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How two of Benny Chan’s 2000s films bridged old-school stunts and modern Hong Kong action
2003’s Heroic Duo and 2007’s Invisible Target were full of the director’s flair for action, reckless stunts and literal explosive scenes
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The late Hong Kong action maestro Benny Chan Muk-sing made his name with the hit triad love story A Moment of Romance (1990) and the acclaimed police thriller Big Bullet (1996), before going on to direct popular action extravaganzas such as 2013’s The White Storm.
Bridging these two eras are two pivotal films from the early 2000s that demonstrate Chan’s unique flair for action – Heroic Duo and Invisible Target.
Heroic Duo (2003)
Shot before 2002’s mega-hit Infernal Affairs fully rejuvenated the Hong Kong film industry, Heroic Duo lacks the gloss of later productions. Despite occasionally looking cheap, the film delivers engaging action and unexpectedly large-scale scenes.
“A police thriller leavened with psychological nuance, Heroic Duo is one of the year’s most interesting action films,” noted South China Morning Post critic Paul Fonoroff. “Along with PTU and Colour of the Truth, Heroic Duo demonstrates that Hong Kong action cinema in 2003 is multifaceted and more than capable of delivering a buzz.”
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The most appealing aspect was a down-to-earth approach to action that had slipped out of fashion in the late 1990s, a trend driven in part by Chan’s own effects-heavy, glamour-prioritising films such as Gen-X Cops (1999).
But here, Hong Kong’s film heritage is revisited with real car chases and old-school stunts involving dangerous leaps and falls, all orchestrated by choreographer Stephen Tung Wai.
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To add some contemporary touches, Chan used his well-known talent for explosives to blow everything sky-high in a fiery finale filmed in an industrial area in Kowloon Bay. The explosions were so loud that nearby residents thought they were real and called the police and fire services.
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