Cop On A Mission

Marking Tai Seng Entertainment's debut this Region 2 DVD serves as a clear statement of intent, with a decent OAR transfer and sound options - Cantonese 5.1, Mandarin and Vietnamese stereo, plus optional English subtitles - and a nice package of extras.

The commentary by Frank Djeng is dry, but insightful, bringing out aspects of the film that the viewer might easily miss - our protagonist's dubious personality is immediately signalled by his making calls from a public phone, something a regular Hong Kong policeman, concerned with propriety and right conduct, would never do, for example - connections to other films and providing a wealth of detail on the cast and crew.

The liner notes - Tai Seng's Things To Know About Cop On A Mission - are a nice idea, further contextualising the film with bits of trivia and background, noting, for instance, how a green taxi in one sequence signals that we are in the New Territories in the north, away from the gangsters' main haunts in the south.

The package is rounded off by a selection of biographies, an artwork/stills gallery and the original and US export trailers, plus promos for upcoming releases Run 2U, Ring Virus and Red Trousers.

A solid debut release of a solid film.