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Review
by Kozo: |
A bunch of second generation Hong Kong stars take
center stage in Midnight Running, a crime caper
comedy that's mildly entertaining, if not really that
good. Timmy Hung is Paul, a down-on-his-luck cop who
gets caught up in a triad mix-em-up on Christmas Eve.
Paul accidentally gets wind of a big deal involving
the Tung Hing Group, and it may just be his ticket
back into respectable law enforcement. A gratingly
cute Japanese pickpocket named Mari (Maya Rumiko)
steals a briefcase which contains a list of all Tung
Hing members, which sends the entire triad into a
tizzy. Nice guy bartender Peter (Derek Tsang) gets
drafted by the Tung Hing dudes to chase down Mari
because he knows barely passable Japanese. When Paul
gets involved in the mess, he, Peter, and Mari find
themselves at odds - though if they joined forces,
they might each get what they're looking for. Meanwhile,
triad boss OD (Calvin Choi of band Grasshopper) fumes
over the lost name list.
Semi-clever detail number
one: the lead characters are named Peter, Paul, and
Mari. Given the film's setting (Christmas Eve), one
assumes that the reference here is to the followers
of Jesus, and not the sixties folk group. If that
bit of cleverness doesn't bowl you over, then check
this out: both Peter and Mari carry photos of a beach
in Cuba as a tribute to their idol, Ernest Hemingway.
That connection, plus a shared addiction to mojitos,
turns the two from antagonists into instant soulmates,
the idea being they can blackmail Tung Sing for the
list of names and use the ransom to open up a bar
in Cuba - again, as a tribute to their idol, Ernest
Hemingway. Paul wants the name list to show up Inspector
Lee (Carl Ng), whose smarmy attitude annoys him. While
at a Christmas party, Paul submits this earnest wish:
to see Lee get a bullet in the buttocks. Wow, do you
think that might actually happen by the end of the
film?
I'll give it away: it
does, along with pretty much every other predictable
occurrence one could imagine. Midnight Running telegraphs every one of its clever plot twists such
that they cease being clever and start becoming cloying.
When the story isn't trying to be clever, it's just
plain lazy. After realizing that Mari has taken off
with the name list, the Tung Sing group mobilizes
to find her - which they do, by either walking into
the correct bar or bumping into her on the street.
Hong Kong seems to be about three blocks large in Midnight Running - which isn't so bad, since
the three blocks include Lan Kwai Fong, Exchange Square,
and some trendy bar locales. Factor in an appearance
by the Star Ferry Walkway, and it's old home week
for expatriates who never leave Hong Kong Island.
If you don't live in Hong Kong, the cheery Christmas
atmosphere may prove charming. Action junkies might
go for the one or two hand-to-hand fights, which are
less creative than they are simply a relief from the
hokey happenings. Midnight Running starts introducing
faux double-crosses, shifting allegiances, and blatantly
comic characters as a means of keeping things interesting,
and to be fair, interest is kept. It's marginal interest,
but interest nonetheless.
But of more interest:
a possible Spawn of the Lucky Stars film! Midnight
Running features the offspring of three of the
Lucky Stars, including Eric Tsang's kid Derek, Richard
Ng's kid Carl, and Sammo Hung's kid Timmy. If they
had coralled the kids of John Sham, Stanley Fung,
or maybe even Charlie Chin or Miu Kiu-Wai into appearing
then they could have rode the Lucky Stars connection
for perhaps an extra $500 of box office money. Sadly,
nobody in marketing noted the connection, so Midnight
Running got only a nominal cinema release and
a fanfare-less DVD release.
In fairness, the lack of
attention is not undue; while amusing as a time-killing
measure, Midnight Running is also completely
unnecessary and really not that good. It tries hard
to be a fun caper comedy, such that a mostly-sincere
thumbs up can be given based solely on effort. If
you're scraping the barrel for new Hong Kong films
to watch, you should definitely check this film out
before Dating a Vampire or even Love Undercover
3. Still, Love Undercover 3 has more obvious
star wattage in Fiona Sit, which could sway the some
cinema hounds that direction. Whether or not you dial
up this film out may have a lot to do with what A
or B level stars float your boat. If you like Timmy
Hung, Derek Tsang, or the gratingly cute Maya Rumiko,
then Midnight Running is here to answer your
call. For everyone else: see nothing and read a good
book instead. (Kozo 2006) |
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