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So many contemporary directors think that the way to portray really chaotic action is to make it visually incomprehensible...Take something like the fight scenes in X2, for example (I'm thinking specifically of the one between Wolverine and the woman with the claws at the end of the movie): it's impossible to follow what's going on, but it sure looks action-packed, so it must be exciting, right? Or is it actually disengaging because no one can see what the hell's happening?
That scene in Hard Boiled is amazing. I've watched it a few times, and as far as I can tell, there's no camera trickery--it's all one take. Has to be seen to be believed. All of the action scenes in Hard Boiled are totally frenetic, yet at the same time you're in perfect awareness of the scene's space, what all the characters are doing, etc. So in short (?), I agree: longer shots, please. It's technically difficult, but watch John Woo's Hong Kong movies to see how much it pays off.
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