Kick-Ass Action!
Three cops from different precincts are determined to apprehend, and bring to justice, a group of highly skilled Cambodian criminals responsible for an armored truck heist that left police and innocent civilians dead. Their only possible lead to the gang’s whereabouts is an undercover cop on the inside and they’ll do everything within the law to get to him and the crooks!
Let’s see…fresh, young faces, insane martial arts choreography and off-the-hook explosions…yup…sounds like a winner! Invisible Target isn’t big on filling any plot holes but anybody remotely familiar with HK actioners knows it isn’t all about plot, it’s about the action and, trust me on this one, there’s more action and frenzied violence than should be legally allowed in one single movie. It was fantastic, really.
One thing I really enjoyed about the film was director Chan played it straight, no goofy Kung Fu clowning or ridiculous lead characters aping Jackie Chan. I see way too many HK flicks that just lose their edge once the slapstick antics kick in and devolve into a Kung Fu Barnum & Bailey’s Circus. Thankfully that doesn’t happen here, all the characters go at one another without a wink or a smile cracked and the action comes off all the better for it. It’s hard to get into hardcore fist-to-face action when somebody is pretending to be drunk or mugging for the camera on the shoulders of their enemy.
Despite Chan’s short directing career, considering the market he works in, I’d have to say he’s definitely a director with a flare for action. He really kept the fights moving, the characters all worked well with one another and the noticeable wirework was minimized.
I really enjoyed Invisible Target and even hooted and hollered a few times which means I was greatly entertained. The replay value isn’t very high but the action is addictive so I’ll probably revisit this film in another few months. The average action film fan will love it though I don’t see it ever really reaching any significant notoriety amongst hardcore HK action devotees. By the way martial arts/action cinema fans, get a load of Jackie Chan’s offspring (Jaycee Chan) kicking ass! Like father like son, right? Enjoy!
