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''The Viral Factor'' is a 2012
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
directed by
Dante Lam Dante Lam Chiu-yin (, born 1 July 1964) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, actor and action choreographer. Background He was trained in the tradition of John Woo as an assistant director and worked as an actor and producer. He often writes and supervises ...
and starring
Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...
and
Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, martial artist, entrepreneur and TV chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shif ...
. The supporting cast includes
Lin Peng Lin Peng (, born October 25, 1986) is a Chinese actress. Peng began her career by appearing in a Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker ...
,
Michelle Bai Bai Bing (; born 2 May 1986) is a Chinese actress and singer. Bai is noted for her roles as Xue Baochai and Princess Yushu in the television series '' The Dream of Red Mansions'' (2010) and '' The Myth'' (2010) respectively. Early life and ed ...
,
Andy On Andy On () (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor and martial artist. Life and career On was born on May 11, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island. He can speak English, Mandarin, and a bit of Cantonese. Andy On did not graduate from high school ...
,
Carl Ng Carl Ng (吳嘉龍; born 27 March 1976) is a Hong Kong actor and model. Early life The third of four children, Ng was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed ethnicity of half English and half Chinese. His mother is Susan Ng, a British woman, wor ...
,
Liu Kai-chi Dick Liu Kai-chi (, 30 September 1953 – 28 March 2021) was a Hong Kong actor, best known for his everyman supporting roles. His career spanned over 40 years, with appearances in over 90 television series and 70 films. He earned eight nomina ...
and
Elaine Jin Elaine Yen-ling (; born 15 December 1954), also known as Elaine Kam, is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress. She began her career in Taiwan in 1973 before moving to Hong Kong in 1981. She has been nominated eleven times in the Hong Kong Film Awar ...
, with action choreographed by Dante Lam and
Chin Kar-lok Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credited as Chin Kar-lok ( Chinese: 錢嘉樂, Pinyin: Qián Jiālè, born 6 August 1965), is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, and television presenter. Chin was born in Hong Kong, the younger brother of actor a ...
. A Hong Kong-Chinese co-production, the film was filmed from March 2011 to July 2011, and was theatrically released on January 17, 2012.


