Point Of No Return (1990, Hong Kong)

 

Paul's review:

Point Of No Return is a less-than-great-but-sometimes-fun Hong Kong heroic bloodshed flick from 1990, directed rather blandly by Guy Lai Ying-Chau, a guy with little famous to his name, the best of his being the slightly amusing 1991 spooky comedy Ghost For Sale which really isn't saying much. The cast of Point Of No Return includes mainstays of the time such as Jacky Cheung, Joey Wong, and the ever-reliable Kenneth Tsang. All do their usual best with the limited material on offer.

The film's plot is that it doesn't really have one, one bunch of killers run by Tsang are hired to kill people whilst a rival killer wants to kill them because they killed some guy called Michael in Thailand. In between, there is bullshit romance between hitman Cheung and DJ and insurance broker (really) Wong whilst Wong's policeman dad complains about his arthritis. Cheung has a hitman partner played by Patrick Tam (NOT the film director of the same name) who resembles Alan Tam if he'd been left in a tumbler drier and has the charisma of a brick. I wanted the character to die but alas he didn't.

The film's main saving grace is the always great Ken Lo plays the rival killer Puma who stalks around wearing garish sportswear or looking like early 90s Nicky Wire in leather print coats. When he appears, someone is always dying, getting injured, or being threatened. He even shoots a mirror.

There is action but it is sporadic and generic at the best of times but there is some good stuff here and there. Cheung wields a Robocop gun that is like a fucking cannon and there is a great scene set around a hit on Wong's old whiny father that involves a duel with silenced pistols and then a frenzied bout of fists and kicks. From the last half hour, it does pick up and becomes entertaining but never stands out from the crowd of that vintage era of Hong Kong crime-based action flicks. The finale is solid but plays out like a diet version of Dragon Family, a mixture of guns blazing and punches to the face.

My issue with this film is Point Of No Return lacks edge, craziness, lacks sleaze, and is far too light in tone for a film about assassins for hire. The great Triad potboilers of this era, and even some of the poorer ones got by on neon-soaked street violence, drinking contests, bad humour and gambling sequences. This film has very little of that. It does have an extended scene based around painting a living room and an earlier one framed around selling insurance at a karaoke bar. So there is that plus going for it.

It's not terrible, it's just ok.