The Mission – Review

The Mission is easily one of the more important works in the oeuvre of Johnnie To, catapulting him into the spotlight of the international film world. It served as a showcase that the Hong Kong action scene was indeed alive and more than just by the book replications of John Woo’s work.

Don’t be expecting a typical action-gangster epic, To isn’t interested in making that film this time around (Though the Election films may fit).  In The Mission a Triad Boss is being hunted relentlessly by assassins.  He hires a crack team of five Triad members to protect him and find out who is responsible.  The group includes the small-time boss and his right hand man (Francis Ng and Jackie Lui), the semi-retired killer (Anthony Wong), a weapons expert (Lam Suet) and the marksman (Roy Cheung). If you have seen To’s latter film Exiled this cast will be immediately familiar to you.  You may also experience a bit of deja vu as both films are very similar on the surface.

Johnnie To is also less interested in exploring the usual double crosses and twists that inhabit these films.  He chooses instead to focus on the professionalism and brotherhood between killers and bodyguards in the underworld. To has never been one to rely heavily on dialogue or plot in his films to convey his message, but relies on subtleties in the action and acting. The action unfolds at a slow, albeit precise pace which is a far cry from Woo’s over the top, operatic bullet ballets or Hollywood’s quick-cutting nonsense. To reveals everything you need to know about the characters through the action, specifically the masterful mall sequence when everyone comes together as a well oiled machine that communicates with ruthless silence. To’s camera movements in this film definitely help him out in this film.   He sticks to effective yet unflashy widescreen photography that really pushes across the previously mentioned professionalism of the group and works wonders with To’s typically excellent set pieces.

The film is content to primarily inhabit the everyday, boring minutiae of being a bodyguard. It is these moments that To demonstrates unusual scenes of bonding and camaraderie, such as games of paper football and cigarette pranks in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine. The ending of the film is rather masterfully handled and is all about playing with the typical Hong Kong ‘heroic bloodshed‘ style action flicks. To knows all of these cliches and he uses these expectations to his advantage. He constantly keeps twisting and playing with your expectations until it finally boils down to a sort of anti-climax. Johnnie To is definitely one of the most consistent directors in Asia, if not the world.  He is unafraid to challenge the norm that everyone else so blindly follows. That’s great news for us in this time of remakes and replications.