Yes, I do mean, YES, the stuntwork and the gunplay in HARD BOILED is freakin' awesome but the final result became (to me, obviously) ok enough already this shoulda' been over 15 minutes ago.  I was laughing at the preposterously ridiculous conclusion because I realized the John Woo direction would not stoop to killing one "character" while displaying this is just a movie, don't take this too seriously (not a bad thing) when our hero cop (Chow Yun-Fat) has officially turned into a gun-wielding, people saving, comic book super hero.
Dare I say I like my action movies and shootouts with at least a hint more plausibility (like, even, Die Hard had/has) with a barrage of bullets a little less "selective" in NOT finding their mark because our hero can't get killed.
Anyways, did I mention the freakin' stunts and shootouts were freakin' awesome?!
What a body count!  What mayhem!  Whew!  I didn't even let the endless display of hurtling bodies on sometimes obvious wires spinning and twisting through the air after another explosion deter my entertainment.  It was just too cool not too appreciate.
I gotta' mention after seeing Chow Yun-Fat again (saw The Replacement Killers first) that it is easy to see why this guy became an international star.  Also, the second-lead action star was portrayed very well and very cool by the slighter of frame but very convincing as smooth, tough guy Tony Leung.
HARD BOILED  had an effective plot twist or two and Director John Woo has a great eye for film making on display with the opening sequence of neon lit Hong Kong shone like classic noir as credits roll and our cop hero to be (with his cop partner on drums) playing some nice jazz saxophone.  Love that sh**.  Hong Kong looks awesome.  The Tea House (with those birds 'visiting') is a place you'd love to visit that you'd hate to see shot-up ...  And you can guess how that goes...

HARD BOILED boils down (sorry) to being an entertaining ride, but sometimes less is more.  One less outrageous shootout of explosions would have rated HARD BOILED better than 4 stars.
As it is the xtras are worth a peek with a couple actors (not Yun-Fat or Leung, though), Producer and Director giving interviews (if you can understand John Woo he's kind of amusing).  I liked the location filming guide segment that pointed out the Avian Flu closed the Tea House not long after completion of HARD BOILED.  No more birds permitted in Tea Houses anywhere.
Oh, and I probably never would have realized (without xtras) John Woo plays the bartender in HARD BOILED.
Another Chow Yun-Fat movie is in the foreseeable future as is a second look at Woo's Face-Off (with Travolta and Cage).
Yes, I do mean, YES, the stuntwork and the gunplay in HARD BOILED is freakin' awesome but the final result became (to me, obviously) ok enough already this shoulda' been over 15 minutes ago. I was laughing at the preposterously ridiculous conclusion because I realized the John Woo direction would not stoop to killing one "character" while displaying this is just a movie, don't take this too seriously (not a bad thing) when our hero cop (Chow Yun-Fat) has officially turned into a gun-wielding, people saving, comic book super hero. Dare I say I like my action movies and shootouts with at least a hint more plausibility (like, even, Die Hard had/has) with a barrage of bullets a little less "selective" in NOT finding their mark because our hero can't get killed. Anyways, did I mention the freakin' stunts and shootouts were freakin' awesome?! What a body count! What mayhem! Whew! I didn't even let the endless display of hurtling bodies on sometimes obvious wires spinning and twisting through the air after another explosion deter my entertainment. It was just too cool not too appreciate. I gotta' mention after seeing Chow Yun-Fat again (saw The Replacement Killers first) that it is easy to see why this guy became an international star. Also, the second-lead action star was portrayed very well and very cool by the slighter of frame but very convincing as smooth, tough guy Tony Leung. HARD BOILED  had an effective plot twist or two and Director John Woo has a great eye for film making on display with the opening sequence of neon lit Hong Kong shone like classic noir as credits roll and our cop hero to be (with his cop partner on drums) playing some nice jazz saxophone. Love that sh**. Hong Kong looks awesome. The Tea House (with those birds 'visiting') is a place you'd love to visit that you'd hate to see shot-up... And you can guess how that goes... HARD BOILED boils down (sorry) to being an entertaining ride, but sometimes less is more. One less outrageous shootout of explosions would have rated HARD BOILED better than 4 stars. As it is the xtras are worth a peek with a couple actors (not Yun-Fat or Leung, though), Producer and Director giving interviews (if you can understand John Woo he's kind of amusing). I liked the location filming guide segment that pointed out the Avian Flu closed the Tea House not long after completion of HARD BOILED. No more birds permitted in Tea Houses anywhere. Oh, and I probably never would have realized (without xtras) John Woo plays the bartender in HARD BOILED. Another Chow Yun-Fat movie is in the foreseeable future as is a second look at Woo's Face-Off (with Travolta and Cage).