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Inspector Sam Lam (Leon Lai) has been on the trail
of gangster Night (Saki) for the last three years. Finally he has
caught up with him, and in a blazing fight in Central, HK, Night
is apprehended. Sam's girlfriend, Ann (Asaka Seto), is a barrister,
and she has taken up the case to put Night behind bars. Sam and
Ann go on holiday to Paris after the jury gives Night five years
for smuggling illegal immigrants.
Happy and carefree, Sam and Ann are unaware that
they are followed by a killer working for Night. An assassination
attempt on Ann succeeds, and a devastated Sam returns to Hong Kong,
living the next two years in virtual recluse in Tai O.
One day, Sam comes across a Japanese photographer
that looks uncannily like Ann. The girl calls herself Ah You and
is stationed in Tai O to take photographs for her magazine back
in Japan. They begin to strike a relationship that becomes very
much bewildering for Sam, as Ah You's idiosyncrasies are so much
alike to Ann's.
Just when the both of them are beginning to enjoy
life in the tranquillity of Tai O, Sam receives word that Night
has been released from prison early. Sam goes to seek revenge on
Night for the murder of his beloved Ann. But something is not right,
and to his horror, Sam realises that Ah You was actually the assassin
who killed Ann on that fateful day in Paris.
The first twenty minutes of Bullets of Love is
highly charged, featuring a damn good chase along Queen's Road Central
and the Central open escalator. After that, the film sort of fizzles
out to a dreary romantic drama until the film's bloody climax. The
action scenes are well directed, but suffers from being alarmingly
short. The main gist of the story really focuses on Sam and his
relationship with the strange Ah You. Viewers are also baffled as
to the real identity of Ah You, and as the film moves along, we
become aware that Ah You is actually that assassin. But the treat
is figuring out how she changed her appearance. Unfortunately, her
explanation falls short of being believable.
Leon Lai is okay as Sam, but the real gem is Asaka
Seto who plays both Ann and Ah You. Her accented Cantonese is a
hoot to listen to, and it is fortunate that she is able to convincingly
pull off both her performances. A virtual typecast in most other
films, Ng Chi Hung goes out of his way to play a character you wouldn't
expect him to portray in Bullets of Love, and it is reassuring that
his character is believable, although annoying at times. They are
all supported by other good characters, both good and bad.
Overall, Bullets of Love offers satisfying enjoyment,
even though it isn't really much of an action film, and at times,
the story drags. But the drama, suspense, and limited action are
blended well enough.
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