For fans of post-2000 Hong Kong cinema, there has been one name that has become synonymous with keeping the industry alive. During its peak in the 80s and early 90s, the Hong Kong cinema industry was churning out hundreds of movies, while the South China Morning Post noted that this had dropped to just 60 by 2017. The joke doing the rounds at the time, and since then, was that Louis Koo was in all of them. Surprisingly enough, this isn’t true, but he does have an oversized presence, both in front of the camera and behind, as his One Cool Productions company has funded a great many films, particularly those with budgets on the higher end for Hong Kong film.
His career had ignominious beginnings, with an early conviction for robbery in 1990 landing him 22 months in jail. After that, however, things took off for him, with his matinee-idol good looks landing him modeling gigs and eventually television and movie roles. His career really kick-started in the late 1990s, as he landed gigs for directors like Wilson Yip and became something of a favourite for Johnnie To, one of Hong Kong’s most versatile, talented and internationally renowned directors.
In 2013 he started the One Cool Group, a production company looking to produce high-end blockbusters and support smaller creators. His support for the Hong Kong film industry has been crucial in maintaining its presence as a producer of large-scale, internationally viable films. He has also been heavily involved in philanthropic ventures, such as building schools and distributing face masks during the Covid pandemic. Finally, he is known for his super fandom of geek properties such as Star Wars (c’mon, give the man a role in something Disney!) and Marvel, using his disposable income to purchase merchandise in a way that probably is propping up the whole Star Wars franchise. He’s a Hong Kong Film Awards winner (for ‘Paradox’ in 2017), and generally seems like an all-round good egg.
Let’s look at some of the most important films/franchises that have defined Louis Koo’s career to date.
Troublesome Night 3
The ‘Troublesome Night’ series, a horror anthology that had 19 (!) installments between 1997 and 2003, is of extremely variable quality, and this correspondent can’t exactly recommend you go marathon them, but Koo’s importance to them cannot be understated, as he starred in the first 7 entries, plus the 2017 legacy sequel ‘Always Be With You’. Part 3 is generally considered the high watermark of the series, though the number of people out there who have watched them all must rank in the dozens, so we’ll just have to take their word for it.
‘Troublesome Night 3’, an anthology of three stories about workers at a funeral home, distinguishes itself by being actually funny, with a few actual tense moments and the first story actually being somewhat touching. Directed by Herman Yau, who would go on to be one of Hong Kong’s most solidly reliable directors, it’s an early sign from Yau and Koo of positive things to come.
If you’re looking for a copy of ‘Troublesome Night 3’, you might struggle, but it is available with English subtitles as a Region A Hong Kong Blu-ray.
Bullets Over Summer
Wilson Yip’s (‘Flash Point’, ‘Ip Man’ series) low-budget comedy thriller has lackadaisical cops Koo and Francis Ng moving into an old lady’s apartment to perform a stakeout. The lack of significant budget leads Yip to lean more into character moments than action, and the familial bond the pair form with both “granny” and the romantic relationships they develop with locals are touching and funny. Underseen and underrated, ‘Bullets Over Summer’ is available from Vinegar Syndrome in Region A.
La Brassiere
A romantic comedy in which Koo and colleague Lau Ching-Wan, marketing geniuses, must join a lingerie company to think of new ways to market bras. Koo and Lau eventually end up romantically entangled with the ladies at the company.
One of the funniest comedies to come out of Hong Kong in the 2000s, with a fantastic ensemble cast, ‘La Brassiere’ is a delight, and an early sign that Koo has the ability to make fun of himself, which he would do frequently, most often in the comedies of master filmmaker Johnnie To, who often cast Koo’s good-looking leading man in roles in which a more nerdy type might be expected, but finding the laughs from the most handsome man you can think of goofing around and making a fool of himself.
‘La Brassiere’ is currently out of print, but enterprising types can find a fairly reasonably priced region-free Malaysian DVD with English subtitles on eBay.
Throw Down
Johnnie To’s homage to judo and Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Sanshiro Sugata’ remains an enduring favourite among film fans throughout the world, to the point where it has been released by the prestigious Criterion Collection. Louis Koo’s judo master/club owner navigates new challengers and old rivals, all while judo represents the spirit of survival and persistence in the face of a changing Hong Kong. At once irreverent and esoteric, ‘Throw Down’ is one of Koo’s finest performances, as well as one of Aaron Kwok’s, an actor who, like Koo, is often underestimated and occasionally prone to wild bouts of overacting. However, in ‘Throw Down’ both turn in subtle, nuanced performances.
