History YMMV / HardBoiled

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Johnny Wong]] is a bloodthirsty ArmsDealer driven solely by a mixture of greed and sadism. Introduced orchestrating an ambush where dozens of rival gangsters are slaughtered, Wong forces undercover cop Alan to gun down Wong's adversary Uncle Hoi, before ordering him to kill [[TheProtagonist Inspector "Tequila" Yuen]]. Having an informant beaten and murdered, Wong declares that "the innocent must die" after the police discover his secret cache of weapons, and orders his men to gun down cops and innocents alike before holding a hospital hostage. Wong heartlessly guns down a room full of patients; shoots his right-hand man Mad Dog dead for [[EvenEvilHasStandards having a change of heart]]; attempts to kill everyone by blowing up the hospital; and ultimately holds Alan at gunpoint in a desperate final attempt to win. Claiming to value loyalty despite having no loyalty to [[ItsAllAboutMe anyone other than himself]], Johnny Wong admits to seeing people as nothing more than objects, and will not hesitate to kill anyone if it suits him.

* EndingFatigue: The final hospital shootout lasts for ''half an hour''...[[TropesAreNotBad Not that that's a bad thing.]] It's the most famous sequence for a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome reason, after all]].

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: in which a dozen or so bad guys die but come on, that baby is ''adorable''.

* EndingFatigue: The final hospital shootout lasts for ''half an hour''...[[TropesAreNotBad Not that that's a bad thing.]] It's the most famous sequence for a [[AwesomeMoments reason, after all]].

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Johnny Wong]] tops Creator/JohnWoo's other villains in terms of sheer nastiness. He has absolutely no qualms in blowing away innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to get in his way, as shown during the very first shootout of the movie. He only gets worse from there, culminating in the hospital sequence where he [[spoiler:kills patients for trying to escape the hospital, takes a room hostage, and fires on the SWAT team even as they try to evacuate the babies of the hospital's maternity ward. Johnny's most despicable act is firing his Uzi into a crowd of patients standing between him and Alan, and then killing his [[TheDragon Dragon]] Mad Dog when he blasts the gun out of his hands]]. The following quote by Johnny during the hospital sequence says it all.
-->'''Johnny Wong:''' There is no room for failure now. The innocent must die!

** A strong argument can be made that Wong gradually [[VillainousBreakdown loses his shit]] due to Tequila's meddling and Alan's betrayal. At the beginning he really doesn't seem that much worse than Uncle Hoi.

** A strong argument can be made that Wong gradually [[VillainousBreakdown loses his shit]] due to Tequila's meddling and Tony's betrayal. At the beginning he really doesn't seem that much worse than Uncle Hoi.

* SignatureScene: Tequila sliding down the banister with [[GunsAkimbo a gun in each hand]], gunning down fleeing thugs, during the opening gunfight.

** A strong argument can be made that Wong gradually [[VillainousBreakdown loses his shit]] due to Tequilla's meddling and Tony's betrayal. At the beginning he really doesn't seem that much worse than Uncle Hoi.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Many to speak of, most can be found in the hospital scene such as the infamous "2m42s" scene.

* EndingFatigue: The final hospital shootout lasts for ''half an hour''.
** [[TropesAreNotBad Not that that's a bad thing.]] It's the most famous sequence for a [[AwesomeMoments reason, after all]].

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Downplayed. Creator/JohnWoo's stylized action has fallen out of favor today thanks to [[FollowTheLeader imitators]] and audience demand for more believable action scenes. Despite this, Hard Boiled is still well regarded due to its practical effects and sheer scale of its action choreography.
** It helps that there's some pretty strong writing and characterization behind the awesomely over-the-top gunplay.
* SignatureScene: Tequila sliding down the banister with [[GunsAkimbo a gun in each hand]] during the opening gunfight.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: While ''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' and ''Film/TheKiller'' are more respected by critics in general due to their deeper plots and characters, Hard Boiled is considered the MagnumOpus for Woo's action that none of his [[Film/HardTarget Hol]][[Film/BrokenArrow1996 ly]][[Film/FaceOff wood]] [[Film/MissionImpossibleII films]] would match.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: While ''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' and ''Film/TheKiller'' are more respected by critics in general due to their deeper plots and characters, Hard Boiled is considered the MagnumOpus for Woo's action that none of his [[Film/HardTarget Hol]] [[Film/BrokenArrow1996 ly]][[Film/FaceOff wood]] [[Film/MissionImpossibleII films]] would match.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: While ''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' and ''Film/TheKiller'' are more respected by critics in general due to their deeper plots and characters, Hard Boiled is considered the MagnumOpus for Woo's action that none of his [[Film/HardTarget Holly]][[Film/FaceOff wood]] [[Film/MissionImpossibleII films]] would match.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: Quite possibly one of Creator/JohnWoo's best Hong Kong movies ever made, the other ones being ''Film/ABetterTomorrow 1 and 2'' and ''Film/TheKiller''.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: Quite possibly one of Creator/JohnWoo's best Hong Kong movies ever made, the other ones being ''ABetterTomorrow 1 and 2'' and ''TheKiller''.

* CompleteMonster: The BigBad, Johnny Wong. He has absolutely no qualms in blowing away innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to get in his way, as shown during the very first shootout of the movie. And he only gets worse from there, culminating in the hospital sequence where he [[spoiler:kills patients for trying to escape the hospital, takes a room hostage, and fires on the SWAT team even as they try to evacuate the babies of the hospital's maternity ward. Johnny's most despicable act is firing his Uzi into a crowd of patients standing between him and Alan, and then killing his [[TheDragon Dragon]] Mad Dog when he blasts the gun out of his hands]]. The following quote by Johnny during the hospital sequence says it all.

* MoralEventHorizon: Johnny Wong crossed the line when he [[spoiler:kills the patients at the hospital.]]

* TheWoobie: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is good at playing the Woobie, and his character Alan is no exception.

* CompleteMonster: The BigBad, Johnny Wong. He has absolutely no qualms in blowing away innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to get in his way, as shown during the very first shootout of the movie. And he only gets worse from there, culminating in the hospital sequence where he [[spoiler: kills patients for trying to escape the hospital, takes a room hostage, and fires on the SWAT team even as they try to evacuate the babies of the hospital's maternity ward. Johnny's most despicable act is firing his Uzi into a crowd of patients standing between him and Alan, and then killing his [[TheDragon Dragon]] Mad Dog when he blasts the gun out of his hands]]. The following quote by Johnny during the hospital sequence says it all.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: Quite possibly one of [[JohnWoo John Woo's]] best Hong Kong movies ever made, the other ones being ''ABetterTomorrow 1 and 2'' and ''TheKiller''.
* TheWoobie: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is good at playing the Woobie, and his character Alan is no exception.

* CompleteMonster: The BigBad, Johnny Wong.

* EndingFatigue: The final hospital shootout lasts for ''half an hour''. Of course YourMileageMayVary as to whether that's a bad thing.