REVIEW: DVD Release: Project A

Film: Project A
Release date: 24th June 2002
Certificate: 15
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Dick Wei
Genre: Action/Comedy/Martial Arts
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong

Project A is a defining chapter in the astonishing career of Jackie Chan. Conceived and filmed after the devastating critical and commercial flop that was Dragon Lord, Chan resolved to change his cinematic fortunes. The result, Project A, is a masterful example of amazing martial arts and stunts driven by a solid fast-paced plot with the trademark Chan comedy strain.

The coastguard of Colonial Hong Kong at the turn of the 20th century is being continually humiliated by a gang of fearless pirates led by San-Po (Wei). Dragon Ma (Chan), a boisterous marine, is determined to devastate the Pirate stronghold on the South China Seas. However, the coastguard squad, after a terrible decimation of their fleet, is disbanded, and they fall under command of the police force to be re-trained by Inspector Tzu (Biao).

Dragon is frustrated by the lack of help from his new police colleagues and his former Navy superiors in taking on big-time criminals with heavy links to San-Po. Striking out to take down the cutthroats with help from childhood friend and small-time hustler Fei (Hung), and eventually Inspector Tzu, Dragon initiates ‘Project A’, a final solution intended to defeat San-Po and his gang…


Chan, Hung, and Biao (known as the ‘Three Brothers’) were instrumental in pulling Hong Kong film from the traditional kung-fu to more contemporary themes that helped ignite the 1980s boom period. Chan perhaps saw the disappointing reception of Dragon Lord as a shift in the tastes of the public, and so came up the idea of a pirate movie as a shake-up of the classic young rogue he usually played. This venture was filmed in secrecy to prevent the plot from being stolen by rival studios, and it ensured the Three Brothers, under the directorship of Chan in this instance, became the most-loved actions stars of the era.

Project A is flush with excellent stunts and slices of comedy gold that thankfully do not get lost in translation. The opening fight sees the coastguard take on the police in a local bar. As the teams square up on either side of a stage-cum-catwalk, and bottles are broken, Dragon sees sense and downs his weapons. But a sliding police officer bashes into the gramophone, and with a tremendous blast of classical music, the melee look to the record-player, then to each other, before a classic scene kicks off. Chan and Biao showcase polished acrobatics and martial arts expertise. A much-loved slab of humour sees neither want to lose face after smashing chairs across one another’s backs, and they each slip in a corner to rub at their beaten spines before bravado puffs them up and back out to the riot.

The statuesque support from Sammo Hung gives the viewer a much-appreciated lesson in what it must’ve been like to live, grow, and train together at the Peking Opera School as the Three Brothers did. Due nods are dropped to Chinese opera as Dragon and Fei infiltrate a gun deal. They use masks, face-paint, and sing to disguise their face and voices. However, Dragon and Ma fall out after learning they can’t work together to sabotage the supply line to San-Po. They put aside their growing animosity to brawl side-by-side and move-for-move in a tea house fight scored to opera beats. To see a man as big as Hung move with such agility is always a delight, as well as his incredibly strong acting and comedic support.

Chan’s determination to inject freshness into the kung fu genre is best displayed with his homage to other physical comedians, as well as using fads of the time. A high-octane bike chase through a labyrinthine collection of alleys sees Chan tap into the BMX craze of the 1980s, spinning wheels being used as effective weapons. A rumour is that it’s not Chan who climbs up between two walls and throws his front wheel out to knock-out a hoodlum, but Yuen Biao.

Project A’s most infamous scene sees Chan pay respects to Harold Lloyds role in Safety Last by hanging from a clock hand on a tower. As he loses purchase and falls in front of a huge shocked crowd, he plummets through two sets of awnings to the floor. No crash mats or safety nets here. Replayed again (a motif used in the electrified pole slide in Police Story) shows a different landing. As with Police Story, this doesn’t disrupt the story flow, instead it demonstrates Chan savvy. He understands what pleases an audience, and here it’s a terrific stunt done for real.


Jackie Chan undoubtedly is the backbone of the entire piece, not only in terms of acting but physical action, martial arts skill, and comedy turns. The quite sublime support of Hung and Biao mix to create one the greatest movies in the modern history of Hong Kong film. A genuine classic. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: Iron Monkey

Film: Iron Monkey
Release date: 1st March 2004
Certificate: 12
Running time: 86 mins
Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Starring: Rongguang Yu, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Yen Shi-Kwan, James Wong
Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime/Martial Arts
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong

Tales of folk heroes and legends saturate the fabric of Chinese history and culture. Re-released and discovered by a wider audience after Yuen Woo-ping’s astonishing success choreographing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey is a notable addition to the extensive list of historical legends committed to film. Directed by The Matrix choreographer and action master, and featuring Hong Kong and China’s most vaunted action star of the moment, Donnie Yen, Iron Monkey proves to be a short but well-crafted story.