‘Throw Down’ is available in the UK on Eureka’s Masters of Cinema imprint, and in the US on Criterion. Hooray! Or… Eureka!
Election 2
The ‘Election’ duology stands for many as the jewels in the crown of director Johnnie To’s filmography. The first film is more of an ensemble piece, whereas ‘Election 2’ focuses far more on Koo’s Triad, who is desperately trying to move the gangster group into more legitimate businesses, yet keeps getting pulled into increasingly desperate situations. It’s a testament to Koo, and To’s faith in him, that he is completely able to shed his matinee-idol reputation and put in probably the finest performance of his career. Koo, an actor who has often been dismissed as a lightweight or made the punchline to jokes due to his perma-tan and Star Wars obsession, carries the entire film, and that’s saying a lot considering the cast surrounding him (Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Lam Suet, Gordon Lam). His terrifying spiral into madness and depravity is extremely compelling. You know we’re all here for that depravity! Ahem.
The ‘Election’ films are available in Region B from Chameleon Films, though they cost a whopping $70 Australian. That’s about £35, plus shipping, but you are getting two of the best films of the 21st century. Alternatively, pick up the UK DVDs, which should be slightly more affordable.
The Storm Series
From the sublime to the ridiculous, or perhaps just the rubbish. The ‘Storm’ series (‘Z Storm’, ‘S Storm’, ‘L Storm’, the hilariously titled ‘P Storm’ and ‘G Storm’) is a series of generally mediocre thrillers with Koo starring as an ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) officer, investigating white-collar corruption, and the subject matter feels like the Hong Kong film industry throwing Mainland censors a bone.
The first two entries are dismal, boring affairs that feel more like pilots for a bad TV show, though ‘L Storm’ livens things up: suddenly we have more action, the quality of the filmmaking improves and Koo is doing parkour for some reason. ‘P Storm’ happily does not feature prominent urination, instead being set in a prison as Koo’s righteous, stony-faced Luk goes undercover. ‘L’, ‘P’ and ‘G Storm’ feature some reasonable action, but they’re really not worth the effort unless you’re an uber fan of the tanned one.
These are perhaps his “one for them, one for me” movies, paying for more interesting fare, such as a Johnnie To film or money to pump into his production company. Or maybe he just needed the cash to buy a life-size Boba Fett figure.
If you must watch them, ‘L Storm’ is recommended above all others, yet seems to be the only one without any kind of physical release. The others are variously available on Hong Kong DVD (Region 3) and Blu-ray (Region A).
Call of Heroes
Koo has played villains a few times in his career, but seldom as memorably as in wuxia throwback ‘Call of Heroes’, and by memorable I mean memorably bad. Director Benny Chan has never been an “actor’s director”, but his notes to Koo here seem to be “be as insane as possible”. On the upside, his work here is tremendously entertaining and provides a wild counterpoint to the more stoic and low-key work of Lau Ching-Wan, Eddie Peng and Wu Jing.
The film is a fairly standard riff on ‘Seven Samurai’, with a group of disparate heroes banding together to save a village from Koo’s villainous Marshall Cho. With action direction from Sammo Hung, and apparently no direction for Louis Koo, it’s a film recommendation for anyone looking for a fun, wirework-assisted action movie.
‘Call of Heroes’ is available from Cine Asia in the UK and Well Go in the USA, and is a must-see for fans of modern wuxia.
Paradox
‘Paradox’, the third installment in the ‘SPL’ series of thrillers, sees the director of the first movie, Wilson Yip, returning after Soi Cheang took over directorial duties in ‘SPL 2: A Time for Consequences’. Koo leads as a detective searching for his 16-year-old daughter, missing in Thailand, in collaboration with Thai star Tony Jaa (‘Ong Bak’, ‘Tom Yum Goong’). Although “father searches for missing child in South-East Asian country” has become the ultimate cliche in East Asian action filmmaking (see also ‘Skin Trade’, ‘Striking Distance’, ‘The Furious’), it was perhaps a little more forgivable in 2017, and ‘Paradox’ was very well received, with Koo receiving the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor and Sammo Hung being awarded for Best Action Choreography. Koo, not a trained martial artist, occasionally looks a little stiff when performing Hung’s complex choreography, but his is an affecting performance otherwise.
