Johnnie To - talented or a hack?

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If you have something to say about why he is bad, fine. As is, you're just trolling.

That said, I think To is a talented director. I don't think he's quite the genius some on the imdb make him out to be though. I'm not sure why he gets compared to Woo so much... I'd say overall I like Woo more, as there aren't any To movies I like as much as Woo's better films.

In what sense is he a hack? Maybe you have never gone out of a multi-plex and seeked out unique cinema. To is an auteur, he is very creative, poetic and also invigorrating. The reason why people like yourself and Roger Erbert put directors like him down is that your mindset cannot accept UNCONVENTIONAL cinema. Sure Woo and others are amazing, but To's ability to tell the story in a unique and not so very by-the-books style, makes him an extremely talented director.

Let's type the name of some real hacks: Michael Bay, Brett Rattner, Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer, Paul W.S. Anderson, Herr Uwe Boll, and of course Roland Emmerich.
All those are truly unalduterated hacks.
Johnnie To is far from being the best chinese director alive but compared to the aforementioned "filmmakers", Johnnie is like Luis Buñuel!

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