Rong Kwong plays Dr. Yang, a good man who tends to the needs of the ill and hungry in his community for free but charges the well-off. Seeing refugees and the poorest people of the town trodden on by rich and corrupt Governor Cheng (Wong), Dr. Yang transforms himself at night into Iron Monkey to steal Cheng’s ill-gained wealth and fight for good.

Wong Kei Ying (Donnie Yen) arrives in town with his young son Wong Fei Hung (Tsang Sze-Man). Kei-Ying is a prominent master of the Hung-Gar style. Initially believed to be the title hero by Cheng, Kei-Ying fights to prove he is not the wanted outlaw, and goes after Iron Monkey himself to save his son being held as insurance by Cheng. Eventually he teams with Iron Monkey after realising they have similar principles. They battle against not only the corrupt town officials, but also Imperial minister Hin Hung – a traitor to his own Shaolin Temple, and a man with his own mission to stop the notorious and troublesome Iron Monkey…


Of course, it’s a Robin-Hood variation, yet this time we’ve two Robins willing to stand up and fight corruption and redistribute the wealth to the community’s neediest souls. Even though the title of the film boasts one hero, this is essentially a buddy movie, two righteous warriors who are willing to fight the evil disease denigrating their town.

Female support is solid from Jean Wang who plays Dr. Yang’s clinic assistant Orchid with a gentle air and subtlety. But more notable is the son of Kei-Ying, played by young actress Tsang Sze-Man. It’s an interesting cross-gender casting for the role of one of China’s most celebrated legends in Wong Fei-Hung. Sze-Man brings gravitas and subtle expression of emotion to the part that perhaps couldn’t be entrusted to a teenage boy.

Splashes of humour come from Dr. Yang’s cheeky teasing of the governor’s guards while tending the injuries his alter-ego has inflicted, although Rong Kwong is more at home taking the responsibility for the emotional core of the movie. His strength and kindness shine through when tending his patients and fighting for justice with honour against guards and officials.

Donnie Yen’s acting, especially in the aftermath of his son’s kidnap, proves to be lacklustre. His sadness just doesn’t convey or convince, and it’s noticeable he has worked on this aspect of his screen repertoire in recent years. The more emotionally-loaded scenes featuring Yen do stick and slow down the brisk pace built up from Woo-ping’s action segments.

It’s a very short film in which to explore corruption, the awful treatment of displaced refugees, and the relationships between Dr. Yang and Orchid, as well as Kei-Ying and his son. It leaves the viewer feeling short-changed about these points, and if it is vying for a more gentle exploration then more comedy and light-heartedness would’ve evened the tone.

Woo-ping offers us some quite impressive slices of wire-work - seeing Iron Monkey jump up and through a hole in the roof to land deftly on the tiles being one highlight. We’re also treated to Yen’s undeniable speed and agility when it comes to his hand-work. His quick moves solidly display practiced form, and help distract from the lack of depth in his acting.

The final reel sees our heroes go up against the traitorous Shaolin monk Hin Hung. Stilted speech about righteousness aside; it’s a riotous two-on-one affair which sees the monk crash through a brick wall and our heroes thrown into wooden struts. They indulge in pole-top balancing kung-fu, too, with the aid of wire-pulls. Woo-ping knows how to deliver an exceptional closing fight scene, and the flaming stick scene is pulsating. In lesser hands it may have appeared overblown, but Woo-ping once again shows that he is a master of standard physical interplay as well as wire-work choreography – even if belief is shattered by a flaming pole to the monk’s head (clearly a rubber dummy!).


Iron Monkey may not be amongst the best of Yuen Woo-ping’s enviable filmography, nor of the ever-growing list of historical hero endeavours, but it is a short and fun exponent of the historical hero genre. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: Police Story

Film: Police Story
Release date: 24th September 2001
Certificate: 15
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Lam Kwok-hung, Bill Tung
Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime/Thriller
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong

Jackie Chan is the king of Hong Kong action cinema. The world’s most likeable action star rates Police Story, his movie response to the failure of his 1985 Hollywood flop The Protector, as perhaps his favourite on-screen endeavour. Some of the most dangerous stunts Chan’s undertaken are fused with a solid plot that make Police Story not only breathtaking but also gripping.

Chan plays Chan Ka-Kui, an honest policeman who is part of an operation to bring down a major player in the criminal underbelly of Hong Kong. It looks close to being a success after using subterfuge to try and convince a crime-boss secretary (Brigitte Lin) to testify against her boss. However Ka-Kui and his fellow officers celebrations are cut dead prematurely, and in a dramatic fortune reversal, he finds himself framed for murder.

