“THE VIRAL FACTOR” (逆戰) Movie Review. Two Estranged BROTHERS. One lethal VIRAL factor. Witness the explosive MELTDOWN.

(Part 1 of 3)

“THE VIRAL FACTOR”《逆戰》MOVIE

PRESS PREVIEW 

Shot on a whopping budget of USD 17 million, “THE VIRAL FACTOR” has to be one stupendous production.

 It does not fail.

No expenses are spared in terms of foreign exotic locales as the story kicks off in Jordan, meanders temporarily to China, ultimately breaking at the Malaysian shores where the principal tale unfolds – leading to one adrenaline pumping meltdown.

With this multicultural potpourri, what we witness will be an awe-inspiring feast for the eyes and the ears.

Stay braced.

Hong Kong renowned action director DANTE LAM helms the colossal project with Asian A-listers:   JAY CHOU and NICHOLAS TSE.

The two actors star as an unlikely pair of siblings on opposite sides of the law. It’s an implosive human drama albeit emotive crime story, laced with unforgettable gritty characters. So hang on for the ride of your life.

Crafted as an electrifying action thriller with nerve-racking tension, DANTE LAM promises you value-for-money.

This Hong Kong film director is as good as his words.

JAY CHOU plays Jon, a dedicated International Disease Commission (IDC) operative who is responsible for leading this dangerous mission: he is escorting a scientist from Jordan to the Netherlands to develop an antidote for the dangerous viral factor – a biological weapon derived from mutating the small pox virus that poses a threat to the world.

Naturally there’s to be a “mole” within the Organisation, and  he is in the form of traitorous colleague Sean (ANDY ON) who eventually abducts the scientist after a violent shoot-out leaving a bullet lodged in Jon’s brain which needs to be extracted if he were to live.

His fiancee cum fellow agent Rita, however, is brutally slain.

Jon is given a few more months of his life, unless he gets the bullet dislodged, and he chooses to spend the remaining months with his mother.

Jon’s mother discloses a two-decade old family secret: that she had dumped Jon’s gambling father and an elder brother when he was barely a kid. They are both, currently residing in Kuala Lumpur.

She implores Jon to get them back.

Two estranged brothers.

One is a law enforcer, the other’s a hardened ruthless criminal.

NICHOLAS TSE is Yang – an embittered hard-core criminal who leads a life dancing the hide-and-seek game witih the law. He is a single dad and lives a seedy existence with his young daughter and a crippled gambling father who had since lost the use of one leg to shield him from harm’s way.

Life for him is bleak as he soon finds himself embroiled within a corrupt world that threatens to engulf him. His life is in peril when he strips the facade concealing the stark motive of his triad boss who hires him to kill a female scientist.

The pace is set as terse, tense and edgy.

 Now, throw in a deadly virus concoction that’s looming to destroy mankind if ever it’s unleashed in this world.

That’s the premise of the story, so it’s a relentless race against time to recover an antidote.

Everything in place, we’ve got the essential ingredients of Hong Kong Director DANTE LAM’s latest mind-blowing and explosively violent offering “THE VIRAL FACTOR” shot in the Middle East, China and Malaysia.

(Part 2 of 3)

What’s in Store when you watch this PULSE-POUNDING ACTION THRILLER:

-   ACTION is King, the cat-and-mouse chases are fast and furious.

You’ll cling to the edge of your seat as you watch ferocious pursuits among the police, the baddie and the underworld triads as they tear down the alley ways, the crowded streets, in the LRT foyer, in the train, aboard a freighter, in the helicopter, go on counting and there’ll be more.

-   Be bedazzled

by the fiery blasts from genuine military weaponry and army tanks in Jordan and in Kuala Lumpur you will be amazed by vehicles hurtling down from roof tops, cars crashing into monsoon drains and busy shopping centers. And of course, the never-ending explosions.

-   Tear jerking scenes are secondary and emotions are kept to a minimum, as with all DANTE LAM’s actioners.

-   NICHOLAS TSE shines in his role as a lawless hoodlum.

At film’s end, when he fires at his opponents, watch his steely expressions.  You witness a gamut of rage, pain, angst and frustration all rolled into one menacing, glazed stare.

An award-winning moment?

Perhaps.

 Only time will tell.

(Part 3 of 3)

THE PRESS CONFERENCE

“Akimbo?  This ONE’S for the CAMERA!”

“BEST WISHES for the YEAR of the DRAGON!”

Here’s HOPING that “THE VIRAL FACTOR” will reap healthy BOX-OFFICE RETURNS around the world!

 ”My PLAN to DIRECT a new film is in the pipeline.

It will be a lovey-dovey story, surely.

And this LUNAR NEW YEAR, I am aiming to spend time with my family and loved ones.”