recommendations

Although I haven't seen any of these ten HK cop-and-criminal genre thrillers, they are IMDb rated from 6.8 to 7.8 which is not bad at all. I will be watching them myself once I got the opportunity (in no particular order):

1. Um fa (1997), IMDb rating 7.3 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168043/
2. PTU (2003), IMDb rating 6.9 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250638/
3. Cheung Fo (1999), IMDb rating 7.1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220644/
4. Am zin (1999), IMDb rating 7.2 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216165/
5. Yeshou xingjing (1998), IMDb rating 6.8 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157366/
6. Fai seung dat yin (1998), IMDb rating 7.4 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159432/
7. Chan sam ying hung (1998), IMDb rating 7.0 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176809/
8. Chuen jik sat sau (2001), IMDb rating 6.8 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286635/
9. Wong gok hak yau (2004), IMDb rating 7.5 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430772/
10. Xin bian yuan ren (1994), IMDb rating 7.8 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111772/

I'd also recommend G4 te gong (Project G4).

Any present Milky Way (also producer of BN) or past UFO label films will be a cut above your run-of-the-mill Hong Kong film from the past decades. The newer crop are for the most part well-written, intelligent and above all, not afraid stay still for a change to patiently allow viewers to take in the experience unlike the old days where many times watching a HK film is like being rushed in & out of a fast food joint.

Of the post-Colonials, you may like these:

Election
Divergence
PTU
One Night in Mongkok
Cop On a Mission
The Longest Nite
The Mission
Too Many Ways To Be Number One

...of the pre-Handovers:

The Odd One Dies
Beyond Hypothermia
Full Alert
The Big Bullet