House Of Fury: Viewer Comments

If you dismiss this as just another HK pop fluff, teenybopper flick, then you are, in my opinion, missing out. I really liked Stephen Fung's directorial debut, ENTER THE PHOENIX (a gay triad comedy drama, check it out); so I wasn't apprehensive about picking this one up when it came out some years ago. Sure, it's pretty light popcorn entertainment, but it's done well. And Fung has a keen eye for comedy, drama, and action as well--albeit on a somewhat lightweight level in all categories. But this is really an enjoyable effort all around.

A lot of action fans despise the TWINS, in all their cutesy, bubbly glory. I don't really mind them. They're easy on the peepers, occasionally funny, decent dramatic actors when they wanna' be, and can usually hold their own in action scenes. Ah Sa takes a back seat here, while Ah Gil shares top billing with director Fung as the kung fu fighting brother and sister, who have to put their sibling squabbles aside when their father, played hilariously by the great Anthony Wong, is kidnapped.

The chemistry between Fung and Ah Gil is good. And most of the cast does a decent job with what they've got--well, there is Michael Wong. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: that man couldn't act to save his life, in English or Cantonese. And the fact that he constantly switches between the two here doesn't exactly improve his already hammy performance.

Bear in mind though that this is really one of those wink, wink, nudge, nudge movies that shouldn't be taken too seriously. If you do, you're missing the point. It has sort of a comic book feel to it, and you just have to go along for the ride.

The comedy works well, and is pretty funny most of the time. And there are a lot of cool little touches to spruce things up, auch as several hilarious Bruce Lee references, Wong's quirky dad character, and the little white kid, who truly blew me away upon first viewing.

The fights are done by Yuen Wo Ping, which means the usual new age, stylish wire-heavy kind. But Fung and Ah Gil get to do plenty of grounded fighting too, and they look great, as far as non-martial artist stars go. It's also a rare but welcome treat to see Anthony Wong (a real-life monkey fist exponent) bust out the martial skills. And I haven't laughed this much at a Bruce Lee impression since Sammo did his bit in ENTER THE FAT DRAGON and SKINNY TIGER, FATTY DRAGON.

As a whole, I enjoyed this movie on the same level as I enjoyed flicks like GEN-X COPS, MY SCHOOLMATE THE BARBARIAN and the aforementioned ENTER THE PHOENIX. They put me in a good mood. And sometimes, that's all I'm looking for.