Rated: 18
Genre: Action, drama, thriller
Running Time: 100 minutes
Director & writer: Steven Knight
Cast: Jason Statham, Lee Asquith-Coe and Benedict Wong
Synopsis: A thriller centered on an war veteran who has illegally reinvented himself as an upper-class Londoner has to embrace his violent past when his friend is murdered.
Verdict: Jason Statham again with the same hairstyle, similar personality, probably even the same suit from his previous films, but Hummingbird turned out surprisingly different from the star's typical action flicks. It's marketed as an action movie but it's actually more of a slow-moving drama than anything else. Its failure to emotionally engage makes the entire plot seem like it's just about an ex-soldier who joined a Chinese triad in London to woo a nun. It's pointless, it lacks of action, it's anti-climatic, the ending's poor and the English subtitles for the pretentious Chinese dialogues are inaccurate. Action junkies, turn away, you've been warned.
Second opinion: "Didn't like it; it's boring to me" (girlfriend).
Unconvincing Chinese characters: Seriously, can't they, at least, find actors who can speak fluent Cantonese without western accent?
Malaysian censorship: There are a few peculiar skips and a scene that I believe there's nudity is cut as well but the vulgarity and violence are left uncensored.
Rating: 1 / 5
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Problems & plot holes: Why Joey Jones (Jason Statham) and his family are separated is not explained and even if it is, it's vague, therefore making the audience difficult to emotionally connect with the character. For half of the film, he's a wanted man with police helicopters and street CCTV's implied to be hunting for him and yet he could go around freely without getting caught. He literally threw a man off a building, walks out of the building after firing his gun on the rooftop, buys a bottle of vodka, gets drunk, goes to a theater, sleeps right outside the entrance and no one actually finds him.
Most contradicting scene: For most part of the movie, Joey Jones is an angel and protector to the homeless and helpless. He buys them food, he shows appreciation to the nun who helped him, he wants to avenge the dead, he fights off the bullies and then suddenly there's a scene where he walks away from the hobos in a corny fashion and throws money to ground, bits by bits, instead of just handing it to them. What an asshole!
Special thanks to Klips for the invitation to the press screening. Check out this Malaysian movie community at Klips.my for latest movie news and free movie tickets!