Ka-Kui fights to clear his name through a series of impressive and heart-trippingly intense fight and stunt scenes, whilst also trying to keep together his relationship with girlfriend May, played by the coquettish Maggie Cheung…


The opening sees an officer displaying stills of suspects on the wall of a dimly-lit station wall. As we move from the stills to see the villains in real time, Chan sets a style of action he’s not known for - gunplay. Just 15 minutes into the film and Chan is chasing a series of drug suspects through the slums of Hong Kong’s New Territories. Famed for his physical action, it’s an oddity to see Chan shooting and running without throwing in a roundhouse kick or wise-cracking line.

The slums were specially constructed to accommodate Chan’s vision. The chase moves to vehicles, and cars plough through the flimsy shanty-town. The destruction and explosions prove to cement the hard-nosed thriller vibe Chan was aiming for. It also segues into a shocking stunt. A double-decker bus, top-loaded with four stuntmen, brakes hard at the wrong time. Instead of the stuntmen crashing through the glass and landing on a specially-built car, they fall nastily onto the tarmac. This sequence alone made it impossible for Chan to gain insurance cover on his future Hong Kong endeavours.

As the story weaves through Ka-Kui’s framing, and the introduction of the beautiful female supporting cast of Lin and Cheung, Chan slips in a few vaguely comedic skits. We’re perhaps needlessly treated to a pie-in-the-face standard, and another when trying to convince Lin she is in awful danger of masked assassins. This segment is tempered by a fight sequence seen as too fast by overseas audiences. The sheer physical energy of the Jackie Chan stunt team and intricacy of the movements is sped along by accomplished editing and wonderfully framed and lit exterior shots. Yet the pace can suddenly drag. An overlong courtroom scene serves to relieve some tension, but it also leaves the viewer impatiently waiting for the next action sequence, as does an awkwardly placed scene of Chan answering a series of phones and getting tangled up in them.

Solid plot aside, this film has been a fan favourite since its release thanks to the literally death-defying stunts. A key-scene sees Chan jump from a high floor of a shopping mall onto a pole wrapped with Christmas bulbs. As he slides down, the bulbs crack, splutter and burn him. It’s a shocking stunt, and just before he throws himself onto the pole, he gives an angry shout. We’re also treated to two full replays, defying the flow and logic of the narrative, but not damaging it – perhaps Chan knew we’d be reaching for the rewind button and saved us the trouble. It’s also notable as the flow of electricity wasn’t reduced in time and Chan really put his life on the line. The skin on his hands was burnt away.

As well as risking death for this movie, he also toyed with paralysis. One jump sees an awkward landing which dislocated his pelvis and very nearly fractured discs in his spine. As well as the obvious physical attributes, Chan also acts extremely well, balancing the stilted comedy spots with pathos. We come to care deeply about the likable Ka-Kui and his quest for justice. His anger and frustration at being wrongly accused isn’t hammed up or overblown as it so easily could’ve been by a lesser performer, demonstrating Chan isn’t just a skilled stunt-player.

The end serves up a staple of a Jackie Chan movie - the outtakes. Littered with rehearsals for the movies stunts, we also see the extreme aftermath of performing them, such as the incredible pain from his injuries.


Police Story spawned a series of sequels and reboots, such as New Police Story. The original deservedly won Best Picture and Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards in the mid-80s, and ensured Jackie Chan’s place in the hearts of hardcore action movie fans across the world. JM

SPECIAL FEATURE: DVD Review: A Day Of Violence

Film: A Day Of Violence
Release date: 9th August 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Darren Ward
Starring: Christopher Fosh, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Nick Rendell, Victor D Thorn, Peter Rnic
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Studio: 101
Format: DVD
Country: UK

This is an English-Language release.

A film soaked in copious amounts of blood and sex, A Day Of Violence is a low-budget schlock shock fest for only the toughest and sturdiest of stomachs. A UK film, this features Italian veteran Giovanno Lombardo.

Between the bloody vignettes, this film’s flimsy plot follows the exploits of Mitchell (Rendell), a low-life debt collector. He steals £100,000 from the wrong people, a gang headed by Boswell (Thorn) who, of course, takes umbrage and chases Mitchell for retribution. Cue a cavalcade of quite sick blood sopping scenes that seem to stretch over much more than just the day promised in the title.

The chase is on through seedy underworld hotspots and alleys that seem to be empty of anyone other than our cast. As Mitchell does his best to evade these grimy bloodlust-fuelled enthusiasts, he makes a journey of his own, whilst pitching against some nasty characters to perhaps reach some kind of redemption in spite of the theme of violence…


The opening set of scenes shows that old hand of Italian exploitation Lombardo being knifed after a tacky sex scene that brings to mind the opening of Edward Norton’s American History X. This trick, the murder of our Italian veteran, is an old staple of the Grindhouse industry - to show a flicker of a mildly prestige name, only to slaughter them unapologetically. Setting out his stall extremely early, Ward pitches this as a movie for the crowd who enjoy the gratuitous side of cinema, the Grindhouse posse.

