THE MOST WANTED

Starring: Lau Ching Wan, Kent Cheng, Lam Bo Yee

A powerful story about cops going undercover. Cat (Lau) is one such undercover cop, hoping to get close to villain Yip Goon with the help of a friend he met in jail, Sap (Lam Bo Yee). When the operation is cancelled, Cat is recalled back to the police force, but he decides to remain with the villains, hoping to get a chance to nail them. As a part of a robbery that goes awry, Cat discovers to his horror that he is wanted by the police, but there is only one cop who knows the real identity of Cat, and he is not willing to help him.

Officer Cheng (Kent Cheng) is called in to handle the case, and he soon realises that Cat is an undercover cop, but with the rest of the world after Cat, he could only watch helplessly as Cat drags himself under.

Although not an astounding film by any means, it manages to convey a deep message to us all, that undercover cops have the most thankless jobs in the world. Usually classified, no one really knows that undercover cops are really cops, so they often get arrested or interrogated by the police. Another problem is that undercover cops may become too friendly with the criminals, often forging deep friendship with one or two. A dilemma ultimately develops that the undercover cops must face: whether to shop in their newfound friends, or to let them go, thereby ruining the case.

One huge problem that Cat faced in the film is that after his superiors decided to betray him, he is left with nowhere to go: wanted by the police, and hunted down by the criminals. As I said, a truly thankless job.

Performances are above average, but it lacks sharpness, and the whole film tries to be a tad too tragic. Lau Ching Wan obviously puts in a good performance as Cat, as do Kent Cheng. It is a shame that the plot is not as intense as their roles. Not a great film, but one that would have you thinking and sympathising with undercover cops.

RATING

6 / 10