Writer: Anne Jamaludin

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Watch this if you liked: “Running Out Of Time”, “Vengeance”, “Exiled”

"Punished" plays on a typical kidnapping plot of a rich man's daughter that will lead to the destruction of the man and his whole family. If one is looking for a decent, satisfying conclusion than "Punished" is just not the right movie to watch.

The story opens to a distraught father finding the corpse of his beloved daughter before the film goes on a flashback to a rich but dysfunctional family led by the man - Wong Ho-Chiu (Anthony Wong) who has troubles seeing eye-to-eye with his oldest daughter Daisy (Janice Man). Things went down south ever since Mr. Wong's re-marriage to the patient and loving Mrs. Wong (Maggie Cheung), who had always been his back bone in his business. Mr. Wong has two trusted bodyguards, Chor (Richie Ren) and May (Candy Lo) to help keep an eye on everything. When Daisy is kidnapped, it is up to Chor to find out what really happened and put the kidnappers down for good.

Unlike "Running Out Of Time", Johnnie To takes the back seat as the producer to his back then-assistant director Law-Wing Cheong this time around with "Punished". The creative insights are visible throughout the entire movie, all thanks to To's input although the plot still could not escape from being predictable. The actions are well-shot though nothing extravagant is worth a mention at all. From what initially appears as a neatly organised kidnapping, turns out to be a messy and poorly-executed plan. The only exciting part of the movie would be the scene shot which appears to be 'Bolivia'. Whether it is CGI-generated or the real deal, it somewhat brings a (rather weak) symbolism of faith and hope that could have been represented in a much better and emotional way.

Anthony Wong plays a good rich man slash disturbed, unrelenting father and also an insomniac husband pretty well in the movie despite being unmemorable but most of the action, mystery-unravelling credits will definitely go to his wingman Chor, played excellently by Richie Ren. Ren plays the term loyal to its literal sense really well, proving that Chor has good brains and brawn for a normal family bodyguard. Meanwhile TVB actress Maggie Cheung might be the most unloved character in the movie but her minor role might just be the most adored one. She represents the loving second wife and patient stepmother in the movie towards the spoilt daughter and the aspiring but deprived son of her husband Mr. Wong. Janice Man plays a rather easy character Daisy and although she is poorly treated towards the middle of the film, some of the audience can't help but jeer at the fact that 'what goes around, comes around'.

Overall, this movie is a strictly for Hong Kong films fans only especially the ones who like to spend their weekend afternoons at home without nothing more interesting to watch. If one is such a big Hong Kong film buff and can't wait till its out in the stores, watch this at one's own risk. Just as long as one do not expect superbly choreographed action scenes, twists and dramatic revelations towards the ending, one could settle for "Punished".


Cinema Online, 11 May 2011