A Chinese man, his French wife, and their two sons are brutally murdered by a trio of hired killers. When the wife’s father, Costello, learns of their deaths, he vows revenge on the men who killed them and on the person who ordered the hit. However, Costello is suffering from slow-acting, permanent amnesia. If he is to exact his revenge he must do so quickly before his memory completely vanishes.
To do the job, Costello hires three other hired gunmen whom he meets under coincidental circumstances; one could look at it as fate lending a grieving father a helping hand. After the three mercenaries accept the job they begin building a unique bond with Costello who is much more than a mere French chef. Not unusual since his trio of assassins seem to have closer ties to the whole situation than anyone ever expected.
I have been waiting to see this movie for two, perhaps even three years. There is something blissfully visceral about a good revenge story. I did my best to keep my expectations even for when I did finally come across Vengeance, and I’m not sure if it helped but it sure didn’t hurt. Vengeance is a great story from start to finish. Director Johnnie To (Election) tightly captures the peculiar warmth and abnormal caring of people that kill for a living, which is fleshed out well by screenwriter Kai-Fai Wai.
Most enjoyable is the chemistry between Costello, played by French pop icon Johnny Hallyday, and his three associates Kwai (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), Chu (Ka Tung Lam), and Fat Lok (Suet Lam), who are part assassins, part Three Stooges.
Vengeance is full of gorgeous cinematography, great gun battles, and fun character development. It is definitely a movie I wouldn’t mind watching again very soon.
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