...the cinematic 'lone wolf' detective. We, as ardent movie-watchers, have seen a countless number of them. Highly skilled, but doesn't play well with others. And in fact, plays by his own rules. A loose cannon, who doesn't believe in the bureaucracy of the set standards. Often chastised by his superiors, in that his way of doing things, racks up too many dead bodies, and causes more damage, financially, than if things were done the 'right way'. A rogue, whom the associated police force would rather do without, if not for the fact that he does get the job done...perhaps too well. And so on, and so forth, and a partridge in a pear tree, right?? But we absolutely love them, don't we?? The death-defying anti-hero that succeeds, where the status quo, by-the-book 'normal' have fallen short...and that success is usually preceded by fiery explosions, rampantly wild & reckless vehicular pursuit, an endless shower of bullets, a sense of within-the-law lawlessness, and of course, an accumulative body count of bad guys. And yet, once the smoke has cleared, we, as devotees of the genre, really want to to know more about such alluring, no-nonsense rogues, whom we might vicariously relate to...what makes these dudes tick?? With regards to director Clarence Fok Yiu-leung's (...1992's "Naked Killer" and 1996's "Thunder Cop", amongst others) dynamic actioner, "Special ID", it is the former aspect, where the film works best...and it's the latter inquisitive observation, where the film seems to fail...
