This is probably another example of the Hong Kong culture East meets West. Having now watched Planet Terror it is also similar to the old grindhouse sci-fi horror movies where a virus turns the antagonists into super powerful zombies, however also thrown into the mix is a man who is resistant to the virus to an extent in that he gains super powers but does not get the side effects of the virus. As such, when this super mutant zombies go on a rampage through Hong Kong it is our hero that is the saviour.
Another aspect of this movie is that it is about how the weak and obscure guy becomes a hero. When the mutants first attack Hong Kong he appears and defeats them and is instantly transformed into a hero. He is no longer a nobody as he gets the beautiful and famous girlfriend and also gets the recognition. However there is a side effect in that he also attracts the attention of the other mutants. They are powerful but the side effects mean that they cannot enjoy their new found power and wealth. Thus there is that struggle between the power and the ever increasing alienation which makes then more aggressive and in the end they simply want to destroy everything.
This movie is hardly original, though it has the flavour of an eastern movie thrown in with an American plot. A group of circus performers are in Malaysia and hear of an abandoned gold mine, so they go and explore it. However it turns out to be an old Japanese lab and when they open the cannisters looking for the gold they unwittingly release the virus. They then return to Hong Kong and it is by that time that the virus has taken hold. Our hero, however, at first seems to have been effected but after a good nights sleep he has returned to normal with the exception of having super powers.
This was an enjoyable movie, but once again nowhere near the classic Hong Kong cinema of the 1980's. Gone are the wires, though there is still a lot of dazzling martial arts and excitement. However a lot has changed since the heyday of the 80's, though they still have something that sets them apart from the movies of Hollywood.
Another aspect of this movie is that it is about how the weak and obscure guy becomes a hero. When the mutants first attack Hong Kong he appears and defeats them and is instantly transformed into a hero. He is no longer a nobody as he gets the beautiful and famous girlfriend and also gets the recognition. However there is a side effect in that he also attracts the attention of the other mutants. They are powerful but the side effects mean that they cannot enjoy their new found power and wealth. Thus there is that struggle between the power and the ever increasing alienation which makes then more aggressive and in the end they simply want to destroy everything.
This movie is hardly original, though it has the flavour of an eastern movie thrown in with an American plot. A group of circus performers are in Malaysia and hear of an abandoned gold mine, so they go and explore it. However it turns out to be an old Japanese lab and when they open the cannisters looking for the gold they unwittingly release the virus. They then return to Hong Kong and it is by that time that the virus has taken hold. Our hero, however, at first seems to have been effected but after a good nights sleep he has returned to normal with the exception of having super powers.
This was an enjoyable movie, but once again nowhere near the classic Hong Kong cinema of the 1980's. Gone are the wires, though there is still a lot of dazzling martial arts and excitement. However a lot has changed since the heyday of the 80's, though they still have something that sets them apart from the movies of Hollywood.