Customs Frontline

“Customs Frontline” is not quite as thrilling or as relentless as Yau’s other recent successes ... but it still delivers more twists and surprises than you might expect from this type of sudsy, formulaic cop drama.

Makes little sense.

Awkward acting, a poorly written screenplay, and an overcrowded cast make Customs Frontline a dud. This story about customs officials versus criminal smugglers tries to do too much but ends up with very little meaning. All the action scenes look fake.

It looks and moves every bit like a project that was rushed into production so the producers didn’t lose their cast to other, potentially better jobs.

[I]t's easy to start suspecting that the plot and characters are simply excuses for the filmmakers to stage ... [the action] sequences.

A paint-by-numbers, lackluster and tedious action thriller.

An overblown, big-budget action-thriller misfire.

The employees of Hong Kong customs receive the cinematic homage they have probably never realised they deserved in Customs Frontline, a ludicrously conceived and literally all-guns-blazing action thriller that at times plays like a war movie.