What can be better than a non-genre film that has all the necessary elements to entertain and satisfy its audience? A film that will make you laugh, scared, nervous, gluing you on the edge of your seat, and towards the end when you’re supposed to celebrate the good prevailing over bad, you get upset about it?
“A Witness Out of the Blue” follows a notorious killer, Sean Wong, who during a bank robbery kills innocent people, including an undercover cop. After one of his handlers gets killed brutally, he becomes the primarily suspect. Not wanting to be framed for a murder he did not commit, he, with a detective (Louis Cheung) investigates the crime that will lead them to a shocking discovery.
Louis Koo delivers an outstanding performance as an anti-hero, showing a sign of humanity when he meets a visually impaired landlady (Jessica Hester). The scene alone when he realizes that she is not a threat to him (after knocking her out though) was emotionally powerful. Louis Cheung, on the other hand, is funny as a detective who literally interrogates a non-CGI parrot, hoping to get an answer about the crime scene. However, he quickly becomes serious when he realizes that what happened with the killed man, Homer Tsui, is much bigger than just a murder case.
“A Witness Out of the Blue” is a suspenseful crime thriller that literally shines in every scene. Having no gaps whatsoever, the storyline continues to unfold, allowing its character to grow, become bigger and mature with time. The most notable change in character development is in Sean Wang, who we despise wholeheartedly, however, we begin to sympathize him when we realize that he is not as bad as we thought he is. However, his actions were enough for us to be convinced about his dark nature.
That said, filmmaker Fung Chih-Chiang breaks the barriers by making one of the most action-packed Asian film to date. Obviously, the director could add plenty of unnecessary action scenes, however, his smart move makes his film not only intelligent but also makes it a pure joy to watch with a hell of a ride you can get only from the Asian Cinematic universe.