8/14/2023 0 Comments Helios movie synopsisUnfortunately, the script seems intent on keeping the Korean characters separated from the unfolding drama in their own, different movie, begging the question of why are they involved at all. Conversely, Helios features a number of expertly-staged action sequences, choreographed by the ever-reliable Chin Kar-lok, while its political tussles leave much to be desired.Īgain, a huge ensemble cast is employed, featuring notable performers from both sides of the Hong Kong/China border, as well as big-name draws from Taiwan (Chang Chen) and Korea, particularly boy band heartthrob Choi Siwon, who appeared alongside Jackie Chan earlier this year in Daniel Lee’s Dragon Blade. Cold War worked well in its office-based confrontations, but lacked the necessary pay-off during street-level confrontations. This time around, the boardroom becomes a politically-volatile international stage, with Hong Kong proving little more than a battered pawn in the proceedings. With their first feature, Leung and Luk explored power struggles and bureaucracy within the Hong Kong police force whilst dealing with a similarly destabilising terror plot. But when Korean authorities send NIS Agent Pok Yu-Chit (Choi Siwon) and weapons expert Choi Min-ho (Ji Jin-hee) after their device, Chinese authorities fear an international crisis, and employ their own senior advisor, Song An (Wang Xueqi) to oversee the situation. Local Police Inspector Lee Yin-ming (Nick Cheung) brings in physics professor Siu Chi-yan (Jacky Cheung) to consult on the case. ![]() Renowned arms dealer Helios (Chang Chen) steals a South Korean WMD and high-tails it to Hong Kong looking to make a quick sale. After the commercial success of their debut Cold War (the highest-grossing Hong Kong film in 2012) writer-director team Longman Leung and Sunny Luk set their sights higher with Helios, a pan-continental terrorism thriller that sees law enforcement agencies from South Korea, China and Hong Kong scramble to recover a stolen nuclear weapon.įor all its international star power bravado, Helios makes little effort to develop its characters or fully exploit its cast.Ĭlosing the 5th Beijing International Film Festival, Helios boasts a strong international cast and slick, glossy production values, but ties itself up in clumsy political shenanigans to the detriment of its expertly-executed action sequences. While the film’s narrative knots won’t prevent it reaching a broad audience in Asian markets hungry for big-name, high-octane multiplex kicks, other viewers may despair as the script becomes increasingly compromised.
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