Exiled

A Chinese gangster flick, set against the historical backdrop of Portugal's turning over of Macau to China in 1999, not unlike "Knock-Off," Jean-Claude Van Damme's masterpiece, which is set against Britain's turning over of Hong Kong to China. There is a plot, and it has intricacies, but it's inconsequential. If you make it past what is arguably the most preposterous beginning of a film in recent memory, it's actually quite good. And with the heavily stylized and adroitly choreographed gunplay, and the music alternating between jangly country and emo rock, it's more ruminative and fraternal than you'd expect, given the genre.