In this suspenseful crime thriller, Mr. Wu, a Hong Kong movie star, is kidnapped by six unpredictable criminals disguised as police officers. The story is based on the 2004 real-life celebrity kidnapping case in China. Premiered at Golden Horse Film Festival. From the Director and writers of Police Story: Lockdown. Based on true events. - (Alert)
Police chief Xing races against the clock to find a Hong Kong movie star who has been kidnapped by three accomplices disguised as cops and who threaten to kill their victim if ransom demands are not met. - (Baker & Taylor)
Saving Mr. Wu is an action-packed crime thriller based on the true story of China's famous celebrity kidnapping case. Mr. Wu (played by acclaimed film star Andy Lau) is kidnapped in Beijing by Zhang Hua (Wang Qianyuan) and three accomplices, all disguised as cops and demanding a ransom of 3 million RMB. As the deadline rapidly approaches, the detectives and captors collide in a dramatic battle and showdown that leaves the audience on the edge of their seats. - (Well Go USA Inc)
Video Librarian Reviews
Hong Kong movie star and pop singer Andy Lau plays the titular fictional celebrity whose career echoes Lau's own in Saving Mr. Wu, a Chinese crime thriller inspired by a real-life kidnapping of a movie star. While Wu is in Beijing celebrating a new film deal at a casino he is grabbed by a gang of kidnappers posing as cops who give him 18 hours to arrange payment for his release. Writer-director Ding Sheng uses this premise to create a crisp police procedural that opens on the kidnapping, cuts to the interrogation of the lead kidnapper (Qianyuan Wang) 15 hours later, and then jumps back to track the timeline of the crime and the police investigation, identifying each scene's exact correlation with the ransom deadline. It's a tight, fast-moving, and entertaining cop drama that does away with criminal mastermind clichés to show a more realistic portrait of a kidnapping and police investigation (using traffic cams, cell phone tracking, and old-fashioned footwork), albeit one still energized by car chases, flashing sirens, and strike force action. Ruofu Wu, the real-life actor whose 2004 kidnapping inspired the film, plays the no-nonsense officer heading the investigation. An entertaining film that is sure to appeal to fans of smart action drama, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2016.