After the controversy following “The Longest Nite” and particularly the rumors regarding Johnnie To taking over the direction after Yau had shot only five scenes, it seemed that the latter had learned his lesson, on the way Milkyway Image and To shot genre films of extreme quality. The result was “Expect the Unexpected”, a movie that mostly follows To's footsteps, but has enough elements to distinguish it as a separate entity.
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As quite frequently in Milkyway productions, the action begins immediately. Three shady-looking guys enter a small cafe, where they start harassing the waitress, Mandy, whose mind, however, is on the image of a policeman, Ken Wong, who has just before been on TV on a reportage regarding a fugitive on the run. At the same time, some people from the mainland are robbing a jewelry shop, while a few moments later, all the aforementioned criminals, along with the three “customers”, come together to truly punish the police force (again, as is usual the case with Milkyway films). Ken manages to survive, and we are soon introduced to another cop, Sam, who is as loose and cheeky as Ken is serious and stoic. The two of them soon start hunting the criminals, but the appearance of Mandy as a witness adds another level to the story, as a rather strange love triangle is soon created, while the presence of a female police officer in the special squad, Macy, complicates things in that regard even more. Sam, who is also a childhood friend of Ken's, tries to fix him up with Mandy, but it is soon revealed how ignorant both men are.
Patrick Yau proceeds immediately in characterizing the villains of the film as truly despicable people, who, apart from robbing and killing (policemen), are also serial rapists. This aspect adds an element of tragedy to the narrative, but also sets the villains as characters in the background, simply as mediums to highlight the protagonists' personas and to promote the action scenes. Instead, Yau focuses just as much in the interpersonal relationships in the story, and particularly the romances among Ken, Sam, Mandy and Macy, that are repeatedly revealed as completely different than what the two men, and essentially, the viewer, perceive.
The aforementioned however, do not mean that the action aspect is on the background. On the contrary, the action scenes are many and extremely well-shot, with the moving cameras (in the trademark Johnnie To-style) of Ko Chiu Lam (also on “The Longest Nite”) and the frantic editing of Chi Wai Chan highlighting both the brutality and the overall setting they take place, in the most artful fashion. What becomes immediately evident is that the villains here are by no means victims, with Yau reserving that role for the police, as presented through the equipment the two factions use (guns for the police, AKs for the villains). This aspect also adds to the dramatic element of the film, with the end bordering on the style of Greek tragedies, although without the catharsis involved, since in this case, darkness is what surrounds everything, in a rather pessimistic note, that many critics have perceived as a comment on the uncertainty and unpredictability the Handover would bring. The main elements of the narrative, drama, action and romance all come together in this great ending
Some moments of humor do exist, with Lau Ching Wan being the main medium of comedy, and the scene with him falsely lip-synching what is being said between Ken and Mandy is truly hilarious. However, the movie is by no means a funny one, and these scenes function only as a brief relief from the overall aesthetics. Simon Yam plays the timid, attractive man in a style that does not suit him in particular, in essence bringing him to an almost graceless secondary role. Yoyo Mung is convincing as the archetype of the damsel-in-distress, as it the case with Ruby Wong as Mandy portraying the tough, virtuous policewoman.
“Expect the Unexpected” is another great sample of Milkyway cinema, which takes genre filmmaking to its higher picks, through a combination of entertainment and substance.
