Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted August 18, 2013 Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 Not saying he's a bad director but when going up against the likes of Woo or To, those guys make Lam look like Michael Bay. Do I enjoy his films? Yes I do they are entertaining because they're loud/ludicrous and the action is nonstop. I've only seen: Beast Stalker (2008) Fire of Conscience (2010) The Viral Factor (2012) People say he's the next John Woo, I don't see that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted August 18, 2013 Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 I'll give you Viral Factor, but I don't see anything loud or ludicrous about Beast Stalker, Fire of Conscience or Stool Pigeon (check it out). They are all character driven films that has good action in them. When was the last time you saw Michael Bay do anything remotely character driven? Sniper is in between, I think. And im really looking forward to Unbeatable. His earlier work was hit and miss for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted August 18, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 good point, just the way he shoots his action, very similar to Michael Bay. Fire of Conscience kind of a hit or miss for me. When I compare his movies to Johnny To, damn To is just too good, I don't think they're in the same league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted August 18, 2013 Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 Neither do I. Admittedly, Lam has more mainstream sensibilities, but still injects some heart, grit and nice characterizations into his work. He's certainly not a populist director in the vein of Wong Jing or Benny Chan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted August 18, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 Could you recommend me some Wong Jing movies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted August 18, 2013 Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 Well, his output is so varied I wouldn't know where to begin.... I can only list my personal faves (and most people I know hate these movies) Mercenaries From Hong Kong 1982 Magic Crystal 1986 Casino Raiders 1989 God Of Gamblers 1989 Crocodile Hunter 1989 The Big Score 1990 The Last Blood 1991 A True Mob Story 1998 My Schoolmate, The Barabarian 2001 Colour Of The Truth 2003 Moving Targets 2004 I Corrupt All Cops 2009 He has of course produced, written, co directed, ghost directed etc. a ton of movies that I also like. He's not a great auteur, but he is an entertaining director for the most part. Though for some reason, a large section of the fan community loathe him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted August 18, 2013 Member Share Posted August 18, 2013 Dante Lam is a good director but I do feel that people tend to overrate him whenever he comes out with movies like The Viral Factor. He's more of a drama director though and really excels in that area whenever he gets into it. Beast Cops, The Beast Stalker and Stool Pigeon (and presumably Unbeatable) all show his strengths as a filmmaker whereas his more action-driven movies have more mainstream appeal and thereby losing alot of that touch that makes his movies distinctively captivating. But the next John Woo? He's not even close. If there's somebody that can be compared to Woo, it's Johnnie To (who is a far more superior and versatile filmmaker imo). If I had to compare a Hong Kong action filmmaker to Michael Bay it would be Benny Chan. Both are experts in pyrotechnics and overall action entertainment values but falls flat when it comes to drama and overall character depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member pratty Posted September 17, 2013 Member Share Posted September 17, 2013 Beast Stalker was his most recent film that I've seen, which was pretty decent from what I remember. I've also seen Hit Team, Twins Effect and Beast Cops, so probably not enough to have a proper opinion of him as a filmmaker. However from what I've seen he knows how to make a serviceable action film, but as others have said he doesn't stand out as a dramatic or thematical director. As far as pop fluff goes Twins Effect was quite enjoyable, and I have a soft spot for Hit Team, it's one of the better tactical guys-with-guns films I've seen. Obviously while he only co-directed Beast Cops with the more acclaimed Gordon Chan, his associatation with a film of that standard is certainly to his credit. There's certainly potential there, especially if he plays to his strengths, but he's not in the very top echelons of HK directors yet, and while I haven't seen his recent stuff, he's not really somebody I necessarily expected to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member VenomsFan Posted September 17, 2013 Member Share Posted September 17, 2013 He's one of the best when it comes to directing the drama and story. His action (cinematography) suffers abit. He seems to direct films with alot of new talent, as opposed to seasoned veterans, which I like. I'm looking forward to Unbeatable, which was released this summer. Has anyone here seen it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted September 17, 2013 Member Share Posted September 17, 2013 Looking forward to Unbeatable too. Though for some reason the thread on here, dedicated to the film, didn't seem to garner much buzz or discussion. And I haven't seen much excitement for it elsewhere either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted September 17, 2013 Member Share Posted September 17, 2013 Movie's still making big buzz in Hong Kong. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3003668/reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted February 24, 2014 Member Share Posted February 24, 2014 If Lam can make more movies like Unbeatable, he could become an after-sought Hong Kong director for all types of movies. But I think he has quite a long way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted March 10, 2014 Member Share Posted March 10, 2014 I don't feel Lam is overrated, he is one of the better directors working today in HK. I haven't seen all of his films, but I've seen most of them. really looking forward to That Demon Within. I think, like others have pointed out, he is at his best when combining character-driven drama with some street-level action. I'd say Beast Cops, The Beast Stalker, The Stool Pigeon, and Unbeatable rank among his best work. I also welcome his action-heavy films as well, Fire of Conscience did a pretty good job mixing heavier action with his more character based stuff, but overall it wasn't quite as good as those other films I've mentioned. Also, Dante Lam has directed a few other non-action films as well, like When I Look Upon the Stars, which is a fun and enjoyable romantic movie, and the terrific Jiang Hu- The Triad Zone. his worst film I've seen was Tiramisu. I hope he can strengthen his international profile a bit with the potential Moscow Mission, and maybe do that Wanted Criminal project or the "Best Actors" project that were mentioned a few years back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 6, 2021 Member Share Posted May 6, 2021 On 8/18/2013 at 4:43 PM, OpiumKungFuCracker said: Could you recommend me some Wong Jing movies? Challenge of the Gamesters - 1981 Winner Takes All - 1982 The Flying Mr. B - 1985 The Romancing Star II - 1987 Tricky Brains - 1991 Money Maker - 1991 Truant Hero - 1992 Future Cops - 1993 Fight Back to School III - 1993 Crying Heart - 2000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 6, 2021 Member Share Posted May 6, 2021 (edited) On 8/18/2013 at 5:39 PM, TibetanWhiteCrane said: He's not a great auteur, but he is an entertaining director for the most part. Though for some reason, a large section of the fan community loathe him. I think the problem is that most of the hatred initially came from serious martial arts movie fans who want their movies to be as devoid of comedy as much as possible. Anything that got in the way of the fights was sacrilege. I can easily name instances in Sammo Hung's movies which had equally "annoying" comedy such as Shanghai Express and Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars. Yet somehow he gets a free pass. It's ironic that Jing gets blamed for City Hunter and High Risk since Jackie Chan and Kirk Wong respectively were major contributors to the writing and directing. Edited May 6, 2021 by Cognoscente 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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