Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2010

Vengeance: ©2009 ARP - MEDIA ASIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In this “atmospheric” (read: “dreary”) genre piece by Hong Kong action auteur Johnny To, a vaguely menacing French chef travels to Macao and Hong Kong to avenge the murders of his daughter and her family by a trio of hit men. He hires an interchangeable trio of hit men to help him find them, and they spend the rest of the movie wearing shades and shooting at each other. For some reason, To has tapped aging French rocker Johnny Hallyday, whose range of expression makes Seagal look like Jim Carrey, for the lead. Johnny, you’re no Terence Stamp (ref. 1999’s The Limey, which you should see). Sizeable parts in Cantonese. Japanese title: Tsumetai Ame ni Ute, Yakusoku no Jyudan Wo.