The Suspect (1998)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This film is worth seeing solely due to Simon Yam's performance. While I picked it up on DVD because Ringo Lam directed it...it's a very minor film with little story, average action scenes and cheap special effects. Simon Yam doesn't have a lot of dialogue but he does get to play a very complex character. While he is ostensibly the bad guy, his basic humanity is omnipresent. His final scene in the film is especially memorable. It's too bad he's never achieved the worldwide success that other Ringo Lam actors have. He certainly acts circles around Mr. Koo. If the lead role of the suspect were played by someone else, such as Tony Leung or the late Leslie Cheung, then maybe the film would be more effective. Stick with City on Fire or the Prison on Fire films for vintage Ringo Lam. Even his first Van Damme film is better.

Ringo Lam has made a decent drama here, not an action film. The only real action sequence comes at the end of the movie, and while it is very strong, the rest of the film deals with the ideas of loyalty, friendship, and morality. The main character is trying to start a new life after just being released from prison, he was convicted of murder at a young age, but after some strings were pulled (without his knowledge) he is free after 12 years. But before he can start this new life, the triad pulls him back in, and wants him to commit another murder, or face the consequences. What ensues is an "on the run", fugitive type story, that has our main character fleeing from the triad, the cops, and his best friend. A pretty solid film that tests the themes that are present in many Hong Kong stories. A tough, gritty film with a great "action" ending, and of course, a strong performance from Simon Yam.

"The Suspect", Ringo Lam's recent crime drama, is a movie that should please fans of "The Fugitive" or other Lam films.The character depth is pretty thin, but the plot makes up for it. It moves at a fairly even pace, and it doesn't get boring. Action wise, its competent, but it certainly is no John Woo movie. Anybody watching this looking for an exciting action movie will be disappointed. However, there's some decent acting and even above-par dubbing, a rarity for sure.Overall, nothing special, but if your into Hong Kong cinema, it's definitely worth a rent.

Ringo Lam goes over the top in this movie, similar to Heat. The beginning of the movie is slow paced but picks up at high speed by the end of the movie. I highly recommend it to action fans who love John Woo. I find myself confused by the plot during the last stage but that's a minor problem.