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Review
by Kozo: |
Nonsense comedy from Gordon Chan, which features Andy Lau
in not one, but two roles. The first role is a whiz kid
who's some sort of learning genius; he has the ability to
do nearly anything moments after seeing it for the first
time. He also looks exactly like Wong Kau-Tai, the successor
to a turbulent triad empire. Wong has been called back to
Hong Kong when his father, Uncle Eight Taels (director Jeff
Lau), passes on. Uncle Eight's brother, Seven-and-a-half-Taels
(Ng Man-Tat), and top bodyguard Chung (a dubbed Aaron Kwok)
await the appearance of Wong, because his presence will
quell a burgeoning gang war.
Then a switch occurs, ala
The Prince and the Pauper. The whiz kid goes in place
of the actual Wong Kau-Tai, who's—get this—actually
a rude midget also played by Andy Lau. The scenes where
Lau and his obvious stunt double make like a Jawa extra
are worth checking out because they're both weird and convincing.
The rest of the film is similarly weird, but also totally
bizarre and nonsensical. When the fake Wong arrives in Hong
Kong, he's installed as the triad head, and eventually decides
he wants the triad to be good. This doesn't sit well with
Wong's rivals, including Yuen Woo-Ping as Master Dragon.
His daughter Chi-Lam (Rosamund Kwan) plots to kill Wong
to help her dad, but she soon falls for his childlike charms.
The audience has presumably left or is making their fourth
cell phone call.
The development for this wack-fest
is nonexistent. People join forces, fall in and out of love,
and generally behave strange without any apparent logic
or provocation. Much of the dialogue involves Cantopop references
and wordplay, and nobody behaves like a regular human being
would. This includes Aaron Kwok as Chung, who looks to have
the "cool" role as the ultra-loyal bodyguard.
Sadly, he doesn't really do much, and spends most of his
time waiting on Andy Lau, whose performance makes you understand
why it took him an extra seven years to win an acting award.
Lau has shown he can be a good actor, but his wacky characters
are more annoying than funny. And when he acts like a whiny
kid, his acting cred takes an even bigger hit.
For popstar chasers, this
film might offer some charms, but it's so uneven that it
can tire you out. Many of the performances are annoying
and borderline offensive, and the nonexistent plot and abundance
of unfunny antics only increase the desire to hit the "stop"
button. You'd think that some action would arrive to make
things semi-worthwhile, but it's mostly strange action involving
a basketball, a large slingshot and an inflatable killer
whale. If that piques your interest then go ahead and check
this movie out. However, if you aren't able to rent it then
I suggest you quell your masochistic tendencies and see
something else. (Kozo 2003)
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