The premise for Triple Tape is perfect for an action flick. I kept thinking that an American remake with Jason Statham would probably be a blockbuster hit. There were a few glaring plot holes that held the film back and one significant one that messed with the main concept and twist to the story but it all can be mostly overlooked to get a reasonably entertaining experience. Consider the film part mystery, part thriller with a splash of action and you'll enjoy it. The characters are solid and the mystery is riveting enough to keep you hooked throughout. The film is of course subtitled but also has a dubbed version. I usually just go with subtitles but decided to watch it with the dubbing and it was done decently well.Louis Koo gives a solid performance as the quiet, dark and mysterious champion marksman who appears to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to thwart a robbery and kill a robber. His character is sort of unlikable in some ways and then in other ways you empathize with him and I think that is what the goal is for the character so in this way he does well. Daniel Wu gives an excellent performance as the officer determined to get to the bottom of the crime. The cat and mouse game between Koo and Wu are what gives this film its edge. Their chemistry is terrific and Wu is a great hero. I instantly became a fan. The ladies in the film do an okay job but ultimately they are background and barely supporting. They don't stand out in the film.Secrets, lies, mystery and murder all are a plenty in the film. For awhile it will keep you guessing but as many reviewers have said the climax and ending is perhaps predictable. The problem is the great climax and twist is impossible because what they expect you to believe happened couldn't have because we saw the whole thing unfold. In addition to this there is an incredibly bizarre slapped together supernatural moment where Wu's mentor goes into some sort of psychic haze in order to find the killer. That really reduced the film's draw for me. However all that aside it is a solid Hong Kong thriller for those that love foreign films. It isn't brilliant but it is entertaining and sometimes that is enough. 7/10

"You told me it's worth millions, so I went for it. Now you get to play the hero, and me? I'm hiding all over." When competitive shooting champion Ken sees an armored van being robbed he uses his quick thinking and shooting to take out the robbers. After he is found not guilty in court he is attacked by the surviving robber. After a discussion unveils a hidden agenda can he overcome his fear and stop it before it's to late. This is another hard movie to review. I did like it, but I was expecting more of an action movie. While there was some action in this it's pretty much concentrated at the end. As a thriller though this is a very good mystery and is worth a watch. The twists keep you watching and interested. This however is another movie you must be in the mood for. Overall, a good thriller that is a good watch, when you are ready for it. I give it a B.

Above average police thriller from Hong Kong about gun expert who seems to be in deep trouble after disrupting what appears to be a heist of corporate bonds. This hero seems to be a brooding, introverted type of person, conflicted over his own actions. If my first few lines of description here suggest appearances prove wrong in the movie, then you have some idea of the film's plot development. Good performances and clever construction keep the film moving for a time but, unfortunately, it builds to an easily predictable climax that one almost wishes didn't happen. Additionally, some poorly developed romantic threads in the movie leave one wondering why the romance(s) ever developed in the first place, especially after the film's later revelations. Not bad, but not a good film either.

Ten years ago, Derek Yee produced the action thriller "Double Tap" starring the late Leslie Cheung and Alex Fong, the title referring to the art of shooting twice so quickly in exactly the same spot to form the number "8". Last year, Derek Yee produced the crime thriller "Overheard" starring Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu, which took on the rather unique topic of corporate chicanery. Writer/director Derek Yee's latest is a sequel of sorts to both movies- though its reference to the former is probably more obvious.As its title suggests, "Triple Tap" ups the ante by having the shooter- in this case, Louis Koo's marksman Ken- master the skill of shooting not once, not twice, but thrice so quickly in exactly the same spot. And just as its predecessor, "Triple Tap" is at its heart a battle of brains and brawn between two men- Ken and Daniel Wu's police detective Jerry Chang- that begins on the shooting range and gradually progresses off the range. The incident that sets in motion their inevitable confrontation? An armored car robbery that leaves four of the robbers dead, with a policeman in coma and another robber on the run.At first sight, it appears that Ken had stumbled onto the scene while the crime was ongoing and proceeded to take out four of the robbers using his competition pistol. But Jerry has his doubts and Ken is subsequently charged in court for illegal use of firearms. Do Jerry's suspicions of Ken stem from his jealousy for having lost the marksman competition championship to Ken? Or is there more to the truth about Ken's presence at the scene of the crime? Well both actually- the first half suggests the former, while the later half reveals the latter.Anyone familiar with Derek Yee's works will know that this cannot be a straightforward action movie, and in fact, audiences going in expecting hard-hitting action will probably be disappointed. What action there is played out only right at the start and right at the end, while the rest of the movie is really a psychological thriller about one of the seven deadly sins- pride. This is played out as a cat and mouse game between Ken and Jerry, two people whom the movie suggests are quite similar in their personalities- the difference lies in how much they allow their own pride to govern the choices they make.It is through this lens that Derek Yee attempts to unravel the motivations behind people's actions within the circumstances of their lives. Therein lies the connection between "Triple Tap" and "Overheard"- both have to do with the wheeling-and-dealing in Hong Kong's financial sector. In this movie, the object of the robbery is not wads of cash but just four pieces of paper called "bearer bonds"- and Ken turns out to be a high-flying investment banker who takes pride for being one of the best in his line of work.Despite the similarities, "Triple Tap" isn't a lesser movie because of its lack of originality. Rather, it is a lesser movie because it buckles under the weight of its own ambitions as a psychological thriller. It isn't taut enough to convince its audience of the plausibility of its scenarios, particularly in the second half. It isn't smart enough to impress its audience with its ingenuity. And most of all, its two protagonists, Ken and Jerry, aren't compelling enough for its audience to care.Of the two, Derek Yee spends more time developing Louis Koo's character. In the hands of a better actor, Ken would certainly have been more convincing. Unfortunately, Louis isn't that actor to portray the multifaceted nature of his character- most of the time, he looks either smug or confused, even though the movie calls for him to be much more than that.On the other hand, Daniel Wu's competitive inspector Jerry could very well do with more careful character development- especially so one can better appreciate the battle of wits between him and Ken. Ditto for the rest of the supporting characters- except for Li Bingbing's Miss Shaw (Ken's boss and love interest number two), the other supporting characters including Ken's girlfriend Ting Ting (Charlene Choi) and Jerry's mentor (Alex Fong) are also underused.Despite its flaws, Derek Yee's film is still sufficiently engaging to entertain- especially since its pace is brisk and its actors easy on the eye. Were it from a different director, this attempt to weave a testosterone-fueled psychological thriller into a crime thriller would have been impressive. But given the pedigree of its writer/director and his past works, "Triple Tap" seems to be no more than an attempt to make a new film from two more superior ones- "Double Tap" and "Overheard"- and because of that, can only be regarded as somewhat of a disappointment.