MovieChat Forums > To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) Discussion > The real twist that amazed me

The real twist that amazed me

posted 9 years ago by Mayhem85
6 replies | jump to latest

The reveal in the briefing room that the Asian guy was FBI.

When you go back to the chase and mayhem that ensued as a result of him dying it is really a great moment.
It is realistic that all his FBI buddies would have his back and turn the city upside down chasing the two cops.
But is also perfect for this movie because the audience has probably seen 50 cop movies where the protagonists are usually on the viewpoint of the FBI's response to the situation.

When I first saw the movie and it had all these men jumping out from corners blocks away from the first altercation it seemed crazy and stupid.
Are these thugs mind readers, aliens?

Nope, the government with unlimited resources and training.

Great stuff.

[–] Mr-Fusion 9 years ago

Nope, the government with unlimited resources and training.

Also, the bumbling Fed who lets his gun go off and kills Ling, which gets the whole chase going to begin with. 😜

I agree with you. It was a great paranoid car chase followed by a (no one saw this coming) twist.

---
Well, forget it! I'm not doing it! This episode was badly written!

[–] kenny-164 9 years ago

The first time people see this film they have to wonder what the hey is going on in that chase scene, with all these people popping up. Given what Ruth had told Chance, all he thinks is that Ling is a criminal, but he doesn't know if he has any tie in to some organization, or really anything about him. Who are these guys, indeed. It doesn't occur to them that he was undercover.

I also think Chance and Vukovich did not have time to ponder during the chase who these guys might be. Once they got away, they probably wanted to not think about it much given that their easy solution turned out to be complicated enough that someone got killed. Not what they had planned.

But once it occurred, and they got through it, it was in their rear view mirror.

THen the info comes out, and now they realize it wasn't just someone, it was someone in law enforcement, like them.

[–] nutmustardxx 9 years ago

I agree...great car chase too, one of the best

[–] MoviemanCin 9 years ago

Yeah that was one I did not see coming. As they were fleeing the scene in their car I was thinking "Who the hell are all these a**holes???"

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.

[–] Noir-It-All 8 years ago

Poor Ling.

I'll bet when you go undercover, your big fear is being unmasked by the crooks not "friendly fire" from the people you are really working for.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] Tabbycat (878) 6 years ago

It’s tremendous.

That’s the problem with righteous “great plans” like theirs: they really have no idea nor any way of knowing just what they’re wading into.