In true Hong Kong fashion, “Invisible Target” starts off with a bang when an armored truck is hijacked by a murderous gang of criminal brothers (led by Jacky Wu Jing). Double-crossed and left with nothing to show for it, the gang returns six months later to smoke out the inside man who sold them out. Standing in their way are three cops who are all after the gang for different reasons. Chan Chun (Nicholas Tse) wants to avenge the death of his fiancée, who was killed during the robbery; Carson Fong (Shan Yue) wants to prove himself as a detective; and rookie officer Wai King Ho (Jaycee Chan) is looking for his missing older brother, who was working undercover as a member of the gang.
Hong Kong action thrillers have become extremely formulaic over the last few years, and while a majority of them still manage to be better than average, they’re rarely ever memorable. They’re also some of the worst paced films in cinema, so when it was my brought to my attention that “Invisible Target” clocked in at 130 minutes, I was dreading the worst. As it turns out, the film actually keeps things moving along thanks to some high-energy action sequences, but it slows down considerably after the first hour. Still, while “Invisible Target” is far from Dragon Dynasty’s best modern release, it’s definitely worth checking out. Director Benny Chan conducts some of the best action sequences in the business, while U.S. audiences will get their first look at Jaycee Chan (son of Jackie Chan), who is more than talented enough to take over his father’s legacy.
