Review of First Option

Introduction

Think of Hong Kong`s SDU (Special Duties Unit) as the American SWAT equivalent and it`ll give you some idea of what SDU do. After case bungling by Customs & Excise, SDU and C&E have to work together to clear up a drugs problem and to hunt out a dirty cop. A cool $2bn at stake and nothing but guns and mercenaries are going to protect this shipment from law enforcement.

Chuck in a few personal problems and betrayal for the on edge SDU leader and it starts to sound like one of a raft of every other action movie ever produced with good guys, bad guys and a lot of drugs and money in the middle.

Video

First Option comes with a good 1.78:1 widescreen enhanced transfer. Colours and detail look okay, but the film does have a certain level of grain present throughout. The odd bits of dirt never get in the way and there`s very little else wrong with the transfer.

Audio

Audio comes in the form of Chinese and English Dubbed DD5.1. The Chinese soundtrack sounds loud and clear and surprisingly dynamic too. Media Asia have spent time and money on this soundtrack and it rings out very clear here. Dialogue is clear from the front, and the English dub is funny if watched with English subtitles.

Features

Easy to navigate menus with only one worthwhile extra, the audio commentary.

• Audio commentary - What HKL film would be complete without a commentary from Bey Logan? Fellow expert Mike Leeder accompanies him here and this commentary is good. The incessant banter covers the film, its cast and crew and they link what seems like every Hong Kong actor to every single film, director, writer etc. It can be a lot to listen to in one go.

• Trailer Gallery - UK and original theatrical trailers.

• Interview Gallery: widescreen enhanced interviews with Action Director Bruce Law (17:22) and lead actor Gigi Leung (16:27). These are interesting interviews and while these cover a wide range of topics, you`re likely to watch them once.

• Behind the scenes: montage 1 (1:45), montage 2 (1:45), montage 3 (1:44). A collection of three behind the scenes featurettes with the terrible menu music looping through them. These are simply too short.

• Further Attractions - An assortment of widescreen enhanced trailers for Premier Asia and HKL titles.

Rounding off this package are English and Dutch subtitles.

Conclusion

The first time I watched this film I became bored after only 20-minutes. To watch it again with the English dub was hilarious, but didn`t make it any better. It was enjoyable to watch (listen?) with audio commentary, but then Bey Logan commentaries are interesting, more so than some of the films he talks over.

The first problem with this film is the acting, the second is the poor plotting and script and the third is the action. I would have thought that any film that tackles subjects like drugs, money laundering and corruption would have its work cut out by the sheer multitude of other films that try to do the same. You only need to look at Jackie Chan`s Police Story films for something more entertaining than First Option.

The acting isn`t great, but then it hardly has to be as wooden as it is here. A good action film has charismatic leads that can bring an average storyline up above other average films. The leads here, Michael Wong and Gigi Leung, don`t have any chemistry. Some of the other actors are okay, but then these are secondary roles. Script wise it`s tiring to be bludgeoned repeatedly by bureaucracy, edgy law enforcement officers and the message that teamwork always wins.

The inexperienced female customs inspector (Gigi Leung), making a mess of the case, is predictable. The maverick cop who needs some sort of psychiatric evaluation (Michael Wong) and doesn`t get on with his boss is predictable too. The action is strictly paint-by-numbers and leaves nothing extraordinary to see. Yes there are plenty of gun battles between SDU and highly trained mercenaries, but it`s nothing that hasn`t been seen or done before. No imagination was spared in putting these action scenes together.

This all adds up to an average film at best and one that I cannot recommend.