A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES: Expect The Unexpected

A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES (Blu-ray)

2004 / 113 min

FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😽

In reviewing a considerable number of Chinese films over the years, I’ve become a fan of Andy Lau. Aside from House of Flying Daggers, he hasn’t done much that has made any real impact on this side of the pond. Nor has Hollywood had the good sense to take advantage of his talents like they have with Donnie Yen.

But Lau has has starred in some outstanding action films during his lengthy career. If you haven’t seen the likes of Firestorm, Internal Affairs, The Adventurers or Chasing the Dragon (his once-in-a-lifetime pairing with Yen), drop what you’re doing and seek these movies out. You won’t be disappointed.

That being said, I’m still not quite sure what to think about 2004’s A World Without Thieves. Most Lau films I’ve seen are from the action genre, but his one his completely different in pace and tone. That’s not to say he isn’t excellent in his role as Pang Bo, a smart, cocky thief who teams with partner/lover Wang Li (Rene Liu), traveling around the country to rob and fleece others. 

My Breakfast with Andy.

Their personal and professional relationship changes when Wang meets “Dumbo” (Wang Baoqiang), a gullible, naive young rube who simply wants to return home with money earned from a construction job, buy a house and get married. Charmed by his innocence, Wang becomes protective of him, while Pang initially sees him as just another mark, at least until another gang of expert thieves, led by “Uncle” Li (Ge You), conspire to steal Dumbo’s stash of cash. A battle of wits ensues.

The film is set primarily on a train, with both sides trying to one-up and outwit each other. But while there is some action, it arrives in fits & starts and mostly seems like an afterthought. The focus is more on light comedy, as well as the strange relationship between Dumbo, Pang and Yang, which is sometimes engaging, but just-as-often meandering. Lau is easily the best part of the film, but I’d argue he’s not even the primary protagonist. That would be Wang, who’s well-played by Liu, but her character isn’t nearly as interesting, despite being more sympathetic and complex.

A World Without Thieves is not the movie I was expecting, which is certainly a disappointment. But that could simply be because I simply haven't seen Andy Lau in anything but action flicks. Going into it without such assumptions arguably makes it a better film, or at least an interesting curio in the actor’s lengthy filmography. Though maybe a little too long and leisurely paced, it’s still worth checking out.

Batty BLIND WAR

BLIND WAR (Blu-ray)

2022 / 108 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Bonnie the Batty😼

In the bonkers pre-title sequence that sets the stage for the entire story, Blind War lays all its cards on the table. This Chinese action flick is gonna be a hyper-active, over-the-top bloodfest that throws plausibility to the wind and invites the viewer to climb aboard. 

Dong Gu (Andy On) is a SWAT team captain on duty outside a courthouse  where a powerful mob boss in on trial. Inside the building, the boss’ thugs, led by psychotic couple Lei Du and Xing Na (Yang Xing), start a killing spree in order to spring him. However, they Lei and Xing murder him as well (for reasons provided later). Ignoring orders, Dong leads his team inside and a massive firefight ensues, along with plenty of explosions, stabbing and brutal close-quarters martial-arts mayhem. Dong kills Lei with a flash grenade, but also goes permanently blind. The siege also gets a lot of his own men killed. Xing, however, survives and goes to prison.

After 18 months and several bouts of “mania” (diagnosed by his doctor), Dong learns to adjust to his disability with help from his dedicated daughter. He’s still a kick-ass fighter, but now his hearing has become almost supernaturally acute. This skill comes in handy when his daughter’s kidnapped by human traffickers. Still, he can’t do it all alone and help comes from the most unlikely person…Xing, who has broken out of prison. It turns out the leader of the traffickers is the son of her old mob boss. She still wants to avenge Lei’s death, but agrees to help Dong save his daughter first in order to kill the son as well.

Another great Stephen King book with a shitty ending.

