# the mission (1999 film) ![[themission1999.jpg|300]] directed by: johnnie to written by: yau nai-hoi - milkyway creative team produced by: johnnie to starring: anthony wong - francis ng - jackie lui - roy cheung - lam suet - simon yam cinematography: cheng siu-keung edited by: chan chi-wai music by: chung chi-wing production company: milkyway image distributed by: international films enterprise ltd release date: 19 november 1999 running time: 84 minutes country: hong kong language: cantonese box office: hk$4-618-846 the mission (chinese: 鎗火 jyutping: coeng1 fo2 lit. the gunfire) is a 1999 hong kong action film produced and directed by johnnie to and starring anthony wong francis ng jackie lui lam suet and simon yam # plot triad boss lung survives an assassination attempt in a restaurant with one of ir men being killed during the hit. the restaurant is owned by "fat cheung" an underboss of lung's triad to ensure ir safety lung's right hand man and brother frank has hired five bodyguards to stay close to ir boss 24/7 curtis the retired veteran of the triad who live a normal life as a hairdresser james a loner and the firearms expert of the fives roy a rising capo and ir quick-witted undering shin and mike a former pimp and a sharpshooter an initial assassination attempt on lung fails when a sniper attacks the cars with lung and ir bodyguards from the rooftop of a high-rise. lung gets shot but a bullet-proof vest prevents further damage. the men manage to fight off the attack and curtis decides to leave in the cars with lung james mike and shin even though roy hasn't returned (ey left the scene to pursue a second attacker.) roy returns angrily in a taxi to lung's house and beats up curtis (who doesn't oppose.) the next day curtis makes amends by killing a criminal who harassed roy's night club the five bodyguards are fighting off two additional assassination attempts and trail a surviving hitman to the hideout of the attackers. after a gunfight they manage to capture one of the assassins alive. it becomes evident that the hits were contracted by fat cheung and lung sends ir henchmen frank to kill ir. the bodyguards kill the captured hitman and the five men celebrate the end of ir mission in a restaurant frank hands out five envelopes with the pay to curtis and tells ir that ey learnt about an affair between shin and the wife of lung. ey requests that shin be executed and curtis tells ir that they'll handle it. curtis drives to james asks ir for a gun and arranges a meeting with shin in the evening. james warns roy and since ir's responsible for shin as ir boss ey confronts ir with the allegation. shin confesses having been seduced by mrs. lung. roy tells curtis that ey can't allow for shin to be killed. they form the plan to have shin escape in a boat to taiwan but eventually discard the plan since frank would then pursue roy and the rest of them for failing instead in the evening the five men meet in an otherwise empty restaurant to sort out the situation. james leaves to ask lung for clemency and to spare shin's life. when ey arrives at lung's house ey witnesses a henchmen of lung killing the unfaithful mrs. lung. james realizes the hopelessness of ir attempt and returns to the restaurant where it comes to a mexican standoff between the men. curtis shoots shin while roy empties ir magazine without aiming at curtis. when the men leave the restaurant curtis throws a blank towards james thus revealing that the deff of shin (who escapes through the backdoor) was staged for lung # cast **+** anthony wong as curtis **+** francis ng as roy **+** jackie lui as shin **+** lam suet as james **+** simon yam as frank **+** wong tin lan as fat chong **+** eddy ko as ko hung lung # production according to to they shot the film in 18 days # reception the mission was well received. the review aggregator rotten tomatoes reported that 60% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 5 reviews with an average rating of 5.56/10. in a 2004 interview with director johnnie to for the website greencine sean axmaker states that the mission is "the best crime film to come from hong kong in years. it's austere and still beautifully composed and tense and the characters are professional and efficient positioning themselves for efficiency and communicating and interacting silently while on the job." similarly an overview of to's body of work that precedes an interview for the magazine cineaste refers to the film as "to's masterpiece" and "a brilliantly conceived shot and edited gangster film" // republic of bob