Mei loi ging chat (2010) Reviews

• A Nutshell Review: Future X-Cop

  DICK STEEL2010-04-11

  For a film that's set in the future, the technique employed by Wong Jing to tell a story seemed rooted in the past, with an incredibly dated feel despite some gaudy looking special effects and CGI background that made it look more tacky than sophisticated. He will not like me saying that his film is rubbish, and has already fired his salvo back at those who say it is, so I'll instead say that this film lacked depth, and if put side by side with his rich filmography, then it should rank somewhere at the bottom. It's very surprising then to find a list of notable stars all willing to sign on the dotted line and be associate with the film. I guess having to pay the bills do take its toil, and one wonders if Andy Lau really needed such a film to boost his coffers. After all, rumours were abound that there were numerous rewrites before being satisfied with it, and it's bad for the heart to imagine just how ridiculous the first draft might have been. Then there's Xu Jiao, the kid from Stephen Chow's CJ7 in her follow up film, also a science fiction fantasy one, and Taiwanese Big S / Barbie Hsu as well, with cameos by Fan Siu-Wong and Fan Bing Bing, that one hopes their next film would erase all memory of this nightmare. For starters, the film tried too hard to recreate a futuristic landscape, so much so that everything looked extremely rote, sterile and repetitive, and goes to show just how much the East has to catch up with the West in terms of an effects-laden picture. Andy Lau plays Andy, a Judge Dredd knockoff sans muscles and attitude, and learns of the ploy by a gang of cyborgs who intend to utilize a time machine to go back in time and kill off a prominent professor responsible for everyone's good life because of the cheap harnessing of solar energy. So in Terminator proportions but with their clothes on, the fight goes back to the past, with Andy bringing his daughter along for the ride, though unknowing to her that he had undergone some Iron-Man transformation permanently. You'll find plenty of subplots and story elements being copied from about 10000 movies, from Iron Man, Terminator, Cyborg She, and Spiderman 2 even, all mashed and strung together through primarily action based sequences which are designed in such a juvenile manner, it's laughable and can only appeal to 5 year olds. The big action sequence set in a theme park was so done in such a knock off manner with plenty of wire stunts that it was simply ridiculous to have wasted celluloid capturing it. Other big fight sequences also looked like they were directed off lessons from B-grade 80s films, and are pure antidotes for insomnia. Ching Siu Tung did the action choreography, and I wonder how much heart when into designing its the many fisticuffs here, with CG instead of adding to the intensity, becoming such a liability. Other than the action, the romance here between Lau and Hsu reeked and was totally unbelievable, with romantic subplots of other characters being even worse. Loose ends such as the primary mission also got sidetracked and was resolved as a matter of convenience, and bad acting peppered the film, which I don't think was deliberate, but more of an expression of exasperation to get this film and their roles over and done with. I feel that Wong Jing may have had his hands tied with this one, going by the number of financiers, that he couldn't unleash his arsenal of adult language and themes, though tried as he might to sneak in something cheeky since a leopard can't change its spots, only to pull his punches back to stay in the same zone. It was a glimpse into what Wong Jing stood for back then in his hey days, which by now he had regressed back to doing more of such B- grade productions relying on his past glories, and unfathomable star power willing to be attached to a piece of junk. Skip this.

• 6 yr, old Power Rangers should enjoy this!

  BronzeKeilani262010-04-23

  Americans will yawn or laugh this sci fi off the screen, for the most part, but if you dig Andy Lau in Future Cops (1993), or you're a 6 yr old Power Ranger, you should dig this spectacle. The plot is an overlong, unengaging mess. I was'nt able to cease all brain activity, kick back and enjoy hard hitting action sequences which I do in most good Chinese action films. While the special effects are not up to the Hollywood standard and far from reasonably convincing, it can be a teeny bit entertaining if you appreciate how far Hollywood has come. Hong Kong used to be seen as the home of unintentionally comical chop-socky movies of interest only to kung-fu freaks and those who like to day dream about kicking some bully's a--. While that's not a fair assessment of that country's current output, it's not a totally undeserved one concerning its past. So it made a refreshing change to see that Hong Kong – along with other Asian countries – had begun producing stylish wuxia, biopics, and energetic efforts like Yip Man, Bodyguards and Assassins, and The Banquet. Sadly, I don't think they're quite ready to stray off from that if they're going to introduce their films to the rest of the world. The film's first big action sequence provides a weak mix of 'futuristic plot holes' and bad 'character development', all of which threaten to scupper the entire project until a potential surprise that goes for the heartstrings, which is why I gave it 2 pts. I did read somewhere that Wong claims sci-fi was never his goal, and that he was trying to tell a moving and emotional story. Strange mix? I'll say. To fully enjoy it, (whispers...) make sure to turn a blind eye on the special effects, seriously. The visual effects by Korean VFX house Kinomotive are hilariously awful, managing the same effectiveness as Wong Jing's The Wesley's Mysterious File, which came out a full eight years ago. Surprisingly, Wong Jing's skills with CGI has not improved in 8 yrs. Neither has his storytelling or directing ~by bluepeas

• Future X Cop

  helmutty2010-04-30

  It is not so bad if you view it as cheesy fun. I happened to see all of the negative reviews which are saying it is cheesy. So I watched it with no expectations on how the special effects would turn out. Yes, the special effects are sort of not that good. The special effects are okay for a Hong Kong movie and that is about it. The fighting scenes are disappointing, they are a bit slow and over-use the slo-mo action. When watching the trailer, I thought I can expect some cool wire fighting scenes but in fact, it does not deliver on that. The action scenes are marred by just-okay special effects. Andy Lau in a robot suit is just fake, the CGI is just not convincing. The story: Nothing to say about the story. It is just your average Sci-Fi romance movie. I actually thought the romance is the one that pulls down an entertaining story. The first half of the movie is not bad, it moves in a fast pace. But when it comes to the last half, the romance is more obvious and drags the fast pace down. I don't understand why Hong Kong wants to make Sci-Fi action with a subplot of romance. Hk did that with Kung Fu Cyborg. I want to see Sci-Fi action movies with a cool plot and action not some kind of romance that will put the whole movie down. Kung Fu Cyborg and Future X cop are two examples. Other than that, though the CGI in this movie is not very convincing, you have to give HK for having the guts of trying. Overall: If you enjoy cheesy movies with bad special effects, you might enjoy this too. If your expectations for HK movies are high, probably you will ditch this. Well, I can't say I enjoy this but it is at least worth a watch, I wanted to see how far HK is progressing with its special effects. It is improving by a bit.