Aside from a mundane middle act of father-daughter time that feels like it was included more out of obligation than character exposition, Blind War charges full speed ahead. Dong and Xing’s unlikely teaming drives both the story and action, with the latter’s backstory revealed over the course of the narrative through brief flashbacks. For the most part, watching them raise hell with the mob (and police) is both exhilarating and ridiculous. Occasionally, however, the action is disrupted by truly stupid moments of comic relief courtesy of a bumbling detective (Dao Dao) who spends a majority of the film collecting wounds and bruises.

Brash, outlandish and loaded with bloody violence, Blind War wins no awards for subtlety. Still, I can’t honestly say it was boring. Right from the get-go, the film proudly (and loudly) emphasizes bombast over believability. The sooner the viewer accepts that, the more fun they’re likely to have.

All the BLACK MASK You'll Ever Need

BLACK MASK (Blu-ray)

1996 / 100 min

FROM EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bonecrusher😼

Man, I didn’t realize so many different versions of 1996’s Black Mask even existed (giving ol’ George Lucas a run for his money). For this 2-disc Blu-ray, Eureka Entertainment serves up four of them (listed below). But for the sake of expediency, we screened just the Uncut Hong Kong version for this review.

Jet Li plays Tsui Chik, a former super-soldier who was once part of an entire team (the “701”) that underwent experimental surgery which rendered them impervious to pain. However, when they became too hard to control, the experiment was abandoned and the team ordered killed. Some of them escaped, though, with Tsui going off on his own to Hong Kong.

Now he leads a quiet life as a librarian. His only friend is Inspector Shek (Lau Ching-Wan), a dedicated cop who’s occasionally exasperated by Tsai’s passiveness, refusing to even defend himself. What he doesn’t know is that Tsai leads a double life, donning a mask & hat to kick-ass as the Black Mask. 

The Black Mask Bartender.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s big-time drug dealers are being murdered one-by-one, with no apparent suspects. It’s a case that vexes Shek, but Tsai learns it’s the rest of the 701, led by former commander Hung (Patrick Lung), with plans to take complete control of Hong Kong’s drug trade.

Black Mask is a fun but silly film, with a definite ‘90s aesthetic and characters who are generally painted in broad strokes (particularly the antagonists). Right from the get-go, there’s a lot of action and bloody violence…guns, explosions, destruction and, of course, plenty of martial arts mayhem. But while Li’s legendary fighting skills are on display, his efforts are occasionally undone by hyperkinetic editing, to the point where the viewer might sometimes have trouble knowing what’s going on. 

Of all the actionfests in Jet Li’s lengthy filmography, Black Mask doesn’t rank among his best - narratively or technically - but does have a sizable cult fanbase, who’ll certainly appreciate having four versions of the film to plow through, as well as some interesting bonus features.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

4 CUTS OF THE FILM - Uncut Hong Kong version (100 min); “Export version” (87 min); Taiwan version (101 min); Extended version (102 min).

FEATURETTES - MegaShock! is an 30 minute interview with stuntman Mike Lambert; Andrew Heskins on Black Mask features the critic discussing the film; In Leon Hunt on Black Mask, the author talks more about the film; Making-of documentary.

4 TRAILERS

REVERSIBLE COVER & SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET (not reviewed).

BORN TO FLY: China's Top Gun

BORN TO FLY (Blu-ray)

2023 / 128 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Pepper the Poopy😼

Born to Fly is China’s answer to Top Gun, with a heaping helping of nationalism thrown in for good measure. Let’s not hold the latter against it, since this is far from the first movie to trumpet its own country while vilifying others.

This is most blatantly depicted in the prologue, which has enemy jets buzzing into Chinese territory while deftly dodging China’s outdated aircraft. Though it’s never stated outright, the pilots are obviously Americans, cartoonishly trash-talking the good guys with taunts like “We can come & go whenever we want.” These faceless foes are the closest thing Born to Fly has to antagonists, serving the same narrative purpose as the anonymous “Jerrys” in countless World War II epics. Only there’s no apparent war going on here…just a couple of pilots being dicks.

