Find a maniac and by smell Sherlock Holmes was an outstanding chemist and geologist: traces of various substances found at the crime scene revealed to him the location of the villain. Lost sight talented detective and incorrigible gourmet Johnson in the comedy thriller Johnny To has to catch criminals with the help of smell and even taste, and deduction he replaces a vivid imagination, in detail drawing the scene of the murder and its participants.
But a practicing detective needs eyesight, and Ho, a policewoman, is an experienced mentor and help in finding a long-lost school friend. So, through the efforts of the charismatic Andy Lau and Sammy Cheng, an irresistible police duo appears on the screen, able to unravel the most hopeless cases of Hong Kong. Maniacs with acid, suspicious taxi drivers and unknown in shoes of huge size - the expressiveness of even secondary characters of the film creates a colorful picture of the criminal side of the modern metropolis.
Disarming humor tape about the blind detective owes not only unrestrained optimism Johnson, but also increased emotionality of all actors. Villains in the film are always prone to rampant hysteria, and positive characters easily know how to switch to positive, not allowing momentary offenses to take over the situation. In the casino - one of the best scenes of the picture - Ho deftly manages the emotions of the suspect, achieving his loss and provoking a crime.
A blind detective doesn't have to be a grim outcast killed by a long-standing life tragedy, Johnny To proves. Of course, there is nothing inspiring about the serial killer of young girls. But close contact with the dark side of life should not infect us with its rottenness, and empathy for victims is better used as a stimulus to activity than as an occasion for experiencing universal sadness.
9 out of 10
Original