When a series of strange deaths occur the Hong Kong police suspect murder. Taken individually each looks like a tragic accident but each man died with a fixed smile on his face and each of their funerals was attended by the same woman. The case is taken by a trio of detectives; impulsive Wang Bu Er; older Huang Fei Hong, who is a master of kung-fu and Angela, their sergeant. Their first suspect is the woman at the funerals; actress Liu Jin Shui. She had dated each of the dead men and they had each left her. Her sister, Dai Yiyi, is suspected too; each of the men had moved on to her
indeed her feminine charms are noticed by just about every man who sets eyes on her. As the case progresses more suspects arise and there will be quite a few fights before the case is solved.
Anybody watching this expecting lots of top quality martial arts action or realism is likely to be disappointed especially as that is what the DVD cover promises it may say 'Genre: action/martial arts' on the box but this is a comedy plain and simple. What martial arts we see is 'enhanced' with unbelievable CGI we certainly don't get the stunning choreography of a Jackie Chan movie or the wire-work of wuxia films. Once one has got over that it is possible to enjoy this film as a slap stick comedy. Another surprise is that Jet Li isn't the lead actor; that is Wen Zhang. The cast do a decent enough job; although it is sometimes hard to tell overacting from part of the deliberate comedy. The case isn't the most gripping; it really just serves to link the series of comedy moments. These vary from laugh-out-loud funny to cringe inducing. As stated before the action features a fair amount of CGI and this is the films biggest let down; it doesn't look real enough the opening which should grab the viewer's attention merely made me wonder why I was watching! Overall if you want a silly action comedy it is fun enough and it is probably suitable for anybody old enough to read the subtitles although some viewers might find the camera's fascination with Dai Yiyi's impressive cleavage a bit too much!
These comments are based on watching in Mandarin with English subtitles.
Anybody watching this expecting lots of top quality martial arts action or realism is likely to be disappointed especially as that is what the DVD cover promises it may say 'Genre: action/martial arts' on the box but this is a comedy plain and simple. What martial arts we see is 'enhanced' with unbelievable CGI we certainly don't get the stunning choreography of a Jackie Chan movie or the wire-work of wuxia films. Once one has got over that it is possible to enjoy this film as a slap stick comedy. Another surprise is that Jet Li isn't the lead actor; that is Wen Zhang. The cast do a decent enough job; although it is sometimes hard to tell overacting from part of the deliberate comedy. The case isn't the most gripping; it really just serves to link the series of comedy moments. These vary from laugh-out-loud funny to cringe inducing. As stated before the action features a fair amount of CGI and this is the films biggest let down; it doesn't look real enough the opening which should grab the viewer's attention merely made me wonder why I was watching! Overall if you want a silly action comedy it is fun enough and it is probably suitable for anybody old enough to read the subtitles although some viewers might find the camera's fascination with Dai Yiyi's impressive cleavage a bit too much!
These comments are based on watching in Mandarin with English subtitles.