Reviewed by Daniel Rutledge
A hard-edged triad film set in the seedy underbelly of Hong Kong, Rebellion starts with a top mob boss being shot and critically injured.
The second-in-command, his wife, is overseas, and leaves temporary control to her trusted bodyguard Bo.
This angers other high-ranking members of the gang who believe they should be in charge during such a tumultuous time.
Should they strike back in order to not show weakness – if so, who should they strike?
Will a rival gang attempt to seize control of territory while there is a lack of leadership?
The biggest question of all is, of course, who ordered the hit?
Bo has been landed the supremely difficult task of managing all this while in the middle of a drunken bender on his birthday.
It seems unusual that despite the availability of guns, there’s often large gangs of young men battling each other with blades. Whatever the reasoning, this sure makes for great action scenes.
The twisty turny plot has a great whodunit element, but there’s greater mystery in what is going to happen next, which means a delicious tension pervades the entire film.
The very end concludes everything abruptly, in a rather annoying tying up of all the loose ends, but the journey to that point was thoroughly enjoyable.
Three stars.
This film is playing at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Festival.
Rebellion
:: Director: Herman Yau
:: Starring: Shawn Yue, Elaine Kwong, Ada Choi, Chapman To, Conroy Chan, Ella Koon
:: Running Time: 100 mins
:: Rating: R18
:: Trailer: Watch here
