Overheard 2 (2011)

Country: Hong Kong SAR

Language: Cantonese / English

Director(s): Alan Mak & Felix Chong

Actors: Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Michelle Ye

This can be (very) loosely called a sequel of the 2009 movie, Overheard. The reason why I mention “loosely” is because except the overhearing part and some key actors being the same, the story is different and the characterization is completely different form the 2009 movie. I would say it is a bit slicker than the earlier one.

The other basic difference in the storyline is that the police aren’t the espionage agents in this edition. It is the young son of a former share trader & influential member of the Hong Kong trading elite. The father who was part of the elite gang called “The Landlord Club” who indulge in insider trading and other irregularities for “the benefit of” the Hong Kong trading community is murdered (as the sacrificial lamb) to keep certain secrets. And the son decides to take revenge. So he does the espionage and the police occupy the middle ground of playing catch-up.

Louis Koo is the policeman who has to expose both the sides, “The Landlord Club” as well as the son of the former member who is avenging his father’s death. Lau Ching-Wan is an influential stock pundit who is the go-to man for “The Landlord Club” and Daniel Wu is the son fighting to avenge the loss of his father.

Another superbly scripted, well-acted out movie. I would rate this higher than the 2009 installment. Again Lau Ching-Wan stands out tall.

This one goes down the 24fPs logs as a SuperWatch and it thoroughly deserves that.

Overheard (2009)

Country: Hong Kong SAR

Language: Cantonese / English

Director(s): Alan Mak & Felix Chong

Actors: Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Alex Fong Chung-Sun

Same duo which wrote Infernal Affairs (and by default won the first Oscars for, you know who !!). A crime drama. As the title says the movie is about overhearing. And more than overhearing it is about the human tendency to manipulate the overheard story to his / her advantage.

Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) probes a company for insider trading, they basically bug the company and do an espionage operation. The lynchpins of the operation from the CCB have their own, the leader of the trio is in love with his boss’s (friend’s) estranged wife, one guy is under pressure having to match up to his rich (to-be) father-in-law, the third suffers from cancer and his infant son is seriously ill and has to settle his family before he goes.

The two boys overhear an insider trading conversation and decide to delete it off the record and take advantage of the circumstances to overcome their financial situation. They invest all their monies (and borrowing) to make a killing but greed overcomes them and in trading is suspended by the Hong Kong Securities for unusual activity. The inspector takes pity on his boys and plays on. Because of not reporting, the incident blows up to gigantic proportions with both their higher-ups in police and the people who are part of the insider trading circuit coming after them. What happens & how is the climax.

Alan Mak & Felix Chong have a great story here and they tell it well, given its shortcomings. The major shortcoming I see is sustaining the speed, the dynamics of a lovely start. The part where they kidnap the inside traders and the subplot there was a bit of a letdown. But that doesn’t take the sheen out of a lovely plot. Lau Ching-Wan, what can one say about this man ? Lovely acting, with a typical poker face (and sometimes playing the joker) he carries the whole weight of the film. All the others have done definite justice to their roles, especially Lois Koo.

Definitely a GoodWatch and a bit more !!