The film follows Serious Crimes Unit Inspector Chen Shaoqiang (Chris Lee) as he tries to figure out a series of daring armed heists and seemingly unrelated murders. Shaoqiang must revisit his troubled past as a member of the elite Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) unit, after a botched raid seven years earlier shattered the unity of his special forces team, taking the life of his mentor Wu Tianle (Sunny Pang). The resulting cover up destroys his relationship with Tianle's sister Wu Qizhen (Mico Chang). Shaoqiang's past collides with his present, as the heists are targeted at financial firm BWB Capital, where Qizhen and another former STAR team mate, Wang Zhengming (Jimmy Wong), now work. Shaoqiang must race against the clock to the catch the perpetrators as another heist escalates into a tense hostage situation, where the stakes not only involve the nation's security, but also the lives of his friends. A jaded police officer must delve into his own troubled history to solve a series of mysterious murders and robberies that will not only threaten the nation's security but also the lives of his closest friends and former comrades in arms from the Special Tactics and Rescue Unit. The plot was actually interesting enough to pass off as an interesting movie, if only the pace (editing) had been a little faster. There were odd hesitations here and there, especially in the way the actors speak (the awkward Mandarin), which made the flow a little choppy. There were a few unexplained loopholes here and there in the plot, (*spoilers ahead*) like why the mentor Tianle was blamed for the explosion when it was shown in the scene that it was not his fault. There were not enough back story to establish the characters, and the members of the elite Special Tactics Unit were also not given enough screen time for the audience to know each and everyone, thus, when they died, the audience couldn't empathize with the characters. There were also not enough action scenes to make the film an action movie, it's more like a crime mystery movie to me?<br/><br/>Many veteran actors like Zheng Ge Ping and Xiang Yun were involved, but they not given enough screen time for their characters to develop properly. The most disappointing part was the character Qizhen (Mico Chang) whose expression was so dead that my friend wondered if she had botox prior to the filming. Her agitated voice did not match her expression when she was talking to her sister-in-law (Xiang Yun), which kinda show that the voice was dubbed on later.<br/><br/>Wu Tianle (Sunny Pang) was a character which I wished they had delved a little more. Was he really dead? Or had he really turned bad because of all the accusation? Sunny Pang was able to get the audience wondering and guessing for some time before the plot unveiled. Besides Wu Tianle, Yuan Shuai was the only one which somehow saved the movie and made it a little more watchable. While some might feel that he over-exaggerate his expressions, I felt that he gave the film the energy that a crime thriller should have. The character's agitated nature made up for the main lead's sub-standard acting. This led me to wonder…<br/><br/>Read More: http://tiffanyyong.com/2014/02/25/resolve-movie-review/
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