This mess of a movie is a real test, given the gratuitous events that unfold on screen, but the biggest issue, that seems to render the whole endeavour completely pointless, is that we already know the fate of Mitchell, as he is narrating the story whilst dead. The viewer is left to either enjoy or revile in the meaningless soft-core pornography, and overindulgent violence.

As for the acting; Susy, Mitchell’s paramour, has some chops, but Rendell, who plays Mitchell, tries embarrassingly to ape the efforts of acting luminaries who have blazed trails in British gangster flicks. In his attempts at Ray Winstone and Jason Statham in a trademark black leather jacket, he instead hits a tangled mix between completely amateur and totally talentless, recalling soap character Phil Mitchell, but with a more grating false London accent. Couple this with a script (written by Ward) devoid of any real coherence that stumbles along with expletives and clipped short sentences, and you literally have an episode of Eastenders on high strength hallucinogens being helmed by a serial killer with ADHD – like that popular BBC1 soap, it’s cliché ridden and cringe worthy at inopportune times, and the delivery of the lines flavoured with over-imitation.

Ward, as director takes his cue from the Guy Ritchie school of filmmaking, hoping that scampering editing and lots of, admittedly good, if derivative bloody effects will catapult him to the heights of respected Brit director. He has a long way to go.

There are plus points: core scenes aren’t allowed to stilt, the pace is kept tight as the film progresses, and the framing and tone of lighting in exposing the gritty, grotty London underworld shows some promise - and talent in the eye of Ward, who also knows who his desired audience are, and panders to them quite shamelessly - although his attempts to crowbar in some humanity is another failure. This movie is so imbued with the video nasty spirit - which it thrives on - that character redemption is pointless.


Without a plot, gratuitous and pointless, it will take a particular and worrying type of viewer to really enjoy A Day Of Violence, although with hefty dabs of sex and blood, it should offer them sufficient titillation. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk

Film: The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk
Release date: 6th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 126 mins
Director: Corey Yuen
Starring: Jet Li, Lung Chan, Adam Cheng, Josephine Siao, Michelle Reis
Genre: Action/Comedy/Martial Arts
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong

Jet Li stars as the title character in this action romp from venerable film studio Golden Harvest pictures. Made in 1992, this Cory Yuen helmed production has been restored and repackaged for Cine Asia in partnership with American Far East action label Dragon Dynasty.

The movie opens with paranoid Manchu Emperor and oppressor of the Han Chinese having a nightmare where he is killed by the fabled rebel Red Flower Society. He sends out his Governor (Wen Jor) to retrieve a list that tells of all the rebels active in the country. This heavy, ominous opening is quickly tempered with a fun introduction to our title character and hero.

Fong Sai-yuk (Li) is a talented martial artist who, with his friends, likes to get into fights and cause mischief to upset Tiger Lu, a businessman who has bought up most of Fong’s hometown of Guang Dong.

Whilst falling in love with Ting Ting (Reis), the daughter of Tiger Lu, Sai-yuk and his equally tough yet beguiling mother (Siao) find themselves fighting against the Emperor’s Governor, as he comes to their town in search of the Red Flower Society rebel list and the man protecting it - a person very close to Fong Sai-yuk…


The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk is undoubtedly fun. It clips along at a very brisk pace, neglecting any overly emotional exposition or extensive back story explanation. Perhaps because of this, the sudden move from light-hearted interplay into intense emotion – particularly when Sai-yuk has to retrieve the dead body of a close friend murdered by the Imperial Guard - can be jarring. Jet Li doesn’t stretch himself in this film, playing it for laughs for the most part.

Josephine Siao is the heart of the comedy in this film. Her cantankerous, unapologetic attitudes and her impressive fight skills make her more than a match for the men. As she fights alongside her son, Sai-yuk, they mirror each other’s moves, and prove a formidable, if dotty pair. The representation of a strong female role model and character is very welcome, and something Far Eastern cinema is adept at. Along with the sterling skills of Tiger’s Lu’s wife, Siu Wan (Sibelle Hu) and the gentle but polished acting of Michele Ries, The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk is almost a film for the girls!

Moreover, as it’s a Cory Yuen production, we can expect too much wire work but also strong, fast choreography. People half fly from roof tops before hands and feet start flying. Jet Li is permitted ample time to showcase his amazing speed, and he does not seem to mind supporting the female leads when it comes to bare handed combat. When fighting to earn the hand of the daughter of Tiger Lu in an open challenge, Sai-yuk and Sui Wan must take each other on with the stipulation that their feet cannot touch the floor. Cue a riotous display of spinning on red cloth and running over people’s heads and shoulders, and flips across great swathes of the townspeople. Other superb combative scenes see a stunning fire-rope versus sword battle between Sai-yuk and the Imperial Guard, as well as a tightly sequenced face-off using wooden staffs as weapons against the Governor.