So it’s a little ironic that the rest of the film liberally cops from one of the most distinctively “American” movies of the last 50 years. Only instead of the best-of-the-best competing for bragging rights, they’re jockeying to be test pilots for stealthy new aircraft that’ll shame their enemies. Born to Fly has its own Maverick in the form of Lei (Wang Yibo), a rebellious hot-shot pilot who goes through the paces of wowing his superiors, getting humbled, doing some soul searching and bouncing back to glory. He’s occasionally thwarted by the movie’s Iceman, Deng Fang (Yu Shi), his biggest rival. In the downtime, there’s even a female doctor who becomes personally invested in Lei (though these two never actually hop in the sack together).

"Dude, where'd you learn to clap?"

The rest of the narrative follows the Top Gun playbook step by step, right down to the climactic aerial showdown with their enemies, who appear to be the same asshole pilots who bullied them in the prologue. Okay, so Born to Fly is laughably derivative…but is it entertaining? Yeah, sometimes. Though one will certainly question these aircraft’s ability to turn on a dime, the flight scenes are generally good and one sequence involving the attempt to land after a bloody bird-strike is fairly suspenseful. The subplot where Lei is attempting to perfect anti-spin parachutes is also kind of interesting. 

Aside from Lei, characterization is minimal and most of the drama outside of the cockpit is uninvolving. Even the pilots’ commander, Zhang (Hu Jun), essentially exists to evoke national pride and create poignancy when he dies. That ain’t really a spoiler, folks. Whenever a movie like this introduces a supporting character’s family, that guy’s a goner. Elsewhere, Born to Fly is at-least a half-hour overlong, but there’s some amusement to be found in its strict adherence to the Top Gun formula (minus a catchy Kenny Loggins tune), along with a few decent action scenes.

POLAR RESCUE Doesn't Deserve Donnie

POLAR RESCUE (Blu-ray)

2022 / 103 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Mr. Bonnie😾

Ever since starting this site and reviewing more Asian action films than I care to remember, I’ve become a pretty big fan of Donnie Yen. Not only is he a consummate modern era ass-kicker, he’s got the acting chops to back up the fighting skills. It’s probably a big reason he’s been tapped for quite a few American films of late (though Hollywood still hasn't had the balls to give him a lead role).

Conversely, 2022’s Polar Rescue is the first film - of those I’ve seen, anyway - that is totally devoid of Yen’s badassery. He actually gets his ass handed to him on a few occasions. As De, he’s simply a desperate dad trying to find his eight-year-old son, who’s gone missing in the snowy mountains during a storm. As such, he nails the role and is easily the best part of the film. In fact, Yen is the only reason it might - might - be worth watching at all.

The rest of Polar Rescue is undone by a messy narrative, clunky dialogue and a slew of irritating, unpleasant characters…beginning with De’s own son. The opening set-up firmly establishes the kid as an obnoxious little shit before conveniently disappearing. And it gets worse. When De and wife Xuan (Cecilia Han) go for help, the police almost immediately badger & berate him for wanting to be involved in the search. In fact, as the rescue effort grows increasingly perilous, damn near everyone blames De for endangering them in the first place. How dare he hold out hope that his boy is still alive!

When you make the effort to hide but no one seeks you.

Ridiculously, authorities and the media focus more on De’s shortcomings as a dad than the rescue itself. Even Xuan gets into the act, asking point blank if he ever loved his son at all, to which De doesn’t reply. Instead, we get flashbacks showing him as an indifferent father, thus making the movie’s lone sympathetic character someone not entirely likable. By this time, the story has grown repetitive and interminable, despite a late effort to liven things up with an avalanche.

A shame, really, because Yen’s performance is excellent, deftly conveying the frustration, determination and desperation any parent would feel in this situation…all without delivering a single body blow or roundhouse kick. Unfortunately, Polar Rescue repeatedly sabotages his efforts, resulting in a movie that isn’t worthy of such dedication.

