Undercover Duet deserves credit for offering a decent commercial premise, as generic as it may be. However, the filmmakers nuke that goodwill by overdoing the plot twists and talky snarking, resulting in a wheezing 110-minute mediocrity that seems longer than that. The comedy is fine at points, with a few gross-out bits and some witty surprises. However, some scenes take forever, and the plot twists are undone by their droning explanations and the general lack of tension. The attempted drama, having to do with friendship and justice and not lying to your friend about being an undercover cop, is perfunctory and pretty bad. Also, subplots aren’t integrated well into the film. D-Dragon’s romantic interest is James’ sister Kwan (Ava Yu), who’s going blind and needs expensive treatment that James can only afford by winning the Man of China contest. James supposedly has to choose between helping his family or seeking justice, but rather than being a running plot thread, these ideas only appear for overdone emotional grandstanding. The action scenes are diverting, however, with solid choreography and parkour that are a step above what you might find in current HK action-comedies.

The film also reinforces Ronald Cheng’s rep as one of Hong Kong’s best comic actors. D-Dragon is a cloying character with street sass and cartoony fighting skills – he was partially raised in Harlem, and possesses an unbeatable technique called “The Dragon Punch” that takes three minutes to fully charge – but Cheng makes him wickedly enjoyable. His English dialogue, in particular, is funny thanks to wall-to-wall profanity and Cheng’s natural delivery, which puts Michael Wong and his trademark shtick to shame. However, even Cheng and his F-bombs get tiring since director Mark Wu lets him run wild until he largely wears out his welcome. Wu also gives himself too much room; his performance is OK, and he’s gamely the butt of many jokes, but Wu participates in most of the film’s embarrassing emotional moments. On the plus side, some gags satirize current Hong Kong topics, and a parade of cameos by lower-tier stars helps pass the time. As the Hong Kong approximation of a C-grade Hollywood action-comedy, Undercover Duet has sufficient charm. It’s not a lot but given the factors involved (Mark Wu and China 3D), getting this much is surprising enough. (Kozo, 10/2015)

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