Overview
A father seeks vengeance in a world where loyalty and betrayal intertwine.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- mournful
- brooding
- tense
- late night viewing
- crime film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an elegant, smoothly executed revenge thriller distinguished by Johnnie To’s atmospheric cinematography and uncanny action set pieces.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Francis Costello’s memory impairment directly shapes the hunt for those responsible for the attack on his daughter’s family.
The film’s acclaimed set pieces include meticulously arranged confrontations and a moonlit park gun battle that pauses and resumes with shifting cloud cover.
Costello’s alliance with Kwai, Chu, and Fat Lok develops through shared danger and reciprocal loyalty during the revenge mission.
Critics specifically praised the cinematography for giving the Macau and Hong Kong action a noir-inflected atmosphere.
Films like Vengeance, and why
Unforgiven
stylized revenge thriller centered on a morally driven outsider and carefully composed gun battles
The Mission
elegant hong kong crime storytelling, terse criminal camaraderie, and choreographed action set pieces
Exiled
revenge-driven crime narrative combining noir atmosphere with deliberate, visually inventive violence
The Killer
a lone avenger hires professional killers in a bleak, emotionally restrained crime thriller
Movie Details
- Director
- Johnnie To
- Release Date
- 2009-05-20
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (211)
Cast
- Johnny Hallyday
- Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
- Gordon Lam Ka-Tung
- Lam Suet
- Simon Yam
- Michelle Ye Xuan
- Sylvie Testud
- Vincent Sze Cho-Lam
- Felix Wong Yat-Wah
- Cheung Siu-fai
Common questions
- What is Vengeance about?
- A French chef with a failing memory recruits three Macau hit-men to pursue the killers who shattered his family, entering a precise and mournful world of criminal loyalty.
- What is Vengeance like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Vengeance as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Vengeance violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Vengeance as graphic.
- What did critics think of Vengeance?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an elegant, smoothly executed revenge thriller distinguished by Johnnie To’s atmospheric cinematography and uncanny action set pieces.
- Which films are like Vengeance?
- Films with a similar feel include Unforgiven, The Mission, Exiled, and The Killer.
- How long is Vengeance?
- Vengeance runs 108 minutes.
