Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

These comments are based on watching the English language US version of the film.After his friend is assassinated policeman Andy Lau is surprised to discover that the killer's fingerprints match those of a convict who had apparently been executed recently... either something is wrong with the computer records or something is very wrong at the prison. As it doesn't appear to be the former he agrees to go undercover in the prison to uncover the truth. The prison is a brutal place and Andy has nobody to go to if he gets in trouble. In the prison we are introduced to other key characters; John 'Fatty' Liu, who keeps escaping to visit his son; Steve, who is marked for death because he accidentally killed a crime boss's brother and Lucas, the unofficial leader of the convicts.I don't know if it was just the version of the film I watched but it certainly seemed rather lacking. The most obvious weakness is that once in prison Andy barely bothers to investigate; he asked a few questions about the late assassin, got in trouble with Lucas, then he was just another prisoner who gets caught up in a few scrapes. Jackie Chan is sold as the lead actor but in reality he plays a secondary character; we do get to see some of his trademark action, which is rather fun, at least. Sammo Hung provides some of the film's more amusing moments as John. There is a reasonable amount of action; the regular fight scenes are pretty good but the shootouts are a bit unrealistic to say the least. The acting looked good enough but the dub is pretty poor; none of the voices really went well with their characters making them hard to believe in. Overall I'd only recommend watching this version of the film if you are desperate to see it and can't find a Chinese version with subtitles.

I actually enjoyed this strangely-edited, meandering prison drama movie, which has about five different sub-plots involving a number of leading characters which weave in and out and develop in unexpected ways. This is a very unpredictable movie instead where you never quite know what's going to happen next, and there are a fair amount of twists and shocks along the way. Unfortunately all the companies who released this film marketed it as a Jackie Chan movie. This is a lie; Jackie is in the film as a supporting character only. It's really more of an ensemble piece with popular Chinese actor Tony Leung having the most screen time. The film shows the gritty side of prison life without resorting to the typical clichés, although many notable sequences are stolen from Cool Hand Luke (particularly the rice-eating scene and the girl with no bra).This is a violent film with a ton of action in it. The martial arts content is pretty low. Chan appeared in the movie as a favour to producer Jimmy Wang Yu and spent about four days filming it; thus he is used in nearly all of the action sequences which are fast and frenetic, although not as well choreographed as in his own movies. There are some likable and surprisingly sympathetic characters here, from the nerdy guy with the pet hamster to Sammo Hung as a father, desperate to escape and see his son. Comedy is mixed in uneasily with the violence as Hung keeps escaping; there are the usual slimy villain types and corrupt and evil guards to keep things moving as well. Tony Leung is excellent as the lead, an undercover cop in prison pushed over the edge, and Andy Lau is also fine as a villain.One-time martial arts legend Jimmy Wang Yu, who once had a career that nearly equalled the popularity of Bruce Lee's, appears here as a prison boss with a tattoo all across his back. Although he doesn't get to fight and is in the film all too little (must have been busy producing it as well) it's nice to see the guy can still play a tough character with ease. Keep watching through the slow spots for the incredible conclusion which comes out of nowhere and offers a ton of violence and gunplay; it had me reeling and is something to be seen. Overall I enjoyed this movie, what with its ton of action, sub-plots, drama, suspense, and intrigue. Give it a go and you might be surprised.

This is a very good prison film, that's quite intense, with great performances all around, however if your expecting Jackie Chan to be the star in this film you will be very disappointed!. All the characters are great, and it had a couple of great fight sequences, plus Jackie Is simply amazing in his screen time!. The story can get very emotional at times, and since i love Prison films, i was really looking forward to this one, however it actually surpassed my expectations, due to the great acting, an engrossing and emotional story!. The only thing that disappointed me was Jackie's lack of screen time, however he was amazing as usual when he was on screen, and i thought the finale was very intense, plus the ending was great!.I found it very moving when Sammo Hung's character escaped the prison just to see his son. This is a very good Prison film, that's quite intense, with great performances all around, however if your expecting Jackie to be the star in the film you will be very disappointed, still i highly recommend it!. The Direction is very good. Yin-Ping Chu does a very good job here, keeping things intense, great camera work, and keeping the film at a pretty fast pace!. The Acting is great!. Jackie Chan is AMAZING as always, however he does not have much screen time, still i really liked his character and was tons of fun to watch!, too bad he only owed the director a favor! (Jackie Rules!).Sammo Hung Kam-Bo is fantastic here, he gave a great acting performance,and he was involved in one of the most emotional scenes in the movie!, he was fantastic!. (Sammo rules). Andy Lau,Barry Wong and Chung Hua Tou all do well in there roles. Tony Leung Ka Fai is excellent in his role i liked him lots. Yu Wang is good with what he had to do. Rest of the cast do fine. Overall highly recommended!. ***1/2 out of 5

First of all, this movie doesnt really have main character. There are five of them. Like the original trailer says, "five stories in one", the film is about five main characters, whose life are somehow related to each other. Jackie Chan does a different role in this movie. Role is similiar to Heart of the Dragons. There are only few fight's, but it didnt bother me. I didnt watch this as a Chan movie.Movie is touching especially the ending. Surprising is the violence level in this movie. Endings big shootout and some other brutal violence too. The way jail-staff(movie happens in jail)treats the main character's made me wanting them to die. Guards are real a***oles.Movie success as a drama too. Samo Hung's character is most touching. He desperately escapes from jail to meet his son and pays for it, with pain. Ending is surprising and shocking. This movie is very very good. I can recommend this movie to every one who likes HK movies. Great actors. Great plot. Great emotions. I loved it.