Film Review: The Goldfinger 金手指 (2023) Hong Kong / China 🇭🇰 🇨🇳
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)
The eagerly awaited reunion of sorts collaboration and 21 years since “Infernal Affairs” between the two maestros of Hong Kong cinema in Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Andy Lau. Entirely based on one of the biggest financial fraud in Hong Kong history, the Carrian Group and its founder George Tan, “The Goldfinger” written and directed by Felix Chong. The film is surprisingly historically accurate and follows the sequences of events that led to the biggest collapse in the 1980s. In fact, the film ended up the crossroads between “Goodfellas” and “Wolf of Wall Street”.
Tony Leung gets the meaty role as the criminal mastermind behind it all, from bankruptcy to conman to successful and richest business person. His character carries the film through its layers of happenings and the comic timing makes Leung both menacing and entertaining. This is easily one of the most fun role for Leung in years. In a lesser supporting role we get Andy Lau as the ICAC officer chasing after Leung for decades and in the process almost costing his entire family both literally and figuratively. Lau is determined, but ultimately comes off far less impressive as it feels rather dimensional than rounded. Charlene Choi gets a heavier role here as the secretary caught in the middle of everything that’s happening, including becoming chairwomen for most of the businesses under the corrupted group. Simon Yam does well as well connected man proving a point as a bastard of a rich family name. Watch out of the wonderful turn by Tai Bo.
All in all, “The Goldfinger” may not rejuvenate the genre conventions or reaches the heights of their previous works in “Infernal Affairs”, but it is an entertaining film that never stops to impress and full of joy and fun to endure through the two hours duration. It’s by no means a film without its flaws, but it is ultimately entertainment that’s the film manages to provide. With Leung as the playful villain with simply wants to make money at all costs, the film tends to glorify wealth and richness and ultimately corruption along the way. Take it or leave it.
I rated it 8/10