''Helios'' is a 2015 Hong Kong-Chinese

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Longman Leung and Sunny Luk and starring an international ensemble cast from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South Korea. The film was released on 30 April 2015 in China and 1 May 2015 in Hong Kong.

Plot

South Korea's top most wanted criminal, nicknamed "Helios" (

Chang Chen Chang Chen (born 14 October 1976) is a Taiwanese actor. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His father Chang Kuo-chu and his brother Hans Chang are also actors. Career Chang started his film career at a very young age. He was then selected by a Ta ...

), and his assistant, nicknamed "Messenger" ( Janice Man), have successfully stolen a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), secretly developed by the South Korean military, the portable nuclear explosive device DC8 along with sixteen raw material spheres. The police forces of Hong Kong, China, and South Korea were informed that "Helios" will hold an underground trading in Hong Kong. An emergency response team was set up in Hong Kong. Its members, chief inspector Eric Lee Yan-ming (

Nick Cheung Nick Cheung Ka-fai (; born 2 December 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and director. Background He was formerly a Royal Hong Kong Police officer for four years, but he left the job after his request to be transferred to the criminal investigat ...

) of the Counter-Terrorism Response Unit, senior Chinese official Song An (

Wang Xueqi Wang Xueqi (; born 19 March 1946) is a Chinese film actor whose career has spanned over 25 years. He was often cast in early Fifth Generation films, such as Chen Kaige's ''Yellow Earth'' (1984) and ''The Big Parade'' (1986), Huang Jianxin's '' S ...

), and two South Korean weapon experts Choi Min-ho (

Ji Jin-hee Ji Jin-hee (born June 24, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the TV shows ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003), '' He Who Can't Marry'' (2009), '' Dong Yi'' (2010), ''Misty'' (2018) and '' Designated Survivor: 60 Days' ...

) and Park Woo-Cheol (

Choi Siwon Choi Si-won (; born 7 April 1986), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi committed as special representative of UNICEF K ...

), work together to trace the whereabouts of the weapon. Lee also specially invites

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

professor Siu Chi-yan (

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the "God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and m ...

) of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

to serve as a special adviser for the operation. Hong Kong, China and South Korea face the same objective, but with different purposes. Choi wants to hunt down "Helios" to take back the weapon to make sure not to divulge secrets of South Korea. In the position of the Chinese government, Song wants to resolve the current crisis in Hong Kong and halt any terrorism activities in Chinese territories. Lee and Siu face pressure from the two countries and have to deal with the greatest challenge since the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Response Unit, with the situation getting tenser. As time passes by each second, with "Messenger" arrested and DC8 falls into the hands of the Hong Kong Police Force, China and Korea fight for the right to possess the weapon. On the other hand, "Helios" appears in Macau, with plans to retaliate and repossess the weapon. During the last stand, conspiracies are gradually revealed, and Professor Siu is revealed as the real "Helios", with everyone caught off guard.

Cast

as Professor Siu Chi-yan (肇志仁), a

professor at the

and a crisis expert who opposes DC8 to remain in Hong Kong, revealed as the real "Helios". *

as Eric Lee Yan-ming (李彦明), Chief Inspector of the Counter-Terrorism Response Unit and commander of the emergency response team. *

Shawn Yue Shawn Yue Man-lok (born 13 November 1981) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. A former model, he has starred in many films, such as ''Jiang Hu'', ''Infernal Affairs II'', the ''Love in the Buff'' film series, ''Mad World'' and '' The Brink'', and ha ...

as Fan Ka-ming (范家明), Senior Inspector of the Counter-Terrorism Response Unit who formerly served in the

Special Duties Unit The Special Duties Unit (SDU; ), nicknamed the "Flying Tigers" (), is the elite tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with countering terrorist attacks, hostage rescue, underwater search and recovery, and tackling serious crime i ...

and Criminal Intelligence Bureau. He is one of the deputy commanders of the emergency response team. *

as Song Ahn (宋鞍), a senior official from China government who advocates the use of diplomatic means to deal with the crisis. He also advocates DC8 to remain in Hong Kong. * Janice Man as Zhang Yiyun (張怡君), nicknamed the "Messenger", Gam Dao-nin's assistant *

as Choi Min-ho (崔民浩), deputy director of officer of South Korea's National Intelligence Service and defense weapon expert. With a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and physics, he came from a family of scientists. However, due to a research accident, he became the sole survivor of his family and was admitted lifelong immunization. *

as Park Woo-Cheol (朴宇哲), a South Korean special agent responsible for protecting Choi Min-ho's safety. *

