Beast Cops

(Yeshou xingjing / Gordon Chan + Dante Lam  / 1998)

The tonal shifts and seamless genre amalgamations are what make this Hong Kong action film such an unadulterated good time, but what I love most is how it functions as a straight-up 90s sex comedy complete with garish neon production design (at times) and a Friends-like irreverence for condoms, hook-ups, and confident sex partners coming into contact with traditional prudes. Chan and Lam have a way of choreographing fights where their heroes really get the shit knocked out of them (Officer Mike barely gets by without his gun) while maintaining a fluid progression in the sequence. The moral ambiguity that is born of the proximity of police to traditional triads (perhaps too romantic) is fascinating without ever being too on-the-nose. In fact, it barely registers if you're not paying attention.