The lives of three men with troubled lives converge leading to bloodshed, mayhem and maybe some dark answers to questions the past.

Directed by Benny Chan (Fist of Fury: Sworn Revenge, Gen-X Cops, New Police Story) Divergence features and all star cast: Aaron Kwok (Bare Foot Kid, The Storm Riders), Ekin Cheng (The Storm Riders, A Man Called Hero, The Duel) and Daniel Wu (Cop on a Mission, One Night in Mongkok) star as the tree main leads. Joining them in this ensemble cast of Hong Kong stars are Eric Tsang (Cop on a Mission, Infernal Affairs), Angelica Lee (Re-cycle, The Eye, Koma).

Suen (Aaron Kwok) is a cop who used to be in a police reality TV show, these days he's obsessed only with the girlfriend who disappeared mysteriously 10 years earlier. To (Ekin Cheng) is a successful barrister (lawyer) who wins his cases, but feels guilty that his clients are nearly always guilty. Coke (Daniel Wu) is a professional hit man who lives life just that bit too close to the edge.

Although they don't know it at the start of the film the three men’s lives are linked both in the near future and by the distant past. Each holds a key to a peace of the puzzle and each in their own way is a very dangerous man.

Divergence is one of those rare films where even though there are three main characters none are really likable, heroic or even particularly good. Each is psychologically damaged in some one and seemingly each has ended up on a path to self destruction.

Considering the first rate Hong Kong cast and the basic premise you would expect great things. Sadly though Divergence is a mess, a film that does not really know where it's going and that doesn’t have a strong enough plot to take it there. As a long time fan of Hong Kong film, I am used to genre skipping, abrupt mood changes, Random attempts at comedy, multi layered plots and large numbers of main characters. Where a Hollywood film would fall down if it tried many of those rule breakers, the films of Hong Kong thrive on them. How ever Divergence does not thrive, it merely subsists. It’s a case of the finished product actually being lesser than its parts. There are some quality performances, great action set pieces, nice shots, good fights and even some good ideas in the film; the problem is the plot is way to thin to hold them all together. The film just does not gel at all, in fact its many elements seem to separate and curdle when mixed together.

How ever while the film as a whole is a let down, there are still some pretty good elements. Firstly a black gloved Giallo style killer (Everyone likes them), a great contract hit is pulled off at the begging of the movie (Most people like to see that) and, Aaron Kwok fights both Daniel Wu and Ekin Cheng at different points during the movie (Hong Kong action fans will enjoy). The film also has one of the best "on foot" chase sequences you will see as Kwok chases Wu through the streets culminating in one of the films two big fight scenes.

Divergence ends up being a disappointing film. Not because it's terrible, it is OK, but because poor plotting and a fairly lame ending, don't do justice to some of the ideas and set pieces and certainly not to it's cast. Worth checking out sure, but you won't be hurrying to watch it again. 6/10

Buy It: amazon.co.uk | amazon.com