Reviews

Exiled

Bloody shootouts nearly taint the broth

By BRETT MICHEL | October 31, 2007

2.5 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Exiled.

Johnny To’s pistol-blazing follow-up to Election and Triad Election reunites him with much of the cast from his cinematic diptych, but the architecture of his Macau setting couldn’t be more different from the neon-lit mean streets of Hong Kong. From the opening strains of the Ennio Morricone–like score from Dave Klotz and Guy Zerafa, it’s apparent that this Eastern film is infused with a Western flavor, more akin to Sam Peckinpah’s brand of spaghetti than to To’s Lanzhou-style lamian. It’s 1998, and renegade Triad member Wo (Nick Cheung) has begun a new life in the Portuguese colony with his wife and child. Alas, Chinese rule is about to begin, in more ways than one. A pair of hitmen led by Blaze (Anthony Wong) arrive to kill Wo. When two of their former comrades also show up to protect him, the tasty concoction simmers a bit too long, and bloody shootouts nearly taint the broth. Cantonese | 110 minutes | Brattle: November 2-8

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