Not lacking in action and tension, Shock Wave is the kind of movie you have to watch in the theatres to feel the impacts at their best.
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Starring Andy Lau as Cheung Choi-san, the first in command for disposing bombs, Shock Wave begins its story with the premise of a revenge. The revenge threatens to destroy the world’s busiest traffic tunnel, and hundreds of lives along with it. It is Cheung’s mission to ensure everyone’s safety.
The Good
The plot is nicely crafted and well built up, from the premise to the minor bomb threats to the ultimate showdown at the tunnel. With unforeseeable bombs going off suddenly, you will be second-guessing everything they touch or pass by will explode. The film will keep you on the edge of your seat as Cheung tries to diffuse the bombs which are ticking away. Even if it is running at a seemingly long runtime of 119 minutes, there is no part of the movie that bores you. It only gets better and more intense.
Although subtle, Shock Wave shows how big the sacrifice people who put their lives on the line have to make. Many stories of these heroes often go unheard. But to minimise casualties and for the greater good, they have to make the best choice of a difficult situation. This may seem like a no-brainer, but seeing such scenes on screen will put you to tears.
The Bad
The romance sub-plot is messy at best. The relationship between Cheung and Carmen (Song Jia) is not well established. Carmen is pretty much a damsel in distress, only further enforced by one of the lines: “Girlfriends of superheroes never end up well.” As for the attempts to make this into a touching love story… Nice try.
And The Summary
Not lacking in action and tension, Shock Wave is the kind of movie you have to watch in the theatres to feel the impacts at their best.
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