greatest action sequence ever?

Am I the only one who thinks the drug bust scene near the start where the cops try to raid Sam's deal with the Thais is one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed?

The way the scene is set up with the two moles using different ways to tip their respective bosses off was ingenious. It's like a watching a chess game unfold, where the two opponents are playing it blindfolded with one person on each side whispering to their ear where to move every five moves.

Characters on both sides make smart, cunning decisions throughout that tip the odds slightly in their favor, and what's great is how the movie never treats us like fools either. We don't get every decision they make explained to us, we just see them doing it. As such, the scene commands its audiences' full attention. Asking them to watch closely to understand what's going on, rather than having it all spoonfed to us. There's a lot of stuff that's easy to miss out on in first viewing as well, such as how Yan gets the information of the address of the drug exchange in his brief chit chat with the fat guy at the table. Thus, giving the scene and the film as a whole, great re-watch value.

That's without mention the brilliant use of editing and music in that scene. The way the sequence is cut felt so hyper-kinetic yet fluid at the same time. Editors Danny and Curran Pang make use of various effects throughout, whether it be speeding up the film, using fade-ins, fade-outs, flash frames etc. It's like what Tony Scott tried to pull off in his later career with films like Domino and Deja Vu except here, it adds rather than detracts from the sequence. Unlike those films, never once did it feel distracting or overbearing. Here, it simply makes the scene feel more immersive and dynamic.

The music itself is exhilarating to listen to. Chan Kwong-wing's score all but throws subtlety out the window in pursuit of visceral impact and it works. Every time the odds turn to favor one group over the other, the music takes a sudden shift to let us all know. As a kid watching this scene, even though I didn't quite understand what was going on, I was still enthralled by the music alone. That's how the good the score is.

All in all, I think it's one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. Possibly even the greatest. What's even more impressive, is that aside from Yan getting his arm smashed, there is virtually no violence in this sequence. No one gets shot or stabbed or killed. It's a pure game of wits. The Departed doesn't have anything coming close to it.

Any thoughts?

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