What I loved about this film was its seamy gritty portrayal of man's darker side. It is rare for a movie to probe that area of human nature. The happy-go-lucky Hollywood ending has become so cliché that it appears nobody wants to delve into the tragic aspect of life. But as a person who has lived in that reality for most of his life, I very much appreciate when directors, writers, and actors are willing to explore the lonely sadness, the vulnerability behind the hard mask, the hot desire for vengeance, and even the hopeless drive towards suicide that define a part of what it means to be human. The Law brothers clearly were writing with that intention and I applaud them for it.
What I disliked about this film was that despite covering such a rarely explored side of human nature, the Hollywood clichés sporadically broke through. The early action sequences were perfect: short, explosive, and tight. The final action sequence, on the other hand, fell into standard format: big long shootout, hero outruns some bullets, cops show up and the extras get shot, bad guy runs off and the hero gives chase leading to a final confrontation, etc. In fairness, however, big points need to be given for lots of unorthodox things. The primary antagonist role switched three times as each was killed off. And as mentioned in another review, there was great attention to detail with regard to reloading guns and such, which I assume is a credit to director Brian Smrz's vast experience as a stunt man.
Ultimately this picture seemed like it was being pulled in two directions. On the one hand it seems to have been written as a very dark examination of a troubled character seeking revenge, and even more poignantly, his own death. And similarly it seems the director had some uncommonly good ideas for the film. But then somewhere along the way, the film kept being pulled back to standard action movie hackneyed themes and theatrical devices. And, of course, the out of place happy ending had to be tacked onto the end (and yet even that had a darkness to it). It's as if the producers and the writers were constantly fighting with the director stuck in the middle, and only a few victories to each side.
My opinion follows this duality. I loved the story that was underneath. I survived the parts added over it that seemed so untrue to its nature. The acting was fine to good, and it'd have been a pretty good film if the final action sequence and the last minute hadn't ruined it.