In the past two years, the Hong Kong film market has continued to be sluggish, except for a few genre films, most films have struggled to exceed 10 million box office, and the film market has been sluggish, and the decline has not improved.
It seems that the audience has lost patience with Hong Kong-made commercial films, and the market has entered a low period.
Just when all parties are losing confidence in the prospects, this year there is a movie that looks like a "savior" - that is, "The Bad Tongue Lawyer". This dark horse movie unexpectedly received an astonishing box office of more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars after its release, breaking a number of box office records, and successfully setting off the momentum of the Hong Kong film market.
Driven by it, Aaron Kwok, Lin Jiadong, and Ren Dahua co-starred in the police and bandit action film "Off the Internet" also took advantage of the momentum to launch. The film not only gathers the most popular actor in Hong Kong at the moment, but also has a novel topic, which is a genre of online financial crime, which just fits the taste of current young audiences.
Industry insiders have predicted that if "Disconnected" can successfully break through the box office curse, it is likely to set off a movie-watching boom like "Infernal Affairs" back then, bringing the Hong Kong film market back to life.
There are great expectations both inside and outside the industry for whether this high-profile film can successfully create a box office miracle.
In today's prevalence of online dramas, cybercrime has become a common theme in movies and TV series. But there are very few movies that really take this as the main line, and most of them are just conceptual borrowings.
And "Disconnected" boldly chose online financial crime as the main axis of the movie, which is unprecedented in commercial films. Audiences with a certain background in science and technology will naturally maintain interest and anticipation for this, but for more ordinary audiences who do not have this knowledge, it is unknown whether this unfamiliar subject matter can attract them to the cinema.
In order to shorten the threshold for watching the movie as much as possible and let the audience understand this kind of abstract cyber attack methods more intuitively, the movie tries to present the whole process of hacking with a very vivid virtual scene of the "cyber world".
This visual technique is undoubtedly very novel, and it is easy to create a sense of substitution. In the second half of the movie, a large number of classic elements of Hong Kong-style action movies are retained, so that the overall atmosphere is not too cold.
This balance between tradition and innovation is also a highlight.
However, this kind of excessive commentary that deliberately treats the audience as a novice may also cause disgust from some audiences, which has certain risks. Overall, "Disconnected" is commendable in the choice of subject matter and worth looking forward to, but there are still great variables whether it can successfully open up the market situation and make mainstream audiences fully accept and agree.
It is undeniable that the biggest selling point of "Disconnected" lies in the setting of "Two Heroes". Aaron Kwok and Lin Jiadong are the two major actors, and they are the dream combination that the audience has been waiting for for a long time.
In this movie, Aaron Kwok's Zhuo Jiajun represents the right path and light; And Chen Mingzhi played by Lin Jiadong represents cold and dark. The two superstars stand in different camps of the police and bandits, but their fates are intertwined, and in the end it will inevitably evolve into a life-and-death showdown.
In particular, Lin Jiadong successfully portrayed a very intelligent and introverted underworld boss, and his acting skills of Taishan collapsing in front of him without changing his face are impressive.
This also became the most brilliant acting role in the movie.
In order to present an action image, Aaron Kwok went all out to shoot many dangerous action scenes. The acting skills of the two superstars should have brought more exciting rivalry scenes.
However, the film is slightly deficient in the handling of the relationship between the characters, and in the end, it did not let the two major actors collide with the most dazzling spark in the play, which is a pity.
But only from the eye-catching effect of the strongest actor combination, "Disconnected" is enough to meet the dream expectations of most fans. This may also be the key to the box office.
If the first half of "Disconnected" mainly attracts the attention of young audiences through the high-tech "online world", then the second half is undoubtedly an old-fashioned Hong Kong-style action movie routine.
Returning to reality from the virtual space of hackers, the second half of the film is to unfold various action scenes necessary for Hong Kong films one after another, such as gunfights, explosions, chases, hand-to-hand combat, etc.
This has been seen too many times in the past, and it is difficult to come up with new ideas.
With limited investment, it is difficult for these action scenes in the movie to make much breakthroughs, and most of them stay at the level of elaborate design but slightly contrived. It forms a strong contrast with the high-tech painting style in the first half.
The fragmentation and repetition of this style has also become a major weakness of the film.
However, for those fans who are fond of Hong Kong-style action shootouts, these familiar elements can undoubtedly still bring enough fun to watch. After all, for many audiences, what is left of Hong Kong films without fighting, killing, killing, and killing, so these old-fashioned action scenes will still play a key relay role in the final box office of the movie.
To sum up, in terms of the novelty of the subject matter and the eye-catching effect of the stars, "Off the Internet" is undoubtedly the most anticipated Hong Kong film masterpiece recently. It methodically tries to integrate the dual elements of network technology and traditional action, taking into account the tastes of young audiences and taking care of the basic fans of Hong Kong films.
In terms of the production attitude of the film, it is already remarkable.
However, there is still great uncertainty about whether it can finally become the "savior" of the box office to redeem Hong Kong films, successfully break through the downturn in the market, and let more audiences regain confidence in Hong Kong films.
After all, the first thing it has to face is the audience's recognition of this kind of novel theme.
But regardless of the outcome, the industry should give an attitude of affirmation and encouragement. Because judging from the enterprising spirit of "Disconnected", it is enough to reflect the courage and sincerity of Hong Kong film workers in exploring more diverse themes and types.
We also sincerely look forward to the continuous innovation of excellent Hong Kong films in the commercial genre, bringing new hope and impetus to this once glorious film industry.