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Blu-ray Review: Johnnie To’s “Three” Is An Offbeat Action-Packed Thriller

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Realizing that he will be defeated in no time during a police showdown, a thug shoots himself to force the cops to cease fire and take him to the hospital. In the hospital, he claims human rights to refuse immediate treatment in order to bide time for his underlings to rescue him. The detective in charge sees through his scheme but decides to play along so as to capture his whole gang once and for all.

Apparently, I have been living under a rock for the last decade as I have yet to see a film by famous Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To until now. And I must say it was a unique experience. While it took a minute or two to wrap my head around To’s somewhat kooky action flick, “Three,” it was fascinating enough to make me want to watch it again to catch anything that I knew I probably missed the first go around. “Three,” is a strange mix consisting of 1 part, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and 2 parts average cop drama, with a dash of some killer camera work for good measure.

Most of “Three” is situated on a hospital floor for those who have undergone (or should undergo) some form of neurosurgery. And the patients range from young to old and humorously nutty to near despondent. A personal favorite oddball character of mine is patient Chung (Lo Hoi-pang), who likes to eat, speak in happy choppy sentences, and pull pranks (that sometimes wreak havoc). I must admit I was most fascinated with this minor character than any of the main characters, of whom I found all to be unlikeable at best. But their rigidness and general unlikeability provided some comedy (and I think that was the point, although I’m still trying the untangle certain qualities of the film that may have indeed been lost on me).

Our three main characters are Dr. Tong Qian (Zhao Wei), Chief Inspector Ken (Louis Koo), and the gangster thug (and gunshot “victim”) Shun (Wallace Chung). Dr. Tong Qian is quite cold with a desire to achieve nothing less than perfection and perhaps has a slight God complex. Her bedside manner is lacking but has no problem telling a patient who is in doubt of her work that she ultimately decides what’s best. It’s interesting to see her have a moment of failure while embroiled into a complex situation between Chief Inspector Ken and injured perp Shun. In the end, though, the doctor regains hope (and possibly a soul) after an ego-slashing failure.

But the main meat of the drama is between Inspector Ken and Shun. After an interrogation gone awry, it is implicated that Shun was accidentally shot by either Inspector Ken or one of his underlings. Shun is rushed to the hospital with a bullet lodged in his head and the need for surgery is ever-pressing. Shun opts to refuse the surgery (per his rights) in order to bide some time for his cohorts to bust him out. Inspector Ken knows what’s what and lets it all play out, even as Shun further gets under his and everyone else’s skin. Undercover officers are placed throughout the hospital in order to detect any suspicious activity. And there is plenty of it afoot.

The final act alone makes “Three” worth viewing. The anticipated showdown, full of guns and explosives, is shot in slow motion with the most seemingly mellow and oddball song. And it was bizarrely fantastic. While some of Johnnie To’s “Three” still eludes me, I’m on board to watch it multiple times just to marvel at the quirks and fancy camera work.

Now available on Blu-ray & DVD

 

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