GEN X COPS is one of those popular youth-centred action movies that were made throughout the 2000s in Hong Kong: films like TOKYO RAIDERS and INVISIBLE TARGET, ensemble features featuring casts of good-looking young actors handling guns and martial arts with aplomb. More often than not, director Benny Chan was at the helm of these productions, and even NEW POLICE STORY, with its storyline of a young, disillusioned cop-killing gang, sometimes felt as if Jackie Chan was past it and extraneous to the central plot. GEN X COPS is one of Benny Chan's earlier offerings, made as a follow-up to his more traditional Jackie Chan vehicle WHO AM I?, and it turns out to be a lot of fun.
The somewhat complex storyline sees a comedic cop (played to the hilt by the ever-reliable Eric Tsang) assembling a team of rookie cops to go undercover in the Hong Kong underworld and track down some missing weapons. Said cops are a rebellious, fun-loving bunch, presided over by the ubiquitous Nicholas Tse, and their subsequent thrills and spills are directed with aplomb.
GEN X COPS is all about life and vitality (despite the killing) and despite the familiarity of the proceedings, it gets by on sheer energy alone. The various action sequences are well handled and the film features one of the most impressive explosions I've witnessed in a while. The icing on the cake is, of course, Daniel Wu, playing a bad guy with a lot more depth than you'd expect from a testosterone-fuelled production like this, but don't go in looking for Jackie; his presence amounts to a 30-second cameo, if that.
The somewhat complex storyline sees a comedic cop (played to the hilt by the ever-reliable Eric Tsang) assembling a team of rookie cops to go undercover in the Hong Kong underworld and track down some missing weapons. Said cops are a rebellious, fun-loving bunch, presided over by the ubiquitous Nicholas Tse, and their subsequent thrills and spills are directed with aplomb.
GEN X COPS is all about life and vitality (despite the killing) and despite the familiarity of the proceedings, it gets by on sheer energy alone. The various action sequences are well handled and the film features one of the most impressive explosions I've witnessed in a while. The icing on the cake is, of course, Daniel Wu, playing a bad guy with a lot more depth than you'd expect from a testosterone-fuelled production like this, but don't go in looking for Jackie; his presence amounts to a 30-second cameo, if that.