Toxic Masculinity Tuesday: ‘The Brink’ (2017)

The Brink is probably the strangest addition to TMT. Set in Hong Kong, The Brink eschews the usual inner-city atmosphere of most Hong Kong cinema, and focuses on the waterways, wet markets, and harbors that are all but ignored in movies. Billed as a thriller, the action is still intense in the Brink when it arrives, but for me the main draw was Jin Zhang as Sai Gau, a cop who stands for what you want a cop to be.

Check out this trailer to get you ready to fight your toxicity!

Plot:

Upon release, Gau is given the gold smuggling case, and he enlists his partner A-de to help with the investigation. Although A-de had recently won money and was about to resign, he still agreed to help his partner because of their strong bond. And Gau will need his aid as the gold smugglers they are after are not run-of-the-mill criminals.

Gui-cheng is a sea-goddess worshipping boat captain, hired but Shui-sheng not only for his boat, but he also tasks him to watch after his obnoxious son Sheng as well. Gui-cheng is the cold, silent type but does his job as he wants to climb the criminal ladder and meet the boss of the whole operation. Gui-cheng’s job is to ferry the gangsters under the cover of night to find sunken gold that they smuggle back into the city inside coolers of fish.

The operation runs smoothly until Sheng betrays Gui-cheng. Sheng has designs on taking over his father’s business, but feels no one would respect him with a strong man like Gui-cheng around. However, Gui-cheng is one step ahead of his plans. In fact, Cheng is a very smart and clever criminal who brings a level of ferociousness to the film.

Laying a trap, Sheng believes the men on the pier are loyal to him, but Cheng has already turned them against the organization, using their worship of the sea goddess as a catalyst. With Sheng unaware, Cheng had his lieutenants under surveillance and killed before they even returned. He knew from the beginning Sheng’s plan to betray him. Using a pocket harpoon, Cheng is about to kill Sheng and start a war with his father, but Gau and his partner A-de had been hunting down clues and arrive just in time.

And Gau does not hesitate, throwing himself into the mob to not only save Sheng, but to execute an arrest of Gui-cheng. However, Cheng is able to slip away as his men are mopped up by the unstoppable duo of Gau and A-de.

Why You Should Watch:

 Sai Gau is the epitome of what a cop should be. Many reviews and synopsis I read about The Brink labeled Gau as a rouge and reckless cop, but those are not the adjectives I would use to describe him. Throughout the film, Gau demonstrated that he was a driven detective, one who had a near obsession with justice and making criminals pay for their crimes.

Plus, Gau is an honorable man. We learn early in the film that Gau has been taking care of a woman named Ke-yan. Ke-yan is the daughter of the criminal Gau accidently threw from the window at the beginning of the time. Although he was acquitted, Gau still felt an obligation to take care of a daughter he made an orphan.

We even see a larger aspect of Gau’s character later in the movie when Ke-yan tells him she is pregnant. Ke-yan gives Gau a sob story about disappointing others, using it as an excuse to have an abortion. Yet, even though he is a hard-nosed cop in the middle of an investigation, Gau is able to open up, convincing Ke-yan that the life in her womb is more important than what people thought about her. This might not be important to the overall plot of the movie, but it shows a depth of character you rarely see in an action thriller.

Another aspect that I felt brought depth to the movie was the villain, Gui-cheng. While not on the same level by any means, he reminded much of the Joker from The Dark Knight with the way he planned out operations. After the betrayal by Sheng, Cheng is determined to meet the boss, implementing a clever and violent plan to use Sheng and his father to draw out his location. There are several times Cheng manipulates not only the criminals but Gau as well into finding this location. Gui-cheng is smart, cunning and utterly ruthless, and is a worthy opponent for Gau.

 Gui-cheng is aided by a woman named Xue, who is an explosives expert, and his right hand. Xue and Gui-cheng have a strange relationship that is never truly fleshed out. She is either his sister or in love with him like a classic Harley Quinn, but either way, Xue’s loyalty to Gui-cheng is unmatched. Rarely do you see a woman being this valuable and faithful to a cold man who rarely shows her any affection in return. There is just something appealing about this doe-eyed woman who does everything she can to further Cheng’s goal like a real ride or die chick.

Full of twists and turns, and interspersed with some good to great action scenes, especially a car park and underwater fight scene, The Brink ticks all the boxes of a toxic masculine movie. Add on top Sai Gau’s strong sense of character, this is a movie you don’t want to miss, especially since it’s streaming free on Tubi and YouTube!

Check out my review but with moving pictures!

****

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