Yoon Jin-yi Yoon Jin-yi (born Kim Yoon-jin on July 27, 1990) is a South Korean actress. Career Yoon debuted in the 2012 romantic comedy TV series '' A Gentleman's Dignity'', playing a girl in love with an older man. In March 2019, Yoon signed with new age ...

as Shin Mi-Kyung (申美京), a South Korean spy sent to Hong Kong to assist Choi Min-ho and Park Woo-cheul in their mission. She works in a magazine publishing company to cover up her identity. *

Josephine Koo Josephine Koo Mei-Wah or Gu Meihua () is a Chinese film actress. She had a bright start to her film career, starring in Yim Ho's Hong Kong New Wave classic ''Homecoming'' (1984). The film won her the Best New Performer Award at the Hong Kong Fi ...

as Sophia, a former arms smuggler sixteen years ago and has since retired and relocated in Macau. She is also Gam Dao-nin's godmother and was later killed by her godson to cover up a secret. *Feng Wenjuan as Yuan Xiaowen (袁曉文), Chief Secretary of Mr. Song *

Lee Tae-ran Lee Tae-ran (; born 25 March 1975) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Yellow Handkerchief'', ''My Rosy Life'', ''Famous Princesses'', ''Wang's Family'', and ''Sky Castle''. Early life and edu ...

as Yoon Hee-seon, Choi Min-ho's wife *

Kim Hae-sook Kim Hae-sook (; born December 30, 1955) is a South Korean actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in ...

as Park Young-sook, Director of NIS *

as Gam Dao-nin (金燾年), a South Korean weapon smuggler who is rumored to be top wanted criminal "Helios", while in actuality, he was formulated by the real "Helios" to be responsible for executing his plot. * Tracy Chu as Tracy, an inspector of the Counter-Terrorism Response Unit and one of the deputy commanders of the emergency response team *

Philip Keung Philip Keung Ho-man (; born 26 October 1966) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. Keung began his acting career as a television actor in 1985 for Asia Television (ATV), and also began appearing in films from 1988. He eventually left ATV in 201 ...

as Wong Kin-Chung (王建中), a member of the emergency response team *Benny Lee as a member of the emergency response team representing the

Immigration Department The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained l ...

*Eric Chung as a member of the emergency response team representing the

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

Ben Yuen Ben Yuen (; born 12 February 1964) is a Hong Kong actor. Yuen began his film career in 1995. He won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2018. He was nominated in the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor the following year. ...

as Representative of Transport Department *Timothy Cheng as a member of the emergency response team representing the

Fire Services Department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

*Rachel Kan as a member of the emergency response team representing

Hospital Authority The Hospital Authority is a statutory body managing all the government hospitals and institutes in Hong Kong. It is under the governance of its board and is under the monitor of the Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong Government. ...

*Chan Suk-yee as Director of Immigration *

Paul Fonoroff Paul Fonoroff (born 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio) is one of Hong Kong's best known film critics and film historians. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Paul Kendel Fonoroff began studying Chinese in high school, continuing at Brown University ...

as Martin Koo, a foreign journalist *

Gill Mohindepaul Singh Gill Mohindepaul Singh (), better known by his Chinese stage name Q Bobo (), is an Indian–Hong Kong actor working under TVB. Career Singh became an actor for TVB after participating in the TVB game show '' Minutes to Fame'' hosted by Hacken ...

as Saad *Icy Wong as a reporter *Mike Leeder as Mr. Big, Middle Eastern buyer * Philippe Joly as one of Mr. Big's bodyguards *

Kim Hye-yoon Kim Hye-yoon (born November 10, 1996) is a South Korean actress and model. She first became known through her portrayal as Kang Ye-seo in JTBC's television series ''Sky Castle'' (2018–2019) and received her first leading role with MBC's ''Extr ...

as Park Woo-cheol's sister

Release

The film held its first press conference on 10 December 2013 at the

Sheraton Hotel Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Cen ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

where its first trailer was unveiled. The film was released in China on 30 April 2015.

Box office

The film opened in China on 30 April 2015 and earned in its four-day opening weekend, with 101,873 screenings and 3.24 million admissions, coming in fourth place at the Chinese box office behind ''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...

'', ''

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is a song published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell on January 30, 1940. According to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the song has been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. In 1977, the Louis ...

'' and '' The Left Ear''. In Hong Kong, the film has grossed a total of HK$15.9 million (US$2.06 million).

References

External links

* * {{Hkmdb title, 16631, Helios 2015 action thriller films 2015 crime thriller films 2015 crime drama films Hong Kong crime thriller films Hong Kong action thriller films Hong Kong detective films 2010s Cantonese-language films Media Asia films Police detective films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films about terrorism Wanda Pictures films Films directed by Longman Leung Films directed by Sunny Luk 2010s Hong Kong films