A lot of reviews praise on how "real" this feels. Yes, it feels real in some ways, that it unfolds like a real date would unfold, but also the bad writing and clumsy acting continuously break that illusion.
The first twenty minutes of this is just them walking around Hong Kong asking each other about their backstories. Literally just backstory info-dump throughout this whole thing. Yes, the conversation is what you would really have on a real date, but you end up feeling third wheel. So fun.
The point of a story is to have something happen, and nothing really happens. The only decent thing that happens in this first segment is she is Chinese (though the actress is Korean?), and he is an American ex-pat, and he knows his way around the city better than her. They build on it a little bit when she keeps needing directions, and then when he finds a non-touristy bar to chill out in, but really this whole first 20 minutes is just about lazy info-dump.
Eventually, spoiler alert, it's revealed that he already has a girlfriend. Sorry, but this is probably the most cliché trope in cinema. "You're great... but I already have a girlfriend... but only if I had met you first!" Then they bump into each other on a ferry a year later, and then they both have S.O.s but go on an amazing errand adventure together to pick up some clothes from the trailer.
The writing is weak, and the acting is bad. The only redeeming quality is the cinematography makes great use of Hong Kong, and you learn a little about Hong Kong culture. Basically, it's a travel journal with a clumsy romance.
The first twenty minutes of this is just them walking around Hong Kong asking each other about their backstories. Literally just backstory info-dump throughout this whole thing. Yes, the conversation is what you would really have on a real date, but you end up feeling third wheel. So fun.
The point of a story is to have something happen, and nothing really happens. The only decent thing that happens in this first segment is she is Chinese (though the actress is Korean?), and he is an American ex-pat, and he knows his way around the city better than her. They build on it a little bit when she keeps needing directions, and then when he finds a non-touristy bar to chill out in, but really this whole first 20 minutes is just about lazy info-dump.
Eventually, spoiler alert, it's revealed that he already has a girlfriend. Sorry, but this is probably the most cliché trope in cinema. "You're great... but I already have a girlfriend... but only if I had met you first!" Then they bump into each other on a ferry a year later, and then they both have S.O.s but go on an amazing errand adventure together to pick up some clothes from the trailer.
The writing is weak, and the acting is bad. The only redeeming quality is the cinematography makes great use of Hong Kong, and you learn a little about Hong Kong culture. Basically, it's a travel journal with a clumsy romance.