Of course, this was the era before CGI dominance to iron out the kinks in production. A body falling onto a pyre is obviously a dummy, while the wires used in some of the more elaborate scenes are quite clearly visible. It is also referential to movies that have gone before following the same vein. As Sai-yuk is released from jail for yet more fighting, he tells his friends he gave an alias, and goes into a revered pose as the famous music of legendary Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung is played over, then the music breaks and Sai-yuk says a different name altogether. This pleasant in-joke is also matched with a hark back to Jackie Chan. During a dye-house altercation, and after a series of devastating punches between himself and the Governor are thrown, both men suddenly stop, rub the sore parts of their chests and take a breather.

For all of The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk's positives, there are a few annoyances. Far too much time is given up to the love story, which is fraught with misunderstanding and duplicity. The movies main plot that was setup in the opening few scenes - the apprehension and annihilation of the Red Flower Society by the Manchu Emperor - seems forgotten until revisited almost forty minutes into the narrative. When serious emotional sentiment is touched upon, it’s disregarded for another pitch at comedy.


The Legend Of Fong Sai-yuk is fun, with a solid and equal mix of male and female character interplay. Any plot niggles are forgotten thanks to the brisk pace, and the spared expense of the effects is charming rather than distracting. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: Goemon

Film: Goemon
Release date: 16th August 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 124 mins
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Starring: Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Osawa, Jun Kaname, Tetsuji Tamayama, Susumu Terajima
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: Japan

Goemon proved an Asian box office hit on its cinematic release. Helmed with a bold fresh eye for visuals by Casshern director Kiriya Kazuaki, Goemon is a multi-layered historic action epic tinged with fantasy and impressive swordplay. With elements of Western legends such as Robin Hood and the mythical Pandora’s Box thrown in, Goemon is ultimately the story of one man’s battle with his need to be free and his destiny.

The year is 1582 and Lord Nobunaga has died, leaving the country in the despotic hands of his head General Lord Hideyoshi. Goemon (Eguchi Yosuki), a self-proclaimed master thief and “ally of the poor” steals an artefact of great value and is hotly pursued by Lord Hideyoshi’s commissioner, Mitsunari. Saiko, former childhood friend and ninja training partner is also in the hunt for Goemon.

Goemon, however, aided by his own ‘merry man’ Sasuke, has given the blue box to an orphaned urchin. In taking the box back and taking charge of the boy, they uncover a fragmented map that leads to the metaphorical ‘Pandora’s box’, a letter stating Lord Nobunaga was murdered by a close consul. With this information, it is up to Goemon, an adopted son of the late Lord, to decide if to continue the Lord’s dream of uniting the country, or simply return to his humble life as a man of the poor.

Sprinkles of sub-plots concerning a lost love interest of Lord Nobunaga’s niece Lady Chacha, the personal ambitions of Hideyoshi’s right hand man Lord Leyasu, and the orphaned street urchin adds up to a heavily laden piece. Goemon bluffs and weaves through plots and schemes and double-crosses and even an appearance by legendary ninja Hattori Hanzo…


The first thing that strikes about Goemon is the visuals. The live action is fused with anime and, at times, over-stylised CGI. The rendering of colour is baroque in scenes - gaudy. These scenes are interspersed with washed out bleak landscapes, in near black-and-white and sepia for flashback sequences and back story exposition. The shift in styles is jolting, but undeniably effective. It just falls short of sumptuous, however. Also a mix of traditional Japanese architecture plays strangely against the Western cathedral-like gothic stone windows of the palatial home of Lord Nobunaga seen in cold flashback.

The visuals, as wonderful as they are, seemed stretched and over-rendered, the film unsure if it wants to be anime or simply a CGI fantasy. The mix of both appears too heavy on the eye, ruining any honest attempts at realism - the calling card of fake CGI blood spatter taints fight and battle scenes, as does the astonishing speed Goemon runs and how high he’s able to jump - and the quality of some images are mixed from high quality to borderline cheap.

Once the visuals and extravagant European influenced costumes have been sighed over, the story comes to the fore. Convoluted and hard to decipher in places, the many different aspirations of characters like Sasuke, Saiko and Lord Leyusa become hard to follow. Are they on the verge of backstabbing the despotic Hideyoshi or are they loyal? And Goemon's internal emotional battle, the core of the piece, is hard to understand as he bemoans revenge yet ardently wants it himself. He wants a world without war, yet carries twin blades that proclaim “rule the world...by force”. Eguchi Yosuki wanders round in places unsure of his goal and purpose in the narrative. No acting performance therefore is outstanding, but no character is unessential either.

