Michael's Movie Grade: B
A well-made suspense film from China.
This movie's story at first seems very simple. An incredibly successful lawyer is blackmailed to take a case by someone who kidnapped her young daughter. From here the story takes so many twists and turns that you are never once sure of anything. This is a thriller that truly keeps you on the edge of your seat, having no idea what may happen next. This all leads up to a wonderful twist ending. If some of the twists and turns are (more than a little) over the top, this just adds to the fun and excitement. I don't want to talk in much more detail about this aspect as I don't want to give away a single twist or turn. The main characters of this film are also quite likable. While they aren't complex characters, they are easy to relate to and care about. Zhang Xiaofei's performance as the main character is simply wonderful and gives a real humanity to the film.
This movie does have its flaws though. Some of the more emotional scenes lean too heavily into the sentimentality and can come off as sappy. This can be at odds with the dark nature of the rest of this film. There is also a moment where the movie seems to pretty much stop, so that a character can tell us the moral of the story. It feels awkward and out of place.
Overall this movie gives you just what you want out of this type of thriller and that can easily overcome the film's flaws.
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