There was few, very few funny moments but those are really good.
Richard Hawes
A notable collaboration between three of the most iconic directors in Hong Kong, Triangle is a complex crime film from which one should expect the unexpected.This is a not a Pulp Fiction (1994) or Three Extremes (2004) style anthology, but instead a single, linear story in which the baton is passed from one director to the next, a bit like The Signal (2007). Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and current favourite Johnnie To each used their own scripts and production teams to create 30 minutes of this crime drama. Tsui Hark's first act establishes the characters, handing over to Ringo Lam for an intense second act and it's therefore down to Johnnie To to wrap things up in the chaotic final act. These are directors who know how to use conventions, such as the mcguffin, the chase and gunfight, but delight in adding unexpected twists to subvert our expectations.The result is a surprisingly natural film experience. Distinctive styles, such as Tsui Hark's intense visuals, may make the audience aware of who is in control but generally it's almost impossible to determine which director's work we are watching at any given time. Cinematographer Cheng Siu-Keung deserves credit for maintaining a beautifully atmospheric tone throughout, even during the many unusual moments.As is appropriate for a film with three directors there are three lead characters. Simon Yam, Louis Koo and Sun Honglei play desperate men planning a robbery when a mystery man approaches leaves in their possession a piece of gold which sends them in a new direction, toward buried treasure. It's the set-up for a conventional heist movie, the kind of film we have seen many times before, but in the hands of these skilled artists it becomes much more. The triangle of the title can be interpreted to mean one or several things. Meaning extends beyond simply referring to the collaboration between the trio of filmmakers. It can be said to refer to the three-stages to this story and the journey the audience accompanies the characters on. The poster art presents the words "destiny" "jealousy" and "temptation" on each side of the shape, hinting at a philosophical construction. Triangle is an ambiguous film from which we can take from what we wish.I was personally drawn to the "love triangle" interpretation. At the heart of the film is a woman, the wife of one of the criminals, who has been having an affair. For a notable three years. Awareness of the betrayal has a direct influence on the direction of the story and things become increasingly unpredictable. I'm being intentionally vague about whose wife she is and with whom the affair is taking place as there are so many wonderful nuances and surprises in the narrative that it would be a shame to spoil them.Simon Yam, a serious actor with a surprising number of action films in his filmography including Wake of Death with Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Johnnie To regular and it's his cold, emotionless performance which grips the audience most. From the moment he is introduced on screen we never know what to expect from him. Louis Koo (with whom Yam and To worked on the Election films) is also good as a small-time criminal getting in over his head with some nasty characters. The only weak link is Sun Hong Lei as an antique store owner who aids them in their heist. Too often off-screen and unmemorable when he is on it.Triangle is an intriguing piece of work. Those seeking a fast-paced thriller would be advised to look elsewhere, but if you enjoy slow- burning character studies then this will not disappoint.
goods116
If a movie can't hold your interest in the first 25 minutes, it's over as far as I'm concerned. This concept that you have to simply deal with a slow first third of a movie and be rewarded later is nonsense. A good movie has to start and end strong. It all seem interesting and some decent shots and lots of promise, but ultimately muddled and irrelevant. There are so many other movies from Asia to watch, many of which I am sure most of you have not seen, that I would really skip this one and look elsewhere. Why exactly does IMDb require a 10 line minimum for reviews? I said my piece and I hope this helps a few of you move on to the next film.
faifai0714
Finally i have seen Triangle. It has all the elements of a film noir ( dark lighting/unhappy couple/the femme fatale/double crossing/unsympathetic characters) and so forth) plus the style of all three directors. The first part is Tsui Hark's direction. There's nothing really interesting in this part it's just the setup of the story, but the fast/jump cuts and dialogues is obviously Tsui's style. The second part, directed by Ringo Lam, reveals the sophisticated emotions of the characters, the fun part is that Ringo Lam is pretty much playing with the character's minds and also the audience's minds and expectations. The final part is directed by Johnnie To. It has all the elements of a Johnnie To action sequence: all the characters with different intentions meet each other just like in PTU and they end up killing each other.Overall it has been a great experience to see all the three directors putting their own style in three different parts of the movie. But if you ask me who owns the movie I would say Johnnie To because since this movie is produced by his company and his production team, it has Johnnie To's style all over it. Tsui and Ringo are there for the ride. It's just like in Sin City where Tarantino directs a scene from the movie but overall the movie has Rodriguez's style all over it.