Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

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.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Well, this was sort of interesting, but not really in an overly great way. A typical western (cowboy) movie that is mixed with a traditional Chinese setting. It just didn't really come off as something that was particularly good.For a Chow Yun-Fat movie, then I was rather disappointed with this. Sure, he did perform well enough, but the story and the setting of the movie was just not working in his favor. I am sure there are someone out there who find this approach of a Hong Kong movie to be interest. Sure, I will agree that it was unorthodox, but I am not going to agree to it being a good concept.The story in "Peace Hotel" is about 'The Killer' (played by Chow Yun-Fat) who witness his wife being murdered and hellbent on revenge he kills every single person responsible. Then to repent, he builds a hotel, naming it Peace Hotel. This hotel becomes a safe haven for all who come to it, without anyone asking about one's past and will be protected as long as one stays within the confines of the hotel. Then one day a woman in a red dress shows up, claiming to be the long lost wife of the owner of the hotel, and hot on her tail is a gang of ruthless men.I will say that the movie was well enough acted, though at certain times it was a bit forced and over the edge, going just a notch too far in extreme display. And there was some subtle attempts at comedy, which for most parts worked out well enough. And why not throw in a musical act while at it - wait, wait, that's right, there was a musical act in the middle of the movie. That was just too much and made the movie come off as more of a joke than it came off as serious.For a Hong Kong movie, then "Peace Hotel" isn't much of an impressive movie. Even from the moment the DVD menu popped up, I knew it was going to be bad, because it even said "A John Woo production" on that DVD menu. What the... Are you kidding me? It was so lame, and reeked of low budget production.The movie itself actually had a good production value, and had some good camera work to it as well. The action scenes were adequate, but nowhere near anything even remotely close to what you'd expect from a Chow Yun-Fat movie, despite it this being the last Hong Kong movie he made before rocketing off to bigger fame and fortune in Hollywood. If you are a fan of Chow Yun-Fat, then "Peace Hotel" is a good enough watch, but if you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema, then "Peace Hotel" is not really a good addition or choice of entertainment.

Peace Hotel is a western set in China in the 1930's and is probably best described as a cross between 'A Fistful Of Dollars' and 'The Killer'. Chow Yun-Fat (in his last film in Hong Kong before going to America) plays a retired killer who opens the 'Peace Hotel' where people can hide from their enemies with no questions asked. He teams up with Cecilia Yip with whom he had last starred with in the gripping World War II drama 'Hong Kong 1941' (1984). She plays a confidence trickster who is wanted by a large and dangerous gang that threaten to destroy the refuge to get to her. Both are excellent in this film and have a great on-screen chemistry.The music by Healthy Poon and Cacine Wong is effective and in a similar vein to the Ennio Morricone score in the spaghetti westerns and the theme song by Alex San (music),Erica Lee (lyricist)and Cass Pang Ling (performer) fully deserved its win at the 1996 Hong Kong Film awards.Those watching this film expecting highly choreographed gun-play sequences due to the presence of John Woo as executive producer will be disappointed as the action is infrequent and is filmed in a confusing style that probably better represents the confusion of a real fight. Peace Hotel is more character-driven than action orientated anyway and is all the better for it. Written by Chow Yun-Fat and Wai Ka-Fai (who is probably best known for co-directing 'Fulltime Killer' (2001)) there is some great dialogue and more character development than is usual for a film in the genre.Peace Hotel may not be as good as some of Chow Yun-Fat's earlier work with John Woo, but it makes an attempt to be different and deserves credit for that.

This review contains minor spoilers.This whole movie's look is very similar to the spaghetti western, but with richer production values. Peace Hotel is noteworthy in several respects. First, it is the last Hong Kong movie Chow Yun-Fat has made to this date. Also, Chow Yun-Fat is bald in the beginning, and does some fast-paced swordplay. These both are precursors to his now famous part as Li Mu Bai in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which is not a Hong Kong movie, as Ang Lee does not work within the Hong Kong movie system, and the film is in Mandarin, not Cantonese). This movie also marks the reunion of Chow Yun-Fat and Cecilia Yip, who had not worked together since 1984 (Hong Kong 1941). This was also the last time Wu Chien-lien was in a movie with Chow Yun-Fat, who had been in Treasure Hunt and God of Gamblers' Return with him the year prior to this. However, her cameo lasts about two seconds.Anyway, enough background. One of the few movies where Chow Yun-Fat contributed to the writing, this movie has his brand of comedy. It also has Chow Yun-Fat just killin' a whole mess of people. The visual design and costumes are pretty fantastic, and the movie has a good pace to it. There is a kind of fantasy feeling to this movie, as it is a mixture of the American western genre, but with Chinese tints to it. Cecilia Yip gives a pretty good performance here, and Chow Yun-Fat gets to show much of his range here as an actor, even though he tries to remain distant throughout the movie.

When people hear the name Chow yan fat, they associate him with John Woo, of course this is not bad thing. Chow yan fat certainly is the master of heroic bloodshed. But he is foremost a very charismatic and good actor. In Peace Hotel you get an example of very good acting by him. He really carries the movie. The story plays in the wild west of China ( an eastern instead of western, this gives the whole story a very original approach)in which several gangs are at war with each other and where there is one neutral place where everyone is welcome, and where no one will dare to use their weapons. This is because they respect the owner of this " Peace Hotel " (Chow Yan Fat). Everyone believes he is a very notorius killer (the rumour in the movie goes that Chow Yan Fat came to that hotel and killed everyone in sight without remorse and since that event he stayed in the hotel, to maintain the piece. It is a delight to see and find out why Chow Yan Fat did all this and why he stays at this hotel! At first Chow Yan Fat is very sympethatic, but later on you can see that Chow Yan Fat can be a bad motherf###. There is also some very interesting character development from the other actors. The action is brutal and fierce, like it is in real life, so do not expect beautiful filmed action sequences. But do not fear them also, because they fit the story very well.So go watch this movie, if you are ready for a very different HK action movie.