‘Breaking News’ (2004): Mixing Satire with Shoot-‘Em-Ups

Directed by: Johnnie To || Produced by: Johnnie To, Cao Biao

Screenplay by: Chan Hing-kai, Yip Tin-Shing || Starring: Richie Jen, Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung, Eddie Cheung, Simon Yam, Maggie Shiu

Music by: Ben Cheung, Chung Chi-wing || Cinematography: Cheng Siu-keung || Edited by: David M. Richardson || Country: Hong Kong || Language: Cantonese, Mandarin

Running Time: 90 minutes

Johnnie To, along with John Woo, remains one of the few influential filmmakers of Hong Kong action cinema (peak circa 1970s-1990s) to have left a major impression on me. Counterintuitive though it may sound, I never gravitated much toward East Asian martial arts films (e.g. Chinese wuxia, kung fu biopics, etc.; contemporary Korean cinema is the exception) despite my status as an action fan. Maybe this is related to my love of movie-monsters, beasts, animalia, etc. in my genre movies (e.g. Tremors [1990-2004], Jurassic Park [1993], Aliens [1979, 1986, 1992], Predator [1987, 1990], Crawl [2019, 65 [2023], etc.) or my preference for unembellished, brutal action that favors bloods squibs and painful-looking stunts over fancy choreography (glares at the Star Wars prequels [1999, 2002, 2005]; hugs to Paul Verhoeven’s Hollywood science-fiction action trilogy [1987, 1990, 1997]), but my reactions to action films that preach about honor, love of country, filial piety, or inner peace (e.g. Hero [2002]) are often less than warm.

Near the end of the film, To showcases the vertical blocking of his actors inside an elevator shaft.

Woo’s and especially To’s filmographies do not exhibit the preachier, heavyhanded tone and glorified dance choreography of many of their Hong Kong contemporaries from the 1980s-2000s, though their films do indeed feature much impressive choreography. To in particular leans more into the crime drama aspects of his films’ scripts, where aside from a few fantasy twists (e.g. Mad Detective [2007]) here or exaggerated characters (e.g. Drug War [2012]) there, his action movies feel like they could operate within most planes of reality. Even the conspiratorial, neo-noir criminal underworld of John Wick (2014–2022) or the herculean athletics of Extraction (2020, 2023) feel over-the-top relative to most of the set-pieces in To’s movies despite how none of the aforementioned lack for cinematic brutality.

The last film of his I watched but one of his earliest critically acclaimed projects (the man has directed no less than 64 features through 2020) is Breaking News, a classic cops-vs-robbers shoot-’em-up with a satirical edge. News follows a police investigation, led by To-regular Nick Cheung, into a local stickup crew, led by male lead Richie Jen, who clash in the film’s opening sequence beginning with one of the best true (re: unbroken, not digitally stitched together from multiple shots) long-takes I’ve ever seen; the camera is suspended from a massive crane that swoops vertically and laterally across an urban alley. Prior to the first shootout within that oner, over a dozen characters are introduced over 360 degrees of blocking while the police detectives’ radio chatter provide a sort organic exposition that informs the scene.

News can’t sustain the same level of tension its introductory sequence and its opening shot in particular do, but the remainder of the film wraps the narrative at a tight yet detailed 90 minutes. After the police lick their wounds from the opening battle and their department is openly ridiculed in the press, that same investigative team plus a ruthless police superintendent (Cantopop star Kelly Chen) track Jen’s crew to a nearby apartment complex; there, the two parties exchange fire and attempt to one-up each other via the mainstream media and the internet. To say News‘ social satire here has aged well would be putting it mildly, as only the image resolution of their cellular phone pictures dates the screenplay in the slightest.

Acts Two and Three inside the apartment building are tightly edited and intersperse brief, intense shootouts with several false alarms (e.g. separate tactical police squads startling each other as they stalk around corridors). The cramped, claustrophobic interior of the apartment shooting location restricts characters’ movements but also clearly encouraged creative cinematographic and blocking choices; criminals perch outside hallway windows on exterior piping to hide from police while a shootout inside an elevator shaft highlights scene geography with a vertically framed long-shot in profile. To even juxtaposes these different blocking arrangements via split-screens at multiple points throughout the film.

The only major aspect of the film I found lacking was the conclusion, which involves a neat car and foot chase outside the main apartment complex but ends on a deflated note. Without being too specific, the criminals’ clever problem-solving, which was imperfect but creative up until the final action sequence, grows lazy and sentimental with little justification.

Other than that one gripe, however, Breaking News is another solid entry in Johnnie To’s “thinking man’s action filmography.” It’s also one of his funnier productions, alongside Mad Detective, without skimping on any of his characteristic blunt, hard-hitting action. The social commentary is obvious throughout the film but never overpowers the story or distracts from the set-pieces in any way. Given the film’s sardonic, almost dry humor in combination with that unembellished yet explicit violence, snootier cinephiles who prefer dramatic cinema (shudder) will be left as satisfied as action fans, all while casual audiences could be convinced to give this bare-bones, unpretentious Hong Kong action piece a watch thanks to its clean, concise runtime.

Top: Nick Cheung leads his team into the tight confines of Breaking News’ chief location. Bottom: Lead and antagonist Richie Jen hides inside an unwilling tenant’s apartment.

——————————————————————–

SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION: Straightforward, to-the-point, and action-packed, Breaking News would be recommendable to most folks based on its format alone even before one considers its amusing commentary on social media manipulation. Johnnie To brings his trademark editing rhythm and creative action blocking to this tight thriller, making the most of his unglamorous urban backdrops and limited locations. The film is altogether one of the auteur filmmaker’s most entertaining, accessible features.

— However… the film’s ultimate conclusion feels like a betrayal of Richie Jen’s otherwise memorable antagonist. I don’t know if the crew ran out of money or if To decided to take a page out of Woo’s filmmaking book for no reason.

—> RECOMMENDED for those who like their East Asian action thrillers short and sweet.

? How does that single father (another To-regular, Lam Suet) not know how to cook for his kids?