Sometimes a movie is a lot like popcorn – light, fluffy, and not very filling, but tasty enough to be enjoyable. The 1999 Hong Kong action flick Gen-X Cops is one such film. While by no means a cinematic masterpiece, it provides plenty of attitude and action.
As might be expected from a film produced by Jackie Chan, Gen-X Cops combines action, thrills and comedy in a somewhat incoherent but still entertaining package. The film’s titular cops square off against a new breed of young Hong Kong gangsters in league with the Japanese mob, and a flurry of kung-fu and gunplay ensues.
Events kick off when Hong Kong police seize a cache of highly volatile rocket fuel from Triad gangster Dinosaur. No longer able to deliver the explosives to his client, the icy Yakuza killer Akatora (Tôru Nakamura), Dinosaur is betrayed by his younger brother Daniel. The young Triads have no respect for tradition and are trying to take over.
Akatora gives a chilling speech about why he believes people should know why they die, then murders Dinosaur along with his driver. His gang also stages a violent raid on a chemical warehouse and snatches yet another shipment of explosives.
Unbeknownst to the thugs, the driver was a Hong Kong cop working for Inspector Chan (Eric Tsang), a short, pudgy and unpopular detective. Chan, who once suffered a nervous breakdown – and still exhibits facial tics reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau’s long-suffering superior Chief Dreyfus – vows to avenge his friend, and is certain that Daniel is responsible for Akatora’s recovery of the explosives.
But Chan’s police colleagues – including the conceited would-be hipster Inspector To (Moses Chan), regard him as a Grade-A loser and don’t believe that a young punk like Daniel could have risen so far in the underworld. They cook up a bogus “special assignment” to keep Chan busy. Chan promptly heads for the police academy to recruit some fresh talent.
After a humorous audition sequence – in which one participant merely strikes a series of muscular poses – Chan despairs of finding the right team to infiltrate the gangs, complaining that the cadets have “cop” written all over them. Enter Match (Stephen Fung), Jack (Nicholas Tse), and Alien (Sam Lee, who also appeared in the fun Bio-Zombie), a trio of talented rookies with discipline problems. Their commander chews them out and gives them the boot, but in the process Chan realizes he may have found what he’s looking for.
(By this premise – young cops recruited to take down young hoods – the film’s producers find a plausible vehicle for casting a bunch of pretty actors to display plenty of onscreen cool in the style of the popular Young and Dangerous movies.)
Although the trio wants nothing more to do with the police, Chan’s earnest persistence–and his willingness to join them in some extreme skydiving – convinces them to sign up. (No bonus points for guessing that they might find a use for their parachuting skills later on.) A change of wardrobe and a few tragically hip hairdos later, the Gen-X Cops are born.
Not surprisingly for a Hong Kong action flick, the film doesn’t dwell much on characterization. Jack is the hotheaded martial-arts guy; Match is the brooding lover type, and Alien is the Odious Comic Relief (early on, his skills as a marksman are mentioned, but they really don’t come into play).
For their first assignment, the young cops – along with their techie backup Y2K (Grace Yip), infiltrate Daniel’s nightclub. Jack and Alien stage a brawl that lets Jack sneak into Daniel’s office (while a Yakuza thug roughs up Alien). Meanwhile, Match flirts with the sexy Haze (Jaymee Ong). Unfortunately, she proves to be Daniel’s squeeze, and the trio loses a fight with Daniel’s goons.
But Daniel’s impressed by the Gen-X cops’ attitude, not to mention their proclivity for doing cool stuff like holding their pistols sideways, and offers a deal: Do him a little favor – deliver a satchel of cash to his boss Lok, an honorable gangster who’s looking for Dinosaur’s killer – and he’ll forgive and forget.
Of course, Daniel has some more treachery up his sleeve, which leads to an impressive three-way gun battle/kung-fu fight in a boat repair shop as rival gang factions double-cross each other, with the Hong Kong police showing up for the party as well. Soon the Gen-X Cops find themselves on the run from the Triads and the cops, while Akatora plots an explosive revenge against a former Yakuza member.
The martial arts in the flick aren’t extraordinary (hardly surprising, given the relatively young cast), but skillful editing and the film’s overall quick pace make the onscreen tussles satisfying nonetheless. There’s also lots of gunplay and cool poses – like holding their guns sideways – and plenty of impressive stunts, plus the (simulated) destruction of a major Hong Kong landmark.
One unusual feature of the film is that a good chunk of the dialogue is spoken in English. Both the Gen-X Cops and the young sociopath Daniel (played by the San Francisco-born Daniel Wu) are fond of sprinkling their phrases with English. Of course, Akatora and the Yakuza heavies all speak Japanese, so use English as a common language with the Triads. As for Haze, she speaks not a single line in Cantonese, delivering all her dialogue in Australian-accented English. (The film explains the English commanded by Haze, Match and Daniel as the result of having lived in Canada.)
DVD extras are surprisingly plentiful for the US release of a Hong Kong flick. Chinese and English language tracks are provided (in the latter’s case, the dubbing is somewhat confusingly blended with the heavily accented English of the original), plus English and French subtitles. In addition to the usual trailers (of Gen-X Cops and the Benny Chan-directed Jackie Chan flick Who Am I?) and production info, there’s nearly an hour of deleted scenes, as well as a subtitled making-of documentary that includes a music video of the film’s theme song sung by the co-stars. The “Talent Files” section is devoted to producer Jackie Chan (who also appears in a brief cameo).
Gen-X Cops is no example of Hong Kong cinematic artistry in the mode of John Woo or Yuen Woo Ping, but manages to be an entertaining, if somewhat light, film. The young and pretty cast brings charm and charisma their roles, and the film manages to achieve the degree of cool it strives for without taking itself too seriously. And considering that you can pick up this action-packed DVD for around ten bucks, it’s a great entertainment bargain.
Gen-X Cops (1999)
Directed by: Benny Chan
Starring: Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung, Sam Lee, Tôru Nakamura
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