The Touch (2002)

Director:

Peter Pau

Writers:

Julien Carbon (writer)
Laurent Courtiaud (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 2002 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Adventure | Action | Romance

Plot:

A sister and brother, the last heirs of a family of acrobats, are called upon by a Buddhist monk sect to retrieve an artifact that their ancestors have protected throughout the ages. |

Plot Keywords:

Artifact | Acrobat | Martial Arts | Buddhism | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Michelle Yeoh	...	Pak Yin Fay
Ben Chaplin	...	Eric
Richard Roxburgh	...	Karl
Sihung Lung	...	The Monk-Dun Huang
Brandon Chang	...	Pak Yeuk Tong
Margaret Wang	...	Lily
Dane Cook	...	Bob
Emmanuel Lanzi	...	Draco
Kenneth Tsang	...	Ping
Gabriel Harrison	...	Sam (as Gabriel Hoi)
Winston Chao	...	Yin's Father
Zhenghai Kou	...	Silvio
Liu Chang Sheng	...	Pang
Hua Qin	...	Fat-Wah
Sua Lang Rao Deng	...	The monk - 700 Yrs. Ago

Also Known As:

Tian mai chuan qi (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence.

Runtime:

China:103 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong | Taiwan | Japan

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Aruze Corporation

Quotes:

Eric: Look, I only steal from the rich.
Pak Yin Fay: Only because the poor don't have anything worth taking.
Eric: There's an element of truth to that.

Crouching Tiger and the Last Crusade

Unoriginal, poorly produced, poorly acted, and ultimately disappointing, this film takes the beautifully orchestrated acrobatic moves of Crouching Tiger (not to mention the leading lady), but executes them with an awkwardness surpassed only by the overused blue-screen and computer-generated special effects. Some of the action scenes were well done, but as a whole, it failed to bring anything more than what most low-grade action films offer.

The many attempts to inject humor into the film, via the classic "moronic American idiot" who bumbles around the film acting like he just left the set of latest Police Academy installment, is so out of place that it annoyinging disrupts the flow of the film and leaves the audience to wonder, "what the hell is that guy doing in this movie?"

Perhaps most disappointing were the performances of the two lead characters, who after promising roles in "Crouching Tiger" and "Birthday Girl" seemed to have settled for whatever script was tossed their way.

I rated this film a 4. It was compelling enough that I stayed to see the ending, but in the end, I wish that I hadn't. Utterly forgettable and disappointing...