Cold War 1994 | This is not a police and gangster film, but a game of power

The Poster of Cold War

To be honest, judging solely from its promotional materials, Cold War 1994 can easily be mistaken for a conventional Hong Kong police and gangster film. I went into it wondering whether Hong Kong could still deliver innovative crime thriller works, only to find that what Cold War 1994 truly explores goes far beyond the simple premise of police arresting criminals—it delves deep into how power operates. Gunfights, pursuits and undercover operations are never the core of the narrative. Its real focus lies in the circulation of power, as well as how various forces checked and balanced one another behind the scenes on the eve of Hong Kong’s handover.

Having not watched the first two installments of the Cold War franchise, I struggled to keep up with the film’s narrative pacing at the very beginning. The movie devotes minimal screen time to character introductions, immediately dropping the audience into a fraught political chess game rife with undercurrents. After viewing it, I looked up supplementary information about the Cold War series and Hong Kong’s political landscape around 1994. It then dawned on me that the film does not aim to reconstruct a single criminal case, but rather the intricate power dynamics prevalent in that era.

The Poster of Cold War

The film places nearly all the key forces of that era onto the same chessboard. Britain’s MI6, the Hong Kong Police Force, wealthy conglomerates and criminal syndicates each represent distinct interests and harbour their own ulterior motives. There is no outright villain in the traditional sense in the movie. Viewers initially anticipate conflicts breaking out between the police force and other factions, yet as the plot unfolds, the gravest threat emerges from within the police ranks. The line between foes and allies keeps shifting, with every character switching sides to safeguard their own interests. Accordingly, the various forces in the story are primarily shown leveraging institutions, identities and rules to accomplish their objectives. Those seemingly routine meetings, negotiations and transactions are in fact fraught with interest exchanges and political manoeuvring.

Two lines of dialogue from the film have left a deep impression on me.

“The biggest enemy of the police has always been their own kind.” and “We do not break the law; we make the law.”

These two quotes essentially encapsulate the core theme of the entire movie. The film aims to stress that the genuine danger never stems from gun-toting criminals on the streets, but from those entrenched at the heart of power. When the law itself becomes a tool of power, so-called justice and order grow ambiguous. The movie repeatedly underscores to the audience that what truly shapes Hong Kong’s future is not a shootout, but every resolution reached around the conference table.

The Actors of Cold War

On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that the casting of the film is indeed extremely precise. A host of familiar faces from Hong Kong cinema including Tony Leung Ka-fai, Aaron Kwok, Daniel Wu, Chow Yun-fat and Louis Koo practically make a collective appearance. These actors carry screen personas that have been established among audiences over a long period of time. The moment they stand on screen, even before they utter a single word, viewers can already sense that the game of wits will be far from straightforward. Therefore, when they appear in the same frame, the film barely needs to elaborate on the characters’ identities, as the audience can automatically associate them with the positions of power they embody.

What took me by surprise was the casting of Aidan Gillen. His character F.M. exudes an unfathomable sense of danger almost immediately upon his first appearance. It is nearly impossible for audiences to fully shake off the impression of Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish from *Game of Thrones*. His aura of always plotting behind the scenes and being adept at manipulating people and power overlaps intriguingly with this role. More often than not, he does not even need lengthy lines; a single glance is convincing enough to make people believe this man always knows more than everyone else.

The Film Still of Cold War

That said, the film’s biggest letdown stems precisely from its overambition.

It attempts to weave four parallel storylines simultaneously: internal conflicts within the police force, influences from British forces, Hong Kong’s business community, and triad gangs, aiming to construct an elaborate political panorama. However, the sheer volume of information becomes overly cumbersome, resulting in a rushed pace when advancing the core plot. Many characters are only just introduced before the narrative abruptly shifts to another thread; numerous pivotal incidents unfold in rapid succession without leaving the audience sufficient time to process them. For this reason, I fully understand why many viewers commented that it “felt like watching a two-hour trailer”.

The movie continuously introduces new characters, organisations and conspiracies, with every element teasing the unfolding of a far grander narrative, yet none of these plot threads receive thorough development and resolution. Especially for viewers like myself who have not watched the preceding installments of the *Cold War* franchise or lack familiarity with the historical backdrop of pre-handover Hong Kong, the first half of the film can easily leave one feeling disoriented. While dual or multi-threaded storytelling deepens the intricacy of the plot, it also raises the barrier to entry for audiences, rendering many interpersonal relationships disjointed and fragmented.

The Film Still of Cold War

Even so, Cold War 1994 remains a film steeped in distinct Hong Kong flair.

Instead of indulging in the thrills of action sequences, it devotes far more effort to constructing institutional frameworks, power dynamics and the historical backdrop. It explores far more than police hunting criminals; at the cusp of an impending era shift, it delves into how power undergoes reshuffling, and how individuals navigate their place amid this inevitable upheaval. It may not be the most accessible entry point into the Cold War franchise, yet it is arguably the most ambitious one. Through a power struggle, the film portrays 1994 Hong Kong as a chessboard where everyone senses an impending storm yet no one is willing to make the first decisive move. Rather than chronicling a single operation, it essentially depicts an entire era.