Rating: **
Review Date: 7/4/05
Written And Directed By: Frankie Chan
Cast: Leon Lai, Frankie Chan, Vivian Chow, Kent Cheng, Sharon Kwok,
Kim Maree Penn, Norman Chu (Tsui Siu Keung)
A typical Frankie Chan action comedy in that it's not funny at all, and the only thing that saves it from complete failure is Chan's excellent fight choreography. Wei Han (Leon Lai) is a Singapore police officer who is engaged to marry Ching Ha (lovely Vivian Chow), the daughter of a Hong Kong triad boss (Kent Cheng). *sigh* A frequent and worn out plot device that makes me wonder just how often this really happens. Anyway, Cheng doesn't want his daughter marrying a cop, so he does everything he can to split them up, including paying super sexy Sharon Kwok to frame him for being unfaithful. Han's childhood friend Yeung Yee (Frankie Chan) somehow gets involved, and it's unclear what his relationship to both Han and Ching Ha is, but it's complicated. After about an hour of tedious shenanigans, Norman Chu and his gang of foreign thugs (including a shockingly sexy Kim Maree Penn) go after Han to avenge his brother's death. Cheng gets shot and Ching Ha gets kidnapped, so it's up to Han and Yee to rescue her. Much kung fu goodness goes down, although somewhat spoiled by the inclusion of some silly toy race cars.
Again, Frankie Chan's action choreography is superb, and the fight scenes are excellent and hard hitting. Leon Lai performs some superb stuntwork and even Vivian Chow gets into the act by bludgeoning some baddies with a baseball bat. Kim Maree Penn's exchange with Chan is excellent, but she's woefully under-utilized. Vivian Chow is charming throughout (and even gets to fire a gun!), but sadly spends most of her time crying or screaming. She does go into super bitch mode towards the end, which is stunning to watch. Unfortunately, the majority of the film is just painful to watch, and the dialog is appalling. It's better to just skip to the end and watch the fight scenes.