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Review
by Kozo: |
Alfred
Cheung directed this decently entertaining comedy about nice-guy
kidnappers Sammo Hung and Kenny Bee. Hung is Ting, an overweight
employee at a jewelry company who's constantly picked on by
boss Ms. Chou (Leung Saan). After he's blamed for the theft
of a large payoff, he loses his cool and decides to get revenge
on his employers. He plots to kidnap Ms. Chou and ransom her
for 800,000 HK dollars. Sadly, his bumbling leads him to accidentally
kidnap Jo (Joey Wong), the illegitimate daughter of Mr. Chou.
However, before Ting even discovers that he's kidnapped the
wrong person, co-worker Biu (Kenny Bee) sweeps in and steals
Jo out from under him. Meanwhile, wacky cop Anthony Chan screws
around instead of actually solving crimes.
This clever kidnapping comedy
treads on some dark turf, but never really goes beyond mildly
bothersome. The filmmakers make sure you know Biu and Ting
are nice guys; and as you expect even Jo will find that out
eventually. If anyone is evil here, it's Mrs. Chou, who would
rather have Jo dead than part with anything close to a sizable
amount of cash. As such, it's easy to root for the two guys...once
they team up. Before that, everyone seems moneygrubbing and
just plain shallow. Luckily, Sammo Hung and Kenny Bee are
likable enough dopes, and Joey Wong matches her usual flower-vase
standard. Their genial presences shore up the fact that the
film really possesses no truly great gags, and whatever action
occurs is very, very minor. Furthermore, Anthony Chan is more
annoying than funny as the lead cop, and some of his shtick
can be tiresome. Still, this is an enjoyable little movie,
and even the film's eventual moralizing seems appropriate
and not entirely wooden. To Err is Humane is ultimately
nonessential viewing, but it possesses enough minor HK Cinema
charm to make it worthwhile. (Kozo 2003) |
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