The Mission

The Mission (鎗火, 1999) — watch online on iFILM. Hong Kong director Johnnie To assembled Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, Jackie Lui and Simon Yam as five bodyguards hired to protect a triad boss after an attempt on his life.

The five barely speak to each other, and To builds their bond out of that silence. A long, near-wordless standoff in a shopping mall has become one of the most studied sequences in Hong Kong cinema. At 81 minutes the film wastes nothing, and its final act quietly destroys the loyalty the group has built — no explosion, just the kind of ending that sits with you. Stream The Mission on iFILM.