Film Name: 惊天12小时 / The Last Blood / Hard Boiled 2 / Twelve Hours to Die / 驚天12小時
Star-studded (both in cast and crew) with a surprisingly serious tone for an action comedy, this film is atypical of Wong Jing’s usual fare. Shot in Singapore in the early 90s, I first saw the Mandarin-dubbed version on TV ages ago and recently revisited it (watched a version with Cantonese subtitles and Mandarin audio on Youku, decent picture quality).
The plot is utterly absurd: Japanese terrorists (details revealed in the film) attempt to assassinate a lama in Singapore who masters multiple dialects (even speaks English in the Cantonese version) and wields flying knives. Their plan is foiled by a severely nearsighted detective, a Hong Kong thug obsessed with Bruce Lee, and a Singaporean hustler peddling counterfeit goods. Moreover, both the lama and the Hong Kong thug’s girlfriend, and the Singaporean thug all possess rare blood types.
Andy Lau’s Hong Kong thug is a comedic character—a role better suited for Alan Tam, who only makes a cameo appearance here as a minor supporting character (a doctor) with some humorous moments. Alan Tam’s highly nearsighted detective is surprisingly handsome and delivers one of the film’s iconic scenes. The Singaporean gangster, played by Eric Tsang, has no action scenes but does perform a somersault stunt. Leung Ka-yan portrays a traitor within the Singaporean police force.
The motorcycle stunt sequences are quintessential Stanley Koo’s signature style.
The action style, reminiscent of 1980s gunfight films, and the sudden homage to Bruce Lee hint at the emerging influence of “High Risk.” The film’s dialogue pokes fun at numerous famous artists (including inside jokes about the cast members themselves).
Released overseas after “Hard-Boiled” and featuring a hospital shootout, this film has surprisingly earned the nickname “Hard-Boiled 2.”
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