MovieChat Forums > Cheung foh (1999) Discussion > Do you guys find the fact hidden from th...

Do you guys find the fact hidden from the plot(spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by real-jojo
16 replies | jump to latest

It's 2002 or 2003 I watched this movie. Yesterday I watched it again and found some interesting clues.

1 Curtis was like a legendery gangster, he was most experienced. But when the team first met he didn't know Mike.And the boss did know Mike.

2 Mike helped the boss to take bullet-proof vest. He was the one the boss really trusted. Boss put him in the team to watch over the others.

3 Mike was the one to expose what happened between the boss'wife and the rookie. He didn't tell Fronk but tell the boss directly.

4 Frank told Curtis the boss knew nothing about his wife, he was lying. Later Jame tried to talk to the boss, just to find his wife was excuted. That's obvious boss's order.

5 When Cuitis took the order from Frank to kill the rookie, he knew the informer was either Mike or James. Then he ask James to prepare a gun and use his mobile phone to call the rookie. That's a test for James. Later Cuitis understand the one he need cheat is Mike. And that's why he exchanged the gun.

6 Everytime when Roy did the regular bodyguard duty, such as to stand sentry, he felt uncomfortable. He also got angry when the cop laughet at him. Roy was the most ambitious one among the team. That's why the boss asked mike to follow the Roy.

7 The boss seems peace on his face, but indeed he's always so sketchy with things.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] real-jojo 14 years ago

Hi mate I remember you. I talked to you at the page of Bodyguards and Assassins.

Thanks for replying me. This is the first thread I opened at IMDB.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sarinjitiger 14 years ago

I didn't understand the ending. It was quite confusing.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

1.Why does Curtis (Anthony Wong) shoot Shin aka 'the Rookie'(Jackie Lui) with what seems to be 'fake, rubber, non-lethal' bullets? He changed his gun ok to probably test James and the other guys but wasn't he given an order personally by Frank(a high-ranking triad member, brother of Mr. Lung)? Hes known as 'The Ice' because hes so cold and puts loyalty above anything else.

2.Why would he charge his pistol with 'non-lethal' bullets anyway if he knew from the beginning he wasn't going to kill Shin(the rookie)? Was it because he waited to see if Mr. Lung would have his wife executed?

3.And also Roy (Francis Ng Wong) seems like he doesn't know that Shin wasn't killed. He just dashes out of the restaurant frustrated. Is this the setup that Curtis planned? Where everyone THINKS that Shin is dead and forget him and in turn saves his life so the Triads don't go after him and Shin can go into hiding.

4.Why doesn't Roy (Francis Ng Wong) shoot Curtis? Is it because he can't kill a former triad member with a high reputation?(Like it is forbidden to kill a Made Man?) Or does he shoot in another direction when he realizes that he had been setup by Curtis and does it out of pure frustration?

5.I can see why he threw the 'non-lethal' bullet at James before he drove off as James and Curtis planned this together or Curtis was just testing/fooling James all along.

Sorry for all the questions and don't get me wrong this movie has become one of my favourite movies of all time but the last scene had me really confused and left me with a LOT of unanswered questions.

[–] MindDepth01 14 years ago

I haven't seen the movie for a while now so I can't answer all the questions. But I'll try my best.

1.Why does Curtis (Anthony Wong) shoot Shin aka 'the Rookie'(Jackie Lui) with what seems to be 'fake, rubber, non-lethal' bullets? He changed his gun ok to probably test James and the other guys but wasn't he given an order personally by Frank(a high-ranking triad member, brother of Mr. Lung)? Hes known as 'The Ice' because hes so cold and puts loyalty above anything else.

The bound and loyalty from both sides must've made it frustrating for Curtis to decide what to do. Just think about it. Curtis was given an order to execute someone in the same group that happens to be a "brother" of the same guy Curtis repaid and won respect from after making a mistake of leaving him out in the assassination scene. In order to have good balance between both sides, Curtis stages the fake execution of Shing but with a great risk along the line and make it up for everyone.