The female support in the shape of the lovely Lady Chacha, Lord Nobunaga’s niece, is nothing more than pretty fluff. The representation of women is as soft delicate creatures - the one female fighter in Saiko’s ninja squad is the first one despatched in the final reel. The men bear the weight of the world and power, and the will for peace if they so desire it.

This is also an era of Christian missionaries, and Lord Hideyoshi fortifies his army with guns and cannons smuggled from the West by these European visitors. However, as the film reaches its denouement, this battle between the traditional samurai sword and gunpowder revolution falls short. Swords can take out entire palatial stone support columns but a cannon bullet can’t find a single target.

The film perhaps would’ve been better in two parts, or even as a trilogy, to allow time to completely unlock each integral character’s own story and ambitions. Or, simply the sub-plot list could’ve been slimmed down and the emotional struggles of Goemon clarified. Each actor looks as though they know they’re carrying a huge film on their talents, and are slightly overwhelmed by the challenge rather than buoyed by it.


Goemon is a stunning visual treat, but too convoluted in essential plot points. Undoubtedly watchable, it falls short of the epic it wants to be by simply trying much too hard. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: Breathless

Film: Breathless
Release date: 22nd March 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 130 mins
Director: Yang Ik-june
Starring: Yang Ik-june, Kim Kkot-bi
Genre: Drama
Studio: Terracotta
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea

Breathless is a bleak, relentless and emotionally raw movie from South Korea. An uncompromising look at the violent underbelly of a section of poverty ridden urban South Korea, Breathless is the directorial debut of lead man and scriptwriter Yang Ik-joon, and has rightly been bestowed with a healthy array of awards.

Sang-Hoon (Ik-joon) is a seemingly sociopathic debt collector. He lives with memories of his mother’s and sister’s beatings, and his sister’s subsequent murder at the hands of their father. Sang-Hoon retreats into violence - the only language he truly understands – borne from the guilt of not being able to save his sibling. He strikes up an unlikely relationship with a schoolgirl who herself only understands violence and degradation from her own family.

His violence intensifies as he deals with his father’s release from prison, and the demands of his boss to help train and harden new recruits to the organisation. Sang-Hoon struggles to fit the mould of a good role model to his sad young nephew, the son of a half-sister, a boy he is in danger of colouring with his own nihilistic and antagonistic attitudes. However, the film asks is there hope of emotional redemption for Sang-Hoon, and more importantly does he have the capability to feel anything more than hatred and derision?


This film attempts to pick apart his tumultuous life and to understand why his tendency toward violence has coloured him as it has. It also shows how such unfettered and untreated aggression is locked tight in the DNA of society, threatening to replicate itself endlessly, here in the young nephew he is a reluctant role model to. The opening scene itself, a young man belittling and slapping a woman in the street, sets the tone for an unflinching look at bare-handed violence. Domestic violence may be the catalyst for Sang-Hoon’s downward spiral, but it is not the only uncomfortable brutality on display. Sang-Hoon picks fights with strangers, punches women and even slaps his own nephew. A scene where he puts the boy in an armbar submission hold and taunts him to escape is sad and subtly horrifying

Ik-joon plays Sang-Hoon with a chillingly believable dead-eyed detachment. He refuses to take pleasure in the aggression he dishes out, rather breaking himself free in order to perpetrate it. And in breaking himself free, so often the detachment is now perhaps irreparably permanent. The money hungry youths he trains learn his style quickly, and he makes sure any hesitation or apparent displays of empathy are quickly quashed with a beating of his own charges. For his seeming dumb posturing, Sang-Hoon is not dim to the knowledge that someday, somebody bigger and with more unresolved anger will be the match of him.

Ik-joon plays the vulgar mouthed but understated lead man with such gravitas the viewer can’t help but feel his own life is tainted with brutalism. His perfectly weighted role is supported beautifully by the wonderful acting of his schoolgirl friend Yeon-Hee (Kim Kkot-bi). As she lives with the same cyclical behaviours of belittlement and hostility from her own father and brother, she is inexorably drawn toward that type of man, and finds herself wanting to be with Sang-Hoon. His lone wolf attitude pushes her away at first, but as they need each other more they seek one another for some relief from the drudge and agonies of their own lives.

The sets are landmark-free non-touristic areas of Korea. Life in cold near poverty is depicted with washed out stark backdrops and bleak views. Unstylish clothes and unfashionable furniture help give the film, and its core theme of man’s timeless propensity towards hostility, an ageless appeal, refusing really to put it in any age or generation. The language is littered with the very harshest expletives not for a shock effect but for what Ik-joon sees as the truest reflection of the nihilistic hopeless.

The bleakness and traps of this violent behaviour and the uncompromising way it is fully depicted can be highly uncomfortable. It is in no way glorified. No air punching or wire cables here, just cold connecting fists and kicks that can, at times, nauseate the viewer.

