Film Review: Gen-X Cops (1999)

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Fears that 1997 Chinese takeover of Hong Kong would end its thriving cinema industry weren’t justified, at least not in subsequent years. This is conclusion you might get from the great success of many Hong Kong films in late 1990s and 2000s. One of them was Gen-X Cops, 1999 action comedy directed by Benny Chen.

The plot deals with the vicious gang war that erupted within Hong Kong underworld, especially those gangs specialised in arms smuggling. One of the is led by Japanese mobster Akatora (played by Toku Akamura), Japanese gangster who wants to get his hands on large amounts of explosives and put it to use with devastating effects. Hong Kong police appears powerless to stop bloodshed and upcoming destruction, so Inspector Chen (played by Eric Tsang) is forced to take some desperate measures. One of them is using three young police recruits - Jack (played by Nicholas Tse), Match (played by Stephen Fung) and Alien (played by Sam Lee) – that were thrown out of police academy for insubordination and give them chance to prove themselves by going undercover and infiltrating gangs. Since nobody knows them, their infiltration is going to be easy, while their own rebellious attitude helps them in getting ideas and fresh approaches how to conduct their mission and get out of trouble.

Gen-X Cops is a film that would appeal to the fans of Jackie Chan, who briefly appears in the film in cameo role. Like films that brought him international fame, this one features winning formula of spectacular action combined with slapstick comedy. Those who liked Hong Kong films made by John Woo would, on the other hand, appreciate occasional straying into pathos and “heroic bloodshed” style of action cinema, which, among other things, allows Japanese actor Toku Akamura to show some serious acting skills. On the other hand, some of the flaws typical for Hong Kong action cinema – poor English dubbing, shallow characterisation and lack of common sense or laws of gravity in certain scenes – are still here. Gen-X Cops, however, nevertheless delivers the goods to the fans of the genre and the less demanding audience. A television-made sequel under title Gen-Y Cops was released in 2000.

RATING: 5/10 (++)