Devil Touch (2002)


	Devil Touch		Return to Review Archive - D
	Year:	2002	Alex Fong and Iris Chai
	Director:	Billy Tang Hin-Sing
	Producer:	Henry Fong Ping
	Cast:	Alex Fong Chung-Sun, Michael Tao Dai-Yu, Pinky Cheung Man-Chi, Iris Chai Chi-Yiu, Ken Wong Hap-Hei, Henry Fong Ping, Bau Hei-Jing
	The Skinny:	Plot twists can't save this muddled and even silly office politics thriller that gets too ridiculous far too often.
	Review by Kozo:	Uncommonly convoluted plotting is the standout characteristic of this sexual harassment/office politics thriller from Billy Tang. Alex Fong stars as Joe, a company lawyer who's overseeing a merger when Disclosure-type stuff starts happening. Secretary Amy (Iris Chai) accuses respected manager Cheuk (Michael Tao) of sexual harassment and rape, leading to all sorts of inner-company turmoil. Joe is assigned to the case, and despite believing that Cheuk got a raw deal, he lets the company quiet the incident for the good of the merger. Cheuk quits and Amy gets a monetary settlement. However, that's far from the end of the problems. Figuring in is iron businesswoman Jacqueline (Pinky Cheung), who may want the top spot after the merger. And what's she planning with slimy employee Lawrence (Ken Wong)? Joe tries to figure everything out with a little help from e-mail snitches, which begs the question: who's tipping Joe off? Director Billy Tang has a lot to work with, and makes the most of his plot twists. On the other hand, too much stuff is unexplained to really give the film any credit. When a convoluted plot is a film's selling point, then gaping plot holes are magnified beyond belief. There are too many tenuous connections and unanswered questions to make this potboiler anything more than a passing interest. Furthermore, the plot frequently veers into laughable territory. Aside from the evil antics of Pinky Cheung, there's the character of Joe himself. Alex Fong is a likable enough actor, but in this role he comes off as a little too smug. The best moment may be the when one character escapes into the men's washroom to take an incriminating phone call. He gives away a bunch of information and then there's a flush, and Joe walks out of a stall. He proceeds to wash his hands and smile smugly in that Alex Fong way. Bwaaahahahah! Billy Tang, who's been getting a lot of work lately, may want to start being a little more choosy. (Kozo 2002)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Winson Entertainment Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Winson Entertainment Distribution, Ltd.
back to top