Wonder Seven (1994)


	Wonder Seven		Return to Review Archive - W
	Year:	1994	Michelle Yeoh and Li Ning
	Director:	Ching Siu-Tung
	Action:	Ching Siu-Tung, Dion Lam Dik-On, Lau Chi-Ho, Xiong Xin-Xin
	Cast:	Michelle Yeoh (Yeung Chi-King), Li Ning, Kent Cheng Juk-Si, Andy Hui Chi-On, Roger Kwok Chun-On, Hilary Tsui Ho-Ying, Xiong Xin-Xin (Hung Yan-Yan), Chin Ho, Tsui Kam-Kong, Lau Tak, Wong Kam-Kong, Bat Leung-Gum
	The Skinny:	Modern-day action eye candy from Ching Siu-Tung that features nifty costumes but a confusing and uninteresting story. Some decent action helps but the lack of any urgency renders the film a curiosity.
	Review by Kozo:	Ace action director Ching Siu-Tung brings us this wacky modern-day actioner which features Michelle Yeoh and really not much else. The Wonder Seven are a group of motorcycle-riding heroes who were all orphans back in China. Now working for the Chinese government, they get sent to Hong Kong to catch some nefarious baddies who are responsible for the theft of bunches of money. One of the bad guys is actually Yeoh, who wears cool shades and dresses in nifty outfits reminiscent of the seventies. She flirts with Wonder Seven's leader, played by the charisma-lacking Li Ning, and eventually questions her loyalties, which is really no surprise. Hey, this is Michelle Yeoh we're talking about. Some nifty action sequences highlight the flick, including a visually cool sequence at a dragon parade. Sadly, the rest of the film is over-the-top strange, with some silly action and even sillier character interplay. The Wonder Seven spend a lot of time on lame hijinks, and prove to be far from interesting people. They all conform to various types (Andy Hui is the brash youngster, Hilary Tsui the tomboy, ad nauseum), but that isn't enough to make them viable characters. Male lead Li Ning has the screen presence of a brick, and bad guy Chin Ho adds to his increasingly limited repitoire of over-the-top baddies. Michelle Yeoh dominates the screen when she's on it, but the rest of the film could have used some help, especially from someone who can actually write. The plot of the film makes not a lick of sense, and proves far from engaging. And the climax of the film doesn't even relieve any narrative tension, because there is none! The overall effect is numbing. Wonder Seven just sort of goes forward until it ends, and whether or not you ultimately care is entirely up to you. (Kozo 1996/1999)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
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