Breathless is stubbornly unwilling to shy away from society’s sicknesses. The many scenes comprising this theme are broken and relieved by two long montages played over with gentle music showing Sang-Hoon, Yeon-Hee and his nephew out in the world, shopping and mixing among functional people and families yet never truly fitting in.

As the films pace allows layers to build and relationship dynamics to be understood and interwoven, nausea and discomfort evolves into empathy and worry, characters you are sure are irredeemable surprise you. The shaky documentary style photography adds to the grittiness and rawness.


Breathless is stark, dark and uncompromising. Well directed and with expertly judged emotional performances, this film has dared to expose the terrible unbreakable cycle of violence in an apparently progressive and evolved society. JM

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Victim

Film: The Victim
Release date: 10th July 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 92 mins
Director: Sammo Hung
Starring: Sammo Hung, Leung Ka-Yan, Chang Yi, Wilson Tong
Genre: Martial Arts/Action
Studio: Eastern Heroes
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong

The Victim sees the teaming up of Hung and Ka-Yan once again, following the success enjoyed together on films such as Knockabout and Enter The Fat Dragon.

Chen Rong (Hung), a drifter, likes to challenge his impressive fighting skills by throwing down gauntlets to renowned accomplished fighters, their masters and even their grandmasters. Yet, when he encounters a man he is unable to beat, a reclusive named Chun Yao, he kowtows and begs to become his student.

Yet Chun Yao is in seclusion with his wife, Yoo Yi, for good reason. His adopted father’s true son, Big Brother Ming, wants him dead and desires his wife.

Although dismissive and irritated by Chen’s constant badgering, will tragic events force Chun to accept the irascible wannabe student so he can face Ming and his hired heavies? And will a mysterious man seen only in shadow, a secretive hitman, prove to accomplish his dark mission to kill Chun Yao before Big Brother Ming need dirty his hands?


Leung Ka-Yan (known to HK fight fans affectionately as ‘Beardy’) is given centre stage quite unselfishly by co-star Hung. Leung Ka-Yan begun his career unschooled in unarmed combat, and rapidly learnt his impressive skills with various extra and cameo roles throughout the late 1970s. The Victim gave him chance to expand on his basic skills by practicing styles such as Northern style kung fu with luminaries such as Hung. Although, at the time, still regarded a novice, he does not disappoint. The style of Iron Cross he practices in this movie seems to have been in his armoury for many years, such is his seemingly effortless control and mastery.

Humorous segments, one particular favourite involving Chen stalking Chun Yao to a gentleman’s sauna and copying everything he does, contrast deftly with the suspense built throughout the piece with the intermittent scenes featuring the unidentified Hitman, always clad in shadow, being paid in gold. This contrast pulls through the lining of the film, with gravediggers meeting with a western stylised vampire, and role playing from Hung, who assumes Chun Yao’s standoffish character in order to have an angry conversation with him, as the man himself pretends to be ignorant of his existence.

Making wonderful use of the New Territories in Hong Kong gives the film its sense of pre-developed China, offering age and setting. A scene with the wannabe student against angry reluctant master sees the starring men take advantage of fighting in each room of a house, flipping through open plan windows and duelling around Chun’s wife. Unfortunately, a great scene involving Chen Rong in petulant bully mode is hard to see and savour, as he takes on a steam bath full of naked men with an example or two of expert towel flicking. This is sadly due to the steam, white background and un-restored age of the movie.

Another loss can be attributed to female lead Yoo Yi. Her vacuous staring into the distance leaves the viewer unsure if her pivotal character is truly tormented by the fate that surely awaits her, or if she is generally unsure about how to play the role of plot instigator.

Trademark weapon work interlaces with emotional intensity, perhaps slightly overplayed by the badgered Chun Yao, throughout this low budget masterpiece. The movie assumes a fine balance between comedic and crushing that ensures the series of unexpected twists play even sweeter to the viewer.

The crucial final reel sees Hung hand the limelight to Leung Ka-Yan as he faces his foe. Although The Victim is a sure progression in the realm of HK villain laden ‘this time its personal’ endeavours, Leung is still allowed a line at home within any Shaw Brothers epic: “Stay out of this, or you’ll all die.” Perhaps we know the outcome of this withering attack, but the well-timed tragic events preceding the epic battle give it much more depth – thankfully, it doesn’t make the viewer cringe.

The DVD is hard to get hold of, and is a straight VHS to DVD transfer. However, the scratchy frames and deviating colour mix set the viewer firmly in the warm and comforting filmic arms of old HK. The now defunct UK based label Eastern Heroes made sure the subtitles were updated and thankfully not burnt in with Mandarin characters, as many direct copies can be, and a small extras section offers an interview with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (absent from this movie), and a stills gallery.