SHADOW MAGIC: More Heartfelt Than Historical

SHADOW MAGIC (Blu-ray)

2001 / 116 min

FROM SONY

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Pepper the Poopy😺

Released in 2001, Shadow Magic makes few claims of historical accuracy. However, some of the characters are based on real people who were key figures in the making of what’s widely considered China’s first film…way back in 1905. 

Taking place a few years before that, Liu Jinglun (Xia Yu) is a young photographer who’s fascinated by western technology, to the chagrin of his boss, Master Ren (Liu Perqi), and father (Jingming Wang), both of whom are Chinese traditionalists. When enterprising Englishman Raymond Wallace (Jared Harris) arrives with moving picture cameras and projectors, Liu is intrigued. Others, including snobbish opera star Tan Linmei (Li Yuheng), are dismissive of this ‘shadow magic,’ thinking it will ever catch on.

Tan is wrong, of course. When Liu and Wallace partner up and open a little movie house, the locals show up in droves, entranced by what they see. However, not only do a few incidents hamper their success, Liu is eventually ostracized by others for abandoning traditions and defying his father, the latter of which is exacerbated by his refusal to marry a rich widow (at Dad's behest) because he’s in love with Tan’s daughter (Xing Yufei).

"Our new movie needs dinosaurs...go wrangle a few."

Despite the historical context, much of the film covers familiar narrative ground. While well done and often interesting, the emotional heart of the story is the relationship between Liu and Wallace, which grows into a close friendship that contributes greatly to the affecting climax & denouement. Elsewhere, the sequences depicting filmmaking in its infancy - as well as its presentation - are fascinating.

Though leisurely paced and maybe a little overlong, Shadow Magic boasts a charming story with two likable main characters, both earnestly portrayed by Yu and Harris. And while film may not exactly be a history lesson, the attention to period detail related to movie making certainly feels authentic. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Ann Hu

TRAILER

WOLF PACK: Bloody Fun with Hired Guns

WOLF PACK (Blu-ray)

2022 / 105 min

FROM WELL GO USA 

Review by Mr. Bonnie😺

Once you work your way through some implausibilities and a story that’s initially kind of confusing, Wolf Pack is a fun, exciting Chinese action thriller. 

Troubled doctor Ke Tong (Aariff Lee) is kidnapped by an elite group of mercenaries led by Diao (Max Zhang), who coerces him into joining them. Their latest mission is to prevent a terrorist organization from sabotaging a Chinese natural gas pipeline. In almost no time, Ke Tong goes from hapless emergency surgeon to skilled soldier and part of the team. 

That’s probably the biggest narrative implausibility, but not a big deal. Between gunfights and chases, watching him get chummy with this eclectic group - sporting nicknames like Bombshell and Monstrosity - is highly enjoyable.

Some of the action is kind of implausible, too, starting with the initial kidnapping, an outrageous sequence where Ke Tong is tethered to a hot air balloon and snatched away by a helicopter. That’s no big deal, either, because one doesn’t necessarily have to believe it to enjoy it, especially since the ample action sequences are extremely well executed. 

Diao decides to turn right.

Because of this, we don’t mind so much that the plot is kind of difficult to follow at first, particularly during scenes where the dialogue switches from Mandarin to English delivered with thick accents. But that’s also no big deal. By the suspenseful final act, the agendas of both sides of the conflict are clear.

Wolf Pack won’t win any awards for originality, but it’s never dull. Even during the downtime, the ensemble cast injects enough personality into their characters for us to really like them. The story also includes an interesting subplot revealing Diao’s reason for recruiting Ke Tong in the first place. He knew the guy’s father, as well as how he died (something that’s been tormenting Ke Tong for years). Do we ultimately need such a sidebar? Maybe not, but it does reveal a bit of humanity behind Diao’s steely exterior.

Fans of Chinese action may notice stylistic similarities to such other recent military-based films as Wolf Warrior and Operation Red Sea, to which this one compares quite favorably. One also gets the impression that we haven’t seen the last of this team. Here’s hoping that’s the case, because it could be a fun franchise.