Released last year, Customs Frontline is another Hong Kong blockbuster to come from movie legend Herman Yau. It was one of two Yau films released in 2024, with the other being the enjoyable Crisis Negotiators (2024), which surprisingly turned out to be an official remake of F. Gary Gray’s The Negotiator (1998). I suppose it’s better late than never.
Customs Frontline actually was produced way back in 2022, but for whatever reason it took 2 years to reach the screen. Now, I wouldn’t say that the film reaches the heights of Yau’s best work, paling in comparison to his more recent outings such as Moscow Mission (2023) or The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell (2023). However, it’s no surprise that it still turns out to be a well produced actioner, with all the fight scenes, shootouts and explosions that you could ask for. Even the plot, which initially comes across as a formulaic procedural, turns out to have a variety of surprises in store that puts it above typical genre fare.
In some respects, you could say there is actually too much going on. There is hardly a character or subplot that Eric and Erica Lee’s script doesn’t spend time on, with this and numerous flashbacks being at risk of disrupting the flow of the film. However, without these flashbacks, much of the film wouldn’t make sense, even if they are at risk of disrupting the film’s momentum. Luckily through Yau’s handling of his cast as well as the action, this never becomes as much of an issue as it could have been under a lesser director, with Yau smartly mixing up the drama with an action scene occurring every 20 minutes or so in order to hold the audience’s attention.
Customs Frontline focuses on the work of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department. Although they have certainly appeared in numerous other HK movies, I couldn’t recall when they had been the focal point. More knowledgeable people may be able to tell me otherwise.
The plot involves an investigation into a missing ship that was lost during a typhoon, with customs agents Chow Ching-lai (Nicholas Tse) and his superior Cheun Wan-nam (Jacky Cheung) appointed to investigate.
Finding the ship abandoned, as they look on board they discover that the majority of the crew has been murdered. The cargo on board is mostly illegal weapons, with both agents investigating where they came from and what they were going to be used for. Such a high profile case gets Interpol involved, sending over two agents from Thailand to assist in the investigation. As they begin to delve deeper into the mystery, information comes to light that someone within the Customs and Excise Department could be involved. With a team of mercenaries hot on their heels, Chow and Cheun have to use all their training if they want to stay alive.
As is the norm, Yau handles the on screen carnage with aplomb, with him never one to shy away from violence. While it may not reach the extremes of his earlier Cat III films like The Untold Story (1993), but considering the restrictions that are no doubt put upon him by the government and the mainland Chinese market, Yau still manages to get away with a lot here.
It isn’t just the action Yau handles well. With a career now spanning over five decades, he is more than capable of getting the best from his cast. It helps when he has screen veterans like Jacky Cheung and Karena Lam to add a bit of gravitas to proceedings, but leading man Nicholas Tse isn’t exactly a slouch either. I still see Tse as one of the younger Hong Kong stars, but with his film and television career almost being 30 years long, he is now a screen veteran himself.
The role of Chow Ching-lai doesn’t stretch Tse much as an actor, with him having played similar heroes in the past. You know the type, full of gung-ho heroics with a girlfriend who has just left him, giving Tse ample opportunities to brood and get hyper-emotional when the time arises. I partly joke, but Chow is a tailor made role for Tse, with it fully allowing him to unleash his bag of tricks.
Part of this bag of tricks is his skill with action. Other than this being a Herman Yau film, one of the other main reasons I was so interested in Customs Frontline was that Tse was also carrying out the action choreography, with this being his first (credited) time undertaking such a role. Although he has proven countless times to be quite adept at performing action, I wanted to see how he would pull off orchestrating it.
Thankfully Tse has done a pretty stellar job with the choreography, with the assortment of set pieces allowing him to fully display his skills, both in front of and behind the camera. As well as being an enjoyable star vehicle for Tse it should also work as something of a calling card for further work as an action choreographer. Clear Tse has gotten the bug as he has already moved on to both star and action direct the upcoming Raging Havoc (2025), a thematic sequel to Benny Chan’s Raging Fire (2022) which Tse also featured in.
The input of Tse’s fellow action choreographer Alan Ng also shouldn’t be overlooked. Obviously he isn’t as high profile as someone like Tse but he has worked on an assortment of quality Hong Kong movies, both as a performer or as action choreographer/director. The likes of Golden Job (2018) and The Climbers (2019) are just a couple of the films that have benefited from his expertise.
The action is on an epic scale, featuring car chases, shootouts and fist fight galore. The only element that slightly lets them down, and is the case with so many action films these days, is the inclusion of some poor CGI. It isn’t that bad that it ruins the film, but it definitely distracts from the film’s overall quality. Considering this was a big budget production (in Hong Kong movie terms), I would have expected better. The CGI isn’t much better than something like A Man Called Hero (1999) which was 25 years prior to this.
Nicholas Tse may be the main focus, but the always excellent Jacky Cheung still manages to shine in his supporting role. His screen time is somewhat limited but he more than makes the most of it, with his character’s mental health struggles adding some depth and complexity to both Cheung’s role and the plot. The uncertainty of his character also gives the film some added tension, with Cheung Wan-nam’s struggles with his bipolar disorder being well portrayed. Cheung is no stranger to playing somewhat unhinged characters, with the latter section of Bullet in the Head (1990) quickly coming to mind. Smartly, his performance here is more subdued, that while his character may be struggling with bipolar disorder, this isn’t what defines him.
Cheung works well alongside his old July Rhapsody (2002) co-star Karena Lam, who like Cheung makes the most of her screen time. This is nowhere near Lam’s best work but she still brings a bit of star power to the film. Also bringing the desired star power is class act Francis Ng, who makes a special appearance as both Cheung and Tse’s boss. Ng excels at playing officious assholes, with this and the recent The Prosecutor (2024) being perfect examples. It is far removed from the heroic character he portrayed in Herman Yau’s other 2024 thriller, the previously mentioned Crisis Negotiators.
Nicholas Tse isn’t the only fight choreographer making up the cast. Brahim Chab, who did fabulous work last year on Dev Patel’s Monkey Man (2024) is back in front of the camera this time, facing off against Tse as the villainous Leo. The finale gives Chab more than enough opportunities to show off his stuff, with one sequence having him going toe to toe against Tse onboard a sinking sub, resulting in one of the film’s standout set pieces.
Never one to just sit around, Herman Yau has the upcoming The Gilded Game which should drop some time this year. Reteaming him once again with superstar Andy Lau, it looks like Yau could be onto another winner. Speaking of Andy Lau, he will also be starring alongside Customs Frontline leading man Nicholas Tse in the aforementioned Raging Havoc. That is amongst the countless other films each of them currently have in production.
After having its U.S. cinema release last year, Customs Frontline is now available digitally courtesy of the good people at Well Go USA. For those more interested in physical media shouldn’t fret as Customs Frontline will be available on Blu-ray & DVD exclusively through Amazon’s Manufacture-on-Demand program.
Plot: 3/5
Acting: 4/5
Action: 4/5
Overall: 3.6/5