‘Paradox’ is available on a Region A Blu-ray from Well Go, though in Region B territories you may need to hit up streaming services, if you trust them enough!
Warriors of Future
‘Warriors of Future’ was Koo’s passion project for years, with his One Cool Productions beginning filming in 2017, then the film being in development hell for 5 years before its eventual release in 2022. It’s an impressive sci-fi action movie with Koo teaming up with frequent collaborator Lau Ching-Wan, battling alien creatures born of a plant-based virus which is invading Hong Kong. With the latter element being seen as a thinly veiled metaphor for the increasing interference in Hong Kong by China and the CCP, and the genuinely impressive action and effects, which rival a Hollywood production at times, the film was a local smash, making $100 million in Hong Kong, at the time a box-office record, though given the production budget, even that was considered somewhat lacking at the time.
Netflix acquired the worldwide rights for distribution, meaning that ‘Warriors of Future’ is without any kind of official physical release, but I guess it’s always just a subscription away, and you can also watch ‘Squid Game’ again.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
Arguments can be made about what the best martial arts films of the 21st century are, but those arguments cannot be considered complete without due consideration to ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’. A huge release at the time, and spawning a yet-to-be-released prequel and sequel, Koo’s performance as hairdresser-cum-landlord in historic Kowloon Walled City (a truly bizarre, real-life military fort turned slum that was basically apartments built upon streets, upon walkways, that was a hive of both poverty and criminal activity and eventually torn down in 1993), a fascinating space to set a martial arts film, filled with atmospheric locations, is a highlight in a film packed with highlights and a wonderful cast. Soi Cheang’s direction and Kenji Tanigaki’s fight choreography work in perfect sync to create one of the finest modern action movies around. Bring on those sequels!
Cine Asia in the UK and Well Go in the US have both issued this one on Blu-ray, and it’s an essential one for any action movie fan’s collection.
Sons of the Neon Night
Like ‘Warriors of Future’, last year’s ‘Back to the Past’ and the still-to-be-released ‘The Dream, The Bubble and The Shadow’ from Koo’s ‘Bullets Over Summer’ and ‘Paradox’ director Wilson Yip, ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ was stuck in development hell for years. Despite initially wrapping filming in 2018, the film didn’t see the light of day until 2025. All of these films feature the involvement of Koo’s One Cool Film Production company, leading to speculation about mismanagement, the interference of Mainland Chinese censors and, in ‘Sons of the Neon Night’s case, director Juno Mak being unable to produce a satisfactory cut; all certainly have been affected in some way by the Covid pandemic interrupting production or post-production.
Apparently there was a seven-hour cut of the film at one point, which explains somewhat why the narrative in the released 125-minute version of the film seems like it’s been hacked to pieces to the point of becoming unintelligible. Koo stars alongside Takeshi Kaneshiro, in his last film released to date, Lau Ching-Wan and Tony Leung Ka-Fai in Mak’s (director of the terrific ‘Mr. Vampire’ homage ‘Rigor Mortis’) crime thriller.
Koo’s story arc, as an assassin/criminal for hire with a young protege, is one of the more understandable story strands of the film, and his performance is understated and impressive. He also takes part in one of the more visually arresting set-pieces, a heist involving a safe being winched through a partially toppled building. It’s a hard film to recommend in its current state, although armed and forewarned that the story will be mostly incomprehensible, it’s hard not to be won over at times by the visuals, depicting a snowy, alternate-reality Hong Kong, complete with surreal imagery and a beautiful score by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. It’s further testament to Koo’s efforts to push forward the Hong Kong film industry into ambitious, big-budget territory, although the film’s dire financial performance against a budget no doubt inflated by its long production was a disappointing return on what should have been a slam dunk, given the talent involved.
A Hong Kong Blu-ray release was slated for summer this year, but has since quietly slipped off the calendar. Here’s hoping for a director’s cut release, or even a miniseries version of that seven-hour cut to tie up some of the dangling story strands, so ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ can be appreciated to its full potential.
Has Koo been propping up the Hong Kong film industry for the last decade or two? With another dozen or so films either filming or in pre/post-production, it’s hard to argue that he’s one of the hardest-working men in the industry. No doubt indie film would continue to flourish, as it has done in the face of extreme censorship and limits to distribution coming from the Mainland, but the world is better for having Koo pushing the boat out with big-budget, big-ideas entertainment. I, for one, am thankful for the Tanned One.