2.Why would he charge his pistol with 'non-lethal' bullets anyway if he knew from the beginning he wasn't going to kill Shin(the rookie)? Was it because he waited to see if Mr. Lung would have his wife executed?

Never thought of this before but it's likely. Either way, he couldn't escape from what he was ordered to do. So he stuck with making the scene appear convincing which paid off. Remember that Frank's sidekick was outside observing the whole thing. When Shin "fell" off his seat, it looked like he was shot and killed.

[–] sarinjitiger 14 years ago

Ah yea forgot that Frank's sidekick was waiting outside so it makes sense now. Ah well but thanks for answering 2 questions :)... Makes the last scene a bit more clearer.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] darkmorph 14 years ago

Those are some interesting things you pointed out. I'm not sure what you're trying to imply with #1 though. Also, how do you know Mike was the one that told the boss about the affair? How was that hinted in the movie?

[–] real-jojo 13 years ago

sorry for replying you so late.

there are two ways to know Mike is the delator.

1 Accoding to the sequels, all the team member tended to save Shin from being shot, except Mike.

2 There is a scene at around 48 mins, Shin sent boss's wife back home when there was a shower. Shin took off his shirt and put it on the table.
Did you notice his shirt was totally wet and its casued by sweat not rain ( shin also wear a coat outside the shirt). The car must have a good air conditioning then make Shin wet with sweat?

After a few seconds staring at the shirt, Roy took the shirt and threw it to Shin cause he must knew what happend beween shin and Boss's wife at that moment. Roy tried to protect Shin. At the same time, Mike was reading by that table.Mike may got a clue at this moment.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] foxboro27 10 years ago

1 Accoding to the sequels, all the team member tended to save Shin from being shot, except Mike.

What Sequels???

[–] Gloede_The_Saint 13 years ago

Nice. Now the charade at the end actually make sense. They should have made it a bit more obvious though.

My 105 favorite films - http://www.imdb.com/list/5pdE8_ZEh0Y/?publish=save

[–] zachanscom 13 years ago

those are some astute observations. i agree with curtis' testing of james and the boss sanctioned killing of the wife. though i wonder if curtis is a suicidal risk taker, because he could not have known what roy would do. that was a big risk.

as for using non lethal rounds, it was to spare the rookie.

the round at the end, it looked like a modified frangible round, but it's probably meant to be a blank or non lethal round. it's not explained if it's the one inside the gun given by james or the one used to do the faux killing.

[–] waldomarek 12 years ago

well, i think curtis' plan can be explained with the word "yi" 義 (loyalty).

he was loyal to his boss (whoever gave him the job), but also loyal to his "brothers" who were there with him during multiple shootouts.

after it was known that the rookie had sex with the boss' wife, roy questioned the guys: which of them did NOT get seduced by the boss' wife?

so curtis actually knows the woman wasn't worth killing a brother for, but since of his loyalty to his boss, he HAS to do something. that's why he set up the blanks to "kill" the rookie.

he could not anticipate what roy would do after he would shoot the rookie. roy, out of anger, could've killed curtis for "killing" his brother, the rookie. if this was the case, curtis would've failed his mission, but would've gotten punished by death for actually letting the rookie go, a way to "repay his debt" to his boss.

however, this didn't happen as roy opted to shoot at stuff behind curtis out of anger. roy decided not to kill curtis even though he was clearly angry for the "death" of his brother (the rookie), yet another case of loyalty.

curtis realized that roy let him live and therefore said "THANK YOU" before roy left.

[–] BelmontHeir 12 years ago

I just rewatched this movie tonight, my first time seeing it in years. It's one of my favorite Hong Kong movies ever and I agree with your interpretation of events exactly! Curtis took a big risk at the end since Roy could have opened fire on him...loyalty won out in the end.

[–] waldomarek 12 years ago

re-reading my post and your post, thinking of it, what do you think "the mission" refers to and also the chinese name "gun fire"? check my other thread on the mission board and share your thoughts if you have any :)