Project Gutenberg is entertaining and well put-together, brimming with action, intrigue and romance.
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After years of penning the scripts of some of Hong Kong’s most famous movies such as Infernal Affairs and Initial D, screenwriter Felix Chong once again takes his seat in the director’s chair with Project Gutenberg. The action crime thriller stars Chow Yun Fat, Aaron Kwok, and Zhang Jingchu.
Kwok plays aspiring painter-turned-counterfeit artist, Lee Man, whom we first meet in a Thai prison. Extradited from the prison by Hong Kong police, Lee is questioned about his involvement with the mysterious man everyone calls “The Painter,” played by Chow Yun Fat. Told in a series of flashbacks, Lee recounts his experiences as a young, cash-strapped, and unoriginal painter and how his exceptional talent at copying famous paintings got noticed by The Painter, who invited Lee to join his counterfeiting operation.
There is more in the movie than just the usual troupes of the genre, including Face/Off-inspired identity swaps and lots of plot twists and turns that will either keep you at the edge of seat, guessing who’s who, or frustrate your attempt at following the story.
The standout of the movie is Chow, who plays the extremely morally grey Painter with style and relish. It’s been a while since Chow has sunk his teeth into such a criminal character and we almost feel how much fun he’s having playing the character. Also commendable is the production design of the film. Real counterfeiting machines were used in the film to create real counterfeit money. The counterfeiting process was depicted so realistically that the film can be an instruction manual.
While Project Gutenberg is no Infernal Affairs, it is still an entertaining and well put-together film, brimming with action, intrigue and romance.
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