Sometimes overlooked, this early classic is a satisfying and finely balanced example of Hong Kong action cinema. An aficionado and casual fan favourite, The Victim displays stunning choreography, the then emerging talent of Leung Ka-Yan, and a plot speckled with bluffs and twists. JM

 

REVIEW: DVD Release: Wheels On Meals

Film: Wheels On Meals
Release date: 7th April 2008

Certificate: 15

Running time: 104 mins

Director: Sammo Hung

Starring: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao

Genre: Martial Arts/Action/Comedy

Studio: Contender

Format: DVD

Country: Hong Kong

Wheels On Meals was one of just three movies which bought together the ‘3 Brothers’ - action superstar Jackie Chan, exceptional physical performer Yuen Biao and the venerated Big Brother, Sammo Hung (a trio much-loved in HK, and subsequently worldwide). Sprinkle in the inspired European setting of Barcelona, add a Caucasian former beauty queen with actual acting ability in Lola Forner, and the unbeaten fight legend Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez, and we’ve a practically unmatched example of cross-cultural cinematic harmony.

Cousins Thomas and David (Chan and Biao) are good-hearted Chinese immigrants attempting to carve a business in the mobile food business. They practice martial arts - Chan reluctantly - and have another Chinese friend, the blundering, if not charming ‘Moby’ (Hung).

Moby gains promotion to head a faltering detective agency, which is high in debt and low on cases. A break for the broke, Moby comes in contact with a gentleman wanting a missing person traced - the illegitimate daughter of a former maid once in the service of a rich and respected household. If she is found before another party led by ‘The Count’, a man with designs on the fortune himself, she in line for a mighty inheritance, and Moby an enormous salary.

As Moby makes enquiries of the whereabouts of Sylvia in smoky speakeasies, and the alleys and seedier regions of Barcelona, David and Thomas find themselves accidentally acquainted with Moby’s target. Her mother, the former maid, is a resident at the mental hospital, and romancing a fellow patient in David’s father. Cue cameos from other eccentric but playful patients in the shape of Richard Ng (now Woo) and John Shum, and the unique family-feel experience of a Sammo Hung movie starts to simmer.

Sylvia, obviously lovely and bedazzling to the cousins, is however an accomplished thief and a professional seductress who robs them, steals their Spanish gigolo of a neighbour’s car and crashes into Moby. She purloins his wallet, but the bumbling detective manages to trace her as she’s about to be kidnapped by The Counts henchmen. She manages to escape, and disappears until Moby works out her link to his friends. Moby enlists the help of his two Chinese brothers in tracing the beautiful inheritress…


Fully utilising the beauty of Spain’s capital, we’re treated to striking shots of a shimmering Barcelona, and vast pans of the sun-dappled cathedral and market square. These contrast capably with scenes set in Spain’s sewers and sparse countryside. Hung took a gamble taking the movie overseas, and he makes quite wonderful use of the sweeping roads for his staple car-cum-food-van-chase, as well as giving equal screen time to his Caucasian counterparts - although they are expectedly at odds with the Chinese characters who’re shown as fastidious and much more resourceful.

Inspired fight scenes pepper the movie. Hung makes great use of a vast market square to engineer an opening fight between Chan, Biao and a gang of petty motorcycle thugs whose anti-social revving is damaging their business. A huge crowd watches on as two thugs travelling at speed are drop-kicked from their bikes.

A high speed food van chase adds the expected dash of comedic velocity that is the trademark of ‘3 Brothers’ movies, as well as those aforementioned cameos from stalwarts of HK cinema.

The finale is set in a grand castle where the lovely Sylvia, since rediscovered and employed by the cousins as a waitress at the food van, and her quite mad mother are being held by The Count. At times, it resembles a Super Mario-style storyline, with each ‘brother’ trying different routes into the castle to save the ornately costumed ‘Princess’. Chan climbs a wall with sticks, while Biao abseils into trouble with some American baseball playing henchmen.

Our final fight reel sees Chan take on Urquidez in a dazzling display of skills that is seen by some fanatics as the greatest end fight scene in ‘80s cinema. His reluctance in training makes Chan sloppy and lacking in stamina, so he treats the bout as a training session to unsettle his bigger and stronger opponent. Hung chips in with some cumbersome weapon-wielding set to Chinese opera beats, while Biao does some playful but effective table acrobatics to take on Vitali.

Hung gives perhaps too much time over to the car chase, as well forcing in too many comedy set-pieces set in the hospital grounds and wine bar - Hung answers a phone, giving the lady lots of kisses and promises to see her later before passing it on to the bartender who’d been ribbing him earlier on and saying “your wife.”

These small deviances are tempered by the proficient fight editing and runaway enjoyment of the movie. This style of HK comedy is sadly wanting today.


One of the biggest martial arts movies to be produced outside of HK, Meals On Wheels pledges snappy laughs, polished fight scenes and, of course, fun. JM