Film Name: 冷面狙击手 / Tiger Cage III / Tiger Cage 3 / 冷面狙擊手
Where’s the cold noodles? — The sniper ate them.
Where’s the sniper? — He ate the cold noodles and left.
———————————–Serious Divider———————- ——
As the third installment in the same series, it feels like a sudden shift in style.
Honestly, I don’t even know how these three films ended up being grouped together? Probably because they all share the same action choreography by the director?
The first one had an all-star cast, but the plot revolved around police colluding with drug traffickers. In the end, one male lead and one female lead emerged victorious, bringing the criminals to justice.
The second one was about money laundering—let’s skip that for now.
The third one has everyone under suspicion. Only the male lead is an indestructible cockroach (though he dies in the end, of course).
It starts with everyone dying one after another, leaving only the female lead alive.
Of course, the male lead was supposed to keep defying death. He survived fire, survived being speared—how could bullets kill him?
The director’s intent was to criticize the female lead—don’t be so scheming, so calculating. Otherwise, she could have played the innocent victim, weeping daily like a white lotus, only to shield the male lead from bullets in the end… But why would directors settle for such a clichéd plot? Instead, the female lead manipulates everyone, and the male lead takes the bullet for her.
This is absolutely Zhang Min’s finest performance!
Truth be told, Zhang Min’s acting wasn’t particularly remarkable. But those few expressions, captured during her peak era of captivating charm, were enough to enchant legions of admirers.
I’ve always believed Zhang Min’s most enchanting period was precisely this time—her roles as Qi Meng and Meng Luo. In the finale of “God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai,” when Stephen Chow returns from the Republican era and first sees Qimeng, the audience was utterly captivated. She was infinitely more vivid than Gong Li or Fang Jiwei.
She is the core character of this film. Enduring humiliation, suppressing anger, gritting her teeth, playing along with the charade… Her strength is truly remarkable.
Though the plot logic is a mess, this is undeniably her finest performance.
Kudos.
For Zhang Min alone, I give it four stars.
Later, I finally understood why these three films were grouped as a series:
Because all three end with the female lead suddenly unleashing her power!!!!
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