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Johnnie To Kei-fung has been an unobtrusive but prolific and innovative contributor to the Hong Kong cultural scene. He is an increasingly esteemed filmmaker in Hong Kong, admired among overseas aficionados of Hong Kong action films, as well as a highly experienced film producer and the creative heart of the independent film company, Milkyway Image. The study concentrates on a single work by Johnnie To, namely PTU, and seeks to explain the significance of an underestimated gem of a film, indeed something of an unsung masterpiece. The rationale for this case study of PTU is that the film is the most distinctive in the To back catalogue, the one that is hardest to place or categorize, and the one that demands most engagement, or at least concentration, from the spectator. This opening chapter introduces the reader to his work and style.

This chapter focuses on the issue of location and film space. It contextualizes the film PTU by discussing it in relation to its portrayal of Tsim Sha Tsui, the putative setting for the entire movie. Tsim Sha Tsui is in many ways a metonym for the wider Hong Kong community, but careful attention is given in the film to constructing a sense of locale. Talking of a division of the film into seven major scenes and the use of highly impressionistic stage-type lighting, To refers to the choice of quasitheatrical perspectives in shot choice, which helped to create the distanced theatrical effect by contrast with the emotional closeness of the average movie. The locus of the narrative events is more of a significant player than the specific locations used in most Hong Kong films.

This chapter analyzes the film's narrative in detailed sharp focus. It explores the film's plot and story as well as its mise-en-scène and the aesthetic principles underlying its composition. As To has indicated, the relationship between stasis and movement in film is for him an ideal property of his chosen field of creative work. In the case of PTU, this crucial balance between the two is achieved with great flair. To a considerable extent, of course, it is greatly facilitated by the natural rhythm of the subject matter. In other words, the film's narrative and aesthetic concept, its movement images and action images are predicated on the tempo of the police street patrol's progress through the “perilous night” of Tsim Sha Tsui. The chapter delineates the film's seven contiguous plot strands, which are theatrically interlinked in a way that is very unusual for contemporary cinema.

This chapter explores the film's allegorical signifying systems and aesthetic qualities and offers a critical assessment of its continuing topicality. To a considerable extent, Stephen Teo's detailed new critical study of To's career has helped to address the paucity of critical assessment of his work to date. Teo's point about To's idiosyncrasy offers a clue to what makes PTU a film that continues to speak to people. The spirit of restless scepticism, of socio-political agnosticism but of commitment to some sort of social code—flawed as it may be—which infuses the film is recognizably Hong Kong. The chapter also notes why PTU will remain in the forefront of Hong Kong cinema, among its best films of the past 30 years.

This chapter covers A Hero Never Dies, Running out of Time, The Mission, PTU (an acronym for Police Tactical Unit) and Breaking News which carry Johnnie To's name as the solo director. A Hero Never Dies marks the phase in the Milkyway company where the credit “Directed by Johnnie To” re-appears after a brief period in which To functioned as the chief executive overseeing the production of Milkyway's films rather than merely directing the films. Running out of Time and The Mission were both released in 1999 in the wake of the HKIFF tribute, and both films had the effect of confirming To's newly found status as a stand-alone auteur. PTU and Breaking News, released in 2003 and 2004 respectively, are mature examples of To's work in the genre and they show a tendency towards formalism — a sign that To was taking his status as auteur more seriously. To is considered a craftsman auteur, one able to craft superb sequences and integrate them seamlessly into the narratives.