''Eye in the Sky'' () is a 2007 Hong Kong

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

starring

Simon Yam Simon Yam Tat-wah (; born 19 March 1955) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. He received international acclaim for his performances in international film festival and box office hits such as ''Naked Killer'', '' SPL: Sha Po Lang'', ''Election' ...

Tony Leung Ka-fai Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leu ...

and

Miss Hong Kong The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice La ...

pageant winner

Kate Tsui use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , nationality = , other_names = , citizenship = , education = , al ...

in her film debut. Yam and Tsui play surveillance operatives on the trail of a gang of professional robbers led by Chan Chong-Shan (Leung). The title is derived from the

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

surveillance tech " eye in the sky". It marks the directorial debut of

Yau Nai-hoi Yau Nai-hoi () is a Hong Kong screenwriter and director. He is best known as a frequent screenwriter for films produced by the independent Hong Kong production company Milkyway Image, notably films directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai. Yau ...

, a long-time screenwriter for films directed by Johnnie To, who co-produced the film with his production company

Milkyway Image Milkyway Image (Hong Kong) Ltd. () is a production company based in Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The company was established in 1996 by prolific director Johnnie To in joint partnership with frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai. The company is ...

. ''Eye in the Sky'' premiered as an Official Selection at the 2007

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, and as an Opening Film at the

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

. It was released in Hong Kong on 21 June 2007.

Plot

The story begins with a group of organised burglars successfully robbing a jewelry store. Wet-behind-the-ears new recruit Piggy (

) is plunged at the deep end in her first surveillance assignment working alongside her mentor, Sergeant Wong (

). They work for the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

's Criminal Intelligence Bureau. After reviewing the jewelry store surveillance videos recordings, the force attempts to track down one of the robbers by staking out the neighborhood they think he lives in. Fatman (

Lam Suet Lam Suet (; born 1964), or Lin Xue, is a Hong Kong film actor. Life and career Lam was born in Tianjin, and came to Hong Kong as a youth in 1979 to receive inheritance money left by his grandfather. Soon after, all the money had been squander ...

) is identified and tracked without his knowledge through a combination of tails, surveillance footage, and data-mining, including accessing his Octopus card. The force ambush is established at the scene of the next robbery, but the elusive Hollow Man (

) notices the police. As the robbers flee, some are killed by a Police Tactical Unit, but the rest escape. Chan kills a uniformed police officer as he flees, and Piggy stops to give first aid rather than continue the pursuit. The surveillance unit is then called to another case; a kidnapping. Piggy is staking out a phone booth where the kidnapper may make a call, when she sees Hollow Man go by. She recognises the kidnapper from Fatman's apartment building and allows the police to rescue the kidnap victim, while she pursues Hollow Man. After a tense confrontation in a cafe, where Hollow Man confronts her, she escapes suspicion, but Hollow Man notices Sergeant Wong and stabs him in the neck with a pair of scissors. Wong convinces Piggy to continue to follow Hollow Man as he slowly bleeds to death. Piggy follows Hollow Man to his hideout and calls for the Police Tactical Unit again. Meanwhile, Wong survives his injury and gets medical attention. In the raid on the hideout, Hollow Man flees down a dock and wounds himself mortally in the neck running past a hanging hook, and the other robbers are captured.

Cast

as Sergeant Wong Man-chin ('Dog Head') *

as Chan Chong-shan ('Hollow Man') *

as Constable Ho Ka-po ('Piggy'/'Bobo') *

as Ng Tung ('Fatman') *

Maggie Shiu Maggie Shiu (born February 27, 1965) is a prominent Hong Kong actress. Career Her career began in 1985 when she joined Hong Kong TVB. As her career developed, she took on variety of roles in TV series and movies. Hong Kong audiences still remember ...

as Madam * Cheung Siu-fai as Chief Inspector Chan

Reception

The film received generally favourable reception and was hailed for the plot's authentic and dark atmosphere, and realistic use of surveillance tech to make the story believable. One criticism was that the film was too short and therefore not enough for those looking for something more. Perry Lam of ''Muse'' magazine writes, 'If the ending of the movie is more than a little contrived and predictable, there are enough surprises along the way for us to savor before we get there.'

Festivals and awards

''Eye in the Sky'' premiered as an Official Selection at The 2007 Berlin Film Festival and as an Opening Film at The Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Awards and nominations

Remake

A South Korean remake titled ''

Cold Eyes ''Cold Eyes'' (; lit. "Stakeout" or "Surveillance") is a 2013 South Korean action thriller film starring Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, and Han Hyo-joo. A remake of the 2007 Hong Kong film '' Eye in the Sky'', ''Cold Eyes'' is about detectives fr ...

'' starring

Sol Kyung-gu Sol Kyung-gu (born May 14, 1967) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Public Enemy'' film series, ''Peppermint Candy'', ''Oasis'', '' Silmido'', ''Hope'' and '' The Merciless''. Career Sol was born in Seocheon on May 1, 1 ...

Jung Woo-sung Jung Woo-sung (born March 20, 1973) is a South Korean actor and the first Korean UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Jung started his career as a fashion model, rising to stardom and teenage cult status with the gangster movie '' Beat'' (1997), for which ...

and

Han Hyo-joo Han Hyo-joo (Korean: 한효주; born February 22, 1987) is a South Korean film and television actress, model and singer. She is best known for her leading roles in television series such as ''Heaven & Earth'' (2007), '' Iljimae'' (2008), ''Brill ...

was released in 2013.

References

External links

* *
Eye in the Sky at HKCinemagic.com

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{{MilkywayImage 2007 films 2000s crime films 2007 action thriller films Hong Kong crime films Police detective films 2000s Cantonese-language films Milkyway Image films Films about security and surveillance Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films with screenplays by Yau Nai-hoi 2007 directorial debut films 2000s Hong Kong films