Plot

IDC (International Defense Commission) agent Sean Wong (
Andy On Andy On () (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor and martial artist. Life and career On was born on May 11, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island. He can speak English, Mandarin, and a bit of Cantonese. Andy On did not graduate from high school ...
) and his team members are in
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
on a dangerous mission to escort a scientist named Kenner Osama Muhammad, who has stolen a copy of the
smallpox virus Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus ''Orthopoxvirus''. The Ali Maow Maalin#Maalin's case, last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the ...
, to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. On the way out of the country, the convoy were ambushed by a group of assailants. It was later revealed that Sean has betrayed the team for his own agenda and shot his colleagues Jon Man (
Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...
) and his girlfriend Ice (
Michelle Bai Bai Bing (; born 2 May 1986) is a Chinese actress and singer. Bai is noted for her roles as Xue Baochai and Princess Yushu in the television series '' The Dream of Red Mansions'' (2010) and '' The Myth'' (2010) respectively. Early life and ed ...
). Sean then escapes with Kenner and the virus. The failed mission left Ice dead while Jon has a bullet lodged in his brain with no safe way to remove it and only two weeks to get his affairs in order before succumbing to permanent paralysis. Three months later, the crew of a freight ship on
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n waters was found to have been infected and killed by the smallpox virus. However this plan backfires when Kenner escapes only to killed accidentally by getting ran over by a random passerby truck, forcing Sean to make plans to intercept a replacement specialist. Elsewhere, Sean contacts an arms dealer called Tyler ( Jared Robinson), and suggests to mutate the virus into a
biological weapon Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and Toxin#Biotoxins, biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,2 ...
, develop a vaccine and sell it to a corrupt pharmaceutical company. In Beijing, Jon returns home to spend his remaining days with his mother (
Elaine Jin Elaine Yen-ling (; born 15 December 1954), also known as Elaine Kam, is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress. She began her career in Taiwan in 1973 before moving to Hong Kong in 1981. She has been nominated eleven times in the Hong Kong Film Awar ...
), who tells him that he has a long lost brother, Man Yeung (
Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, martial artist, entrepreneur and TV chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shif ...
) whom she left behind with his father, Man Tin ( Liu Kai Chi). In
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
at a Malaysian court, Man Yeung is being charged for numerous crimes that he had committed. While being escorted to the prison, he attacks the police personnel and makes a successful escape. He later meets up with corrupt police officer Russell (
Philip Keung Philip Keung Ho-man (; born 26 October 1966) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. Keung began his acting career as a television actor in 1985 for Asia Television (ATV), and also began appearing in films from 1988. He eventually left ATV in 201 ...
), who aided in his escape from custody and was given a new job. On his flight to Malaysia, Jon meets Asian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) doctor Rachel Kan (
Lin Peng Lin Peng (, born October 25, 1986) is a Chinese actress. Peng began her career by appearing in a Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker ...
), who was later abducted by Yeung after the plane landed. A suspicious Jon, who noticed that the car that Rachel was travelling in has a different driver from earlier, tails the vehicle and ended up being forced into the vehicle. Jon, unaware of Yeung's identity, puts up a fight against him and the other henchmen, causing the car to crash. Yeung escapes after a brief struggle with Jon. Later, Jon meets his father and Man's daughter, Cheung-sing, who shows him a newspaper article that the man he encountered earlier was his brother. Meanwhile, Yeung and his goons breaks into Rachel's house, who holds her mother hostage and forces her to get a Carnot virus sample from the ACDC headquarters. The next day, while Yeung and Rachel are leaving the building after obtaining the virus sample, a security personnel triggers the alarm, causing a chase through the city. During the chaos several ACDC guards and Yeung's partners are killed and Rachel is re-captured by Mark (
Sammy Hung Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel or Samantha, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music * Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy ...
), Sean's right hand man working with Russell. Yeung crashes the getaway vehicle and flees on foot but is pursued by Russell and his corrupt cops who want him silenced. He calls his father and tells him to bring Cheung-aing to meet him at the train station. Jon, who was nearby to meet up with Rachel, witnesses the event and join in the pursuit of Yeung. Working together, Jon and Yeung manages to hold off the corrupted police officers long enough for them to board a train to escape. Jon persuades Yeung to surrender himself but the two brothers got embroiled in a fist fight. They were later intercepted by the Russell and police at a train depot, where Tin sacrifices himself in order to let Yeung and Cheung-aing escape, but Cheung-aing was caught by a corrupt cop and Jon arrested by the police. Russell then discovers that Jon and Yeung are brothers, and orders his men to kill Jon, who is at a hospital for a check-up. Yeung later follows Russell to a nightclub, who was meeting Sean. After being assaulted by Yeung to release his daughter, Russell escapes and runs to the road only to be knocked down by a bus, killing him instantly. At the hospital, Russell's men failed to kill Jon, who escapes after putting up a fight. Next morning, Yeung goes to an abandoned building to bring the Carnot virus sample to Sean in exchange for his daughter. Rachel was then forced to combine the Carnot virus sample with the smallpox virus, which Sean later tries to test on Rachel's mother. Before it could be done however, Jon shows himself and holds Sean at gunpoint. Sean tries to dissuade Yeung from helping Jon by threatening his daughter's life. A police tactical team then storms the building, and in the confusion, Sean escapes with the virus. Jon then gives chase and when it appears that he has nowhere to run, Sean injects the virus into Yeung's daughter, who was placed inside a car. Sean, claiming to be the only person who has the antidote to the virus, tells Jon to bring Rachel to him in exchange for Cheung-sing. With Cheung-sing's life at stake, he was left with no choice but to let Sean go. Jon then gets into another car and picks up Yeung, who has been shot, before escaping together. That night, after removing the bullet, Jon and Yeung share their life stories together. However, the police moved into their hiding place. Yeung escapes while Jon stayed behind to surrender himself. Later while being transferred to maximum security prison, Jon hijacks the helicopter he is in. Together with Yeung and Rachel, they escape via air and arrives at Sean's designated location. However, it turns out to be a trap when Mark, Sean's henchman appears and shoot Yeung before abducting Rachel. Jon spots Sean and gives chase while Yeung goes after Rachel, who is brought onto a ship to create the antidote to the virus. Yeung encounters Mark dumping Cheung-sing's body into the sea and kills him in a fit of anger before jumping off the ship to retrieve his daughter. Jon arrives in time to help both of them get back onto the ship, and tells Yeung to commandeer the engine control room to stop the ship from starting while he looks for Rachel. After finding her and breaking her out, they are chased by Tyler and Sean, while Yeung easily disposes of Tyler's henchman Mike and several other henchmen. As Jon and Rachel attempt to flee, Sean then shoots and injures Rachel when they were attempt to cross a big gap. Jon eventually deals with the remaining henchmen but is pinned by Tyler who wields a machine gun. Jon manages to retrieve a revolver and shoot Tyler dead. In the final showdown, Sean pins down both Jon and Yeung. Jon, who is becoming weaker by the minute, knows his time is almost up and because only one of them can take down Sean, walks out to become a distraction allowing Yeung to shoot Sean dead. In the aftermath, Yeung has surrendered to the IDC and goes to Beijing with Cheung-sing to visit his mother in a sign that shows he has forgiven her. The film ends with a narration by Jon that his family is his "everything" whose fate is left ambiguous.


