So film done and that was incredible in many ways to me.
It felt like ‘The Avengers’ where there’s 3 stars of Hong Kong cinema coming together for an huge adventure, and everything and the kitchen sink has been thrown at it.
It’s also very silly, and it’s clear the filmmakers are “in on the joke” to a large degree. It’s not what I’d call a parody, but it’s leaning into the tropes very hard.
Super enjoyable film to watch. I’d imagine great with a crowd to say “Did you just see that?!” with.
For me to say “WHAT?! OH NO?!” In the final sequence, after everything I’ve said “What?!” about previously… well the final sequence is doing some things.
Maggie Cheung is so good in this.
They play something of the Hawkeye/Han Solo character. That is, wielding charisma and conventional weaponary along side their more superpowered friends.
So I’ve seen wild movies. ‘Mandy’ and ‘Holy Mountain’ for instance. So we’re not at that level.
This feels more like ‘Kung Fu Hustle’, but still a bit more unhinged and random than that.
I should be clear, the plot of this film is absolutely a hot mess.
But it’s so hot, and so messy, that it becomes a feature and not a bug.
OMG This film features a flying guillotine!
(Also featured in my cult movie of a few weeks ago… The Master Of The Flying Guillotine!)
This film is wild. I was just screaming at the screen “What? What?! WHAT?!?!”.
Every time Cinema Kid comes near I say, “You have to see this thing that just happened.”
I downplayed Anita Mui in the original post because I didn’t recognise the name. She’s in Drunken Master II and Rumble In The Bronx!
This features possibly the most amazing kitten rescue ever depicted on film.
This exactly the sort of thing I like. Highly imaginative scenarios, and astounding feats of acrobatics and martial arts.
Dread Pirate (Tom) Roberts