| Julian Cheung plays an undercover cop sent in to get an arms smuggler (Michael Wong). When the attempted arrest goes wrong, Cheung is put under investigation by the police force, including a psychiatrist played by Francis Ng (in a startlingly "normal" performance). Shunned by everyone except his girlfriend Gigi Lai, Cheung eventually hooks back up with Wong for a major arms deal. With a large stash of missiles heading for Hong Kong, the cops must decide if Cheung is still on their team or not.
Theft Under the Sun has a number of problems going for it -- a weak plot and script (Gigi Lai's character is totally unnecessary and only serves to annoy despite looking good in short skirts and hotpants), bad acting (pretty much a given in any movie featuring Michael "dead wood" Wong, who seems to be trying to legitimize himself by adding the laughable "Fitzgerald" to his name), really bad computer effects (your average art student could probably come up with better stuff than this), and an ending so contrived and sugary sweet (not to mention wholly implausible), it would fit in better with your average '80s US low-budget action flick rather than a relatively high-budget Hong Kong affair.
However, all in all, Theft Under the Sun isn't too bad if you take it as a no-brain action movie. The action sequences (excepting the cheesy effects) are pretty well done and manage to generate at least some excitement -- something which cannot be said for many more "prestigous" films that waste too much time with dramatics rather than pyrotechnics. It's the type of movie that you won't be raving about, but it's a nice way to kill some time while quaffing a few brews and laughing at its' shortcomings. |
Reviews:
