The Mission (1999 film)
Encyclopedia
The Mission is a 1999
Hong Kong
action film
produced and directed Johnnie To
, and starring Anthony Wong
, Francis Ng
, Jackie Lui, Lam Suet
, and Simon Yam
.
and Doug Davison, along with their production company
Vertigo Entertainment, have planned an American
remake of The Mission which is to be distributed by Universal Pictures
, with Peter Berg
as the film's director.
for the website GreenCine
, Sean Axmaker states that The Mission is "the best crime film to come from Hong Kong in years. It's austere and still, beautifully composed and tense, and the characters are professional and efficient, positioning themselves for efficiency and communicating and interacting silently while on the job." Similarly, an overview of To's body of work that precedes an interview for the magazine Cineaste refers to the film as "To's masterpiece," "a brilliantly conceived, shot, and edited gangster film."
Hong Kong films of 1999
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1999:.-1999:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1999 at...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
action film
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
produced and directed Johnnie To
Johnnie To
Johnnie To Kei-Fung, born 22 April 1955, is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas...
, and starring Anthony Wong
Anthony Wong Chau Sang
Anthony Wong Chau-sang is a Hong Kong Film Award-winning Hong Kong actor, screenwriter and film director. He is regarded as one of the most notable actors in Hong Kong.-Biography:...
, Francis Ng
Francis Ng
-Career:Like so many of Hong Kong's actors, Ng has his roots in television. He graduated from TVB's training classes in 1985. He acted in minor roles working gradually upwards in the television hierarchy, but his looks did not fit in the conventional leading man role...
, Jackie Lui, Lam Suet
Lam Suet
Lam Suet is a Hong Kong actor.-Biography:Lam was born in Tianjin, and came to Hong Kong as a youth in 1979 to receive inheritance money left by his grandfather. Soon after all the money had been squandered and Lam had to work various odd jobs to make a living.In the mid-eighties he got employment...
, and Simon Yam
Simon Yam
Simon Yam Tat-Wah , born March 19, 1955, is a Hong Kong actor and film producer.-Background:The son of a former police officer of Shangdong heritage, his father was a Hong Kong Royal Police ship captain who was murdered by his colleague....
.
Plot
Triad boss Lung (Eddy Ko), who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis (Anthony Wong), James (Lam Suet), Mike (Roy Cheung), Roy (Francis Ng) and Shin (Jackie Lui) for his protection.Remake
Film producers Roy LeeRoy Lee
Roy Lee is an American film producer who regularly takes well known Asian films and remakes them for American audiences. Examples include The Ring, The Grudge and The Departed...
and Doug Davison, along with their production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
Vertigo Entertainment, have planned an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
remake of The Mission which is to be distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, with Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
as the film's director.
Reception
The Mission was well received. In a 2004 interview with director Johnnie ToJohnnie To
Johnnie To Kei-Fung, born 22 April 1955, is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas...
for the website GreenCine
GreenCine
GreenCine is an online DVD rental service similar to Netflix. Based in San Francisco, California, with its distribution center in the Los Angeles area , it has a collection of over 30,000 titles as well as over 9,000 video on demand titles...
, Sean Axmaker states that The Mission is "the best crime film to come from Hong Kong in years. It's austere and still, beautifully composed and tense, and the characters are professional and efficient, positioning themselves for efficiency and communicating and interacting silently while on the job." Similarly, an overview of To's body of work that precedes an interview for the magazine Cineaste refers to the film as "To's masterpiece," "a brilliantly conceived, shot, and edited gangster film."
External links
- The Mission at LoveHKFilm.com
- The Mission at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...