Trailer 2: Wolf / Brother / 狼 / 生死对决：林志颖 许绍洋

Review from City Weekend

www.cityweekend.com.cn/en/features/ 2005_14/story.2005-07-20.7720404616

The discussion of Brother in the Chinese press has focused on star Jimmy Lin's casting against type to play a stone cold killer instead of his pretty boy singer persona. It's a well-chosen topic since Lin may be the best thing in what is being billed as Taiwan's first digital movie. Another bright spot is that HD video cinematography actually looks High Definition. This was no small relief after discovering that the Beijing Era Film Company also produced last year's very disappointing One Stone and Two Birds. Brother is a huge leap forward, but there are still many basic problems that compromise the overall production values.

The story centers on brothers Chen Yanzu (Ambrose Xu) and Chen Weizu (Lin) orphaned after their parents were murdered during a robbery. Different families in America and Taiwan adopt the brothers, tearing them continents apart. All the brothers have left of their early life together are photos as young boys together in the orphanage.

Chen Yanzu, now an American named Joe, grows up to work for the FBI where he takes a case that brings him back to Taiwan and hopefully a reunion with this lost brother. Ironically, younger brother Chen Weizu is now a gangster, setting in motion the conflict and inevitable reunion of the two brothers.

Returning to the production values, action sequences simply lack the number of boats, cars or even extras to make a strong visual impact. Moving from big to small, the make-up is appalling. There must have been a sale on bright hues of red, pink and purple rouge, resulting in blood and bruises that look like they came out of a 1980s fashion spread.




Review on MovieBoom

Over view

Brother stars two Taiwanese idols Jimmy Lin and Ambrose Hsu. A breakthrough for Jimmy who used to play nice and handsome boys in TV dramas, Brother features him as a killer with complex psyche. Without his soothing smile which has almost become his signature, Jimmy's new image as a cool triad member possesses a charisma that is never seen in him before. In a subtle manner, he manages to express the inner struggle of a killer when encountering a long-lost elder brother who is now in the police. Ambrose Hsu, on the other hand, stars as a missionary cop who is dedicated to upholding righteousness. He never knows that his long-lost brother is a triad member, not just an ordinary one but a killer who once killed his girlfriend by accident... Should they see each other as brothers or enemies?

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• 林志颖
• 许绍洋
• ambrose
• hsu
• 生死对决
• 林志穎
• jimmy
• lin
• jimmylin

[kesco12345]

i also love him!

[julidoy]

i love jimmy lin....