Wei xian qing ren (1992)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Michael Mak

Cast

Aaron Kwok	...	Wang Chia-Hui
Ching Wan Lau	...	Liu
Ka-Yan Leung	...	Ma
Elvis Tsui	...	Han
Fennie Yuen	...	Min
King-Tan Yuen	...	Hsi

Also Known As:

The Shootout (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

I should have known ..

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

SPOILERS!!!! The information available at the IMDB is invaluable when deciding what movies will become part of my collection. So when considering the purchase of "The Shootout" I checked the site to see what others had to say. Surprisingly, for a movie almost ten years old, it had not yet received the minimum number of comments. This should have told me something. Despite this, I took a chance and purchased the DVD version, which is subtitled and not dubbed.

In the movie's opening sequence, an armored car is robbed a gang of thieves on motorcycles. Guards are killed, and the bandits make off with a large amount of cash. Unfortunately, this is one of only two decent action sequences in this film. The second sequence is the film's finale. In between is 80 minutes that fails to be entertaining or amusing. A story that quickly bogs down as a group of four incompetent cops tries to capture the thieves.

The lead actor, Aaron Kwok, plays a bumbling police officer. Instead of focusing on the case, his attention is devoted to pursuing a woman he sees in a market. Lucky for him, she turns out to be involved with the leader of the band of thieves.

Jackie Chan is credited as the Producer, and there are continuous attempts to inject a comedic flavor. It just doesn't work. If you do laugh, it probably will not be at something that the filmmakers intended you to laugh at, like the excessive use of sparks whenever there are shots fired.

The movie's finale is the best action sequence in the film, but it's nothing outstanding, and the close quarters fighting is just OK. Why this movie was titled the "The Shootout" is a mystery. There is no big shootout scene, and when the major baddie dies, it isn't in a gunfight.

Aside from the action scenes at the beginning and end, there is very little to recommend in this film. Kwok's performance is annoying, and without any charm. The rest of the cast isn't much better. Adding the IQ's of the rest of the detective team, you might not get a three digit number.

I wish that reviews had been posted before I got this movie. Avoid my mistake. "The Shootout" is off target, and fires major blanks. (Maybe that's where all the sparks came from)

K-Rating: 3/10.