Review of Gen X Cops

Introduction

Gen-X Cops is a big budget (by Hong Kong standards) action blockbuster that mixes the old with the new. The "old" in this case are the writers (Bey Logan and Benny Chan, who also directs and produces) and one of the producers, a certain Jackie Chan, who makes an excellent cameo appearance during the film. The "new" are the actors playing the lead characters - Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung and Sam Lee.

The old and the new team up to bring us something that probably represents a Hong Kong style Bond film, with fights, big bangs and some very Woo-style gunplay.

Video

We are presented with a very good looking 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, which is clean and crisp. There are a few flecks and specks now and again, and colours aren`t always as vibrant as they might be, but some of that could be intentional.

This is one of the bigger budget releases from Hong Kong, and you can tell that they had some money to spend on some big action sequences. There are some big explosions throughout the film, and be on the look-out one very big explosion indeed.

Audio

As with many Hong Kong films, a choice of audio. You can have the DD5.1 Cantonese track (recommended) or a DD 2.0 dubbed English track. I never choose the dubbed track, as I prefer to listen to the original language and read the subtitles.

You might think that this would be an extra bonus with this film, as the dubbed track is only a stereo track, but the DD5.1 mix hardly ever leaves the front 3 channels. I kept looking behind me to make sure my rear speakers hadn`t been stolen, but they were still there. Just very, very silent. A shame, as some of the action scenes would have sounded so much better if they were using all of the speakers.

Look out for the annoying title song which keeps popping up during the film. You`ll be fed up of it by the end!

Features

A small number of extras are on offer here. The biggest of these is a "making of" documentary which lasts for about half an hour, and goes into reasonable detail about some of the stunts, some of the set pieces and some of the injuries suffered by the actors! Look out for that annoying song again.

There are also two trailers, and a production notes section which features cast and crew biographies and then some more general production notes.

And finally, you can watch that song that`s now really got on your nerves, the title track "You Can`t Stop Me!"

This looks like quite a small bundle of extras, but it could probably be forgiven. Until you see the specs of the region 1 version of this disc. What`s that it says there, "deleted scenes, and lots of them." Once again we seem to be getting a raw deal in region 2.

Conclusion

Gen-X Cops is definitely designed to appeal to the Hong Kong/Chinese "Gen-X" market, a slightly younger audience than most Hong Kong action films. The lead characters all look like they have been plucked from a Playstation game, with their pretty boy looks. The action, whilst good, can`t quite compare with all that has gone before it. Fight scenes from other films are better, gunplay from other films is better and other scripts are better (and don`t rely on cheap digs at the Japanese).

That`s not to say that this is a bad film, because it certainly makes enjoyable viewing. The plot is quite weak and full of holes, and there`s some very hammy acting at times, but fans of Hong Kong action should still find enough to keep them amused and entertained.

If you want to buy this film, you might be better off looking to region 1, where you`ll find lots of deleted scenes on your disc. This region 2 disc is definitely worth a rental for Hong Kong cinema fans, and I`ll be looking out for the sequel "Gen-Y Cops".