| Using familiar tactics, Tsui Hark portrays a page out of history (but more in a comic book style) as revolutionaries try to bring down the forces standing behind puppet emperor Pu Yi, including Commander Masa (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) and Kawashima Yoshiko (Joyce Godenzi). An assembly of old and young characters fighting, including Dr Choy (Dean Shek), small time hoodlum Bobo Bear (Jacky Cheung) and Lieutenant Mang (Paul Chu) occupy our time in this matinee style Hong Kong cinema experience. Doing scene transitions via animation or illustration, this very late Cinema City production (if not THE last one that caused the company to fold. The box office wasn't particularly great for the film) scores technically and size-wise but overall only fair. Getting over the fact that Dean Shek is restrained and our old timey, stuntdoubled action hero isn't that hard and the mix of comical situations where misunderstandings rule, bloody gunplay and other assorted nasty bits connecting to the poisonous gas-plot is familiar stuff for seasoned viewers of Hong Kong cinema. But all of the above has simply been done better by the duo of directors in Peking Opera Blues and The Raid rarely becomes its own thing despite energy level being maintained throughout. |
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