Cast

*
Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...
as Jon Man (萬飛), an IDC agent and Ice's boyfriend and Ice's former fiancé. *
Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, martial artist, entrepreneur and TV chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shif ...
as Man Yeung (萬陽) *
Lin Peng Lin Peng (, born October 25, 1986) is a Chinese actress. Peng began her career by appearing in a Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker ...
as Rachel Kan (簡麗珊) *
Michelle Bai Bai Bing (; born 2 May 1986) is a Chinese actress and singer. Bai is noted for her roles as Xue Baochai and Princess Yushu in the television series '' The Dream of Red Mansions'' (2010) and '' The Myth'' (2010) respectively. Early life and ed ...
as Ice, an IDC agent and Jon's girlfriend and former fiancée. *
Andy On Andy On () (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor and martial artist. Life and career On was born on May 11, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island. He can speak English, Mandarin, and a bit of Cantonese. Andy On did not graduate from high school ...
as Sean Wong (王尚恩), a rogue IDC Agent with intent to unleash a smallpox virus and profit from it by selling a vaccine. *
Carl Ng Carl Ng (吳嘉龍; born 27 March 1976) is a Hong Kong actor and model. Early life The third of four children, Ng was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed ethnicity of half English and half Chinese. His mother is Susan Ng, a British woman, wor ...
as Ross, an IDC Agent and Jon's by the book colleague. *
Liu Kai-chi Dick Liu Kai-chi (, 30 September 1953 – 28 March 2021) was a Hong Kong actor, best known for his everyman supporting roles. His career spanned over 40 years, with appearances in over 90 television series and 70 films. He earned eight nomina ...
as Man Tin (萬天), Jon and Man Yeung's father. *
Elaine Jin Elaine Yen-ling (; born 15 December 1954), also known as Elaine Kam, is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress. She began her career in Taiwan in 1973 before moving to Hong Kong in 1981. She has been nominated eleven times in the Hong Kong Film Awar ...
as Fung Ling (風玲), Jon and Man Yeung's mother. *Sammy Hung as Mark, Sean's right hand henchman. *
Deep Ng Deep Ng is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. He is the winner of the 21st annual New Talent Singing Awards Hong Kong Regional Finals. Deep was well received by the viewers since the New Talent Singing Awards in 2002. His first EP ''Deep' ...
(cameo) as Man Yeung's former partner. *
Philip Keung Philip Keung Ho-man (; born 26 October 1966) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. Keung began his acting career as a television actor in 1985 for Asia Television (ATV), and also began appearing in films from 1988. He eventually left ATV in 201 ...
as Russell, a corrupt cop and IDC asset working for Sean. *Crystal Lee as Man Cheung-sing (萬長勝), Man Yeung's daughter * Jared Robinson as Gunther Tyler, an arms dealer who Sean plans to sell the virus to. *
Ron Smoorenburg Ron Smoorenburg (born 30 April 1974) is a Dutch martial artist and actor, who is best known for his film debut as the high-kicking henchman in the final fight of Jackie Chan's '' Who Am I?'' in 1998. He currently lives in Thailand, where he work ...
as a henchman working for Tyler


Production

With a HK$200 million budget, lead actors Jay Chou and Nicholas Tse had a combined insurance coverage of $150 million and 20 bodyguards to protect them. The budget also included RM70,000 for apartment rentals in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. The producers borrowed airplanes from the air force, tanks and other things to use during filming. Filming locations included
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
,
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Around 80% of the movie was filmed in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. In the movie, several scenes were shot in the compounds of
International Medical University The IMU University, (formerly known as the International Medical University) is a private, English language, health sciences university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The university offers programmes in medical and other health sciences as well as ...
. One of the locations used in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
was an abandoned construction site in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. Among them, the scene in a traffic jam was filmed at Jalan Raja Chulan, during long weekends and public holidays when fewer people would be in Kuala Lumpur.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
started on 23 March 2011 and wrapped up on 7 July in the same year.


Scenes filmed in Kuala Lumpur

*
Kuala Lumpur Sentral Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station (KL Sentral) is a transit-oriented development that houses the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Opened on 16 April 2001, KL Sentral replaced the old Kuala Lumpur railway station as t ...
吉隆坡中环车站 *
Pavilion KL Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, also known as Pavilion KL, is a shopping centre situated in the Bukit Bintang, Bukit Jalil and Damansara Heights district in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. History Pavilion Kuala Lumpur was built on the former site of Bukit Bin ...
柏威年廣場 *
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the main international airport serving Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of downtown Kuala Lumpur and serves the Greater Kuala L ...
* Mid Valley KTM Komuter Station *Dang Wangi District Police HQ (Kuala Lumpur) *Putrajaya *Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) *Old KTM railway station *
Petronas Towers The Petronas Towers (), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1996 to 2004, they were the tall ...


Accolades


References


External links


US Official Website
* *
The Viral Factor
' at
Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viral Factor 2012 films Chinese action thriller films Hong Kong action thriller films 2010s chase films 2012 action thriller films Gun fu films 2010s Cantonese-language films 2010s English-language films Malay-language films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films shot in China Films set in Malaysia Films set in Kuala Lumpur Films shot in Malaysia Films shot in Kuala Lumpur Films shot in Vietnam Films shot in Thailand Films set in Jordan Films shot in Jordan Films shot in Singapore Films directed by Dante Lam Films about biological weapons 2012 multilingual films Hong Kong multilingual films 2010s Hong Kong films Emperor Motion Pictures films Films scored by Peter Kam English-language action thriller films