The Treasure Hunter (2009) Ci Ling (original title)

Director:

Yen-ping Chu

Release Date:

30 December 2009 (Thailand)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A notorious international crime group chases after a young chivalrous man, his mentor's daughter, and a famous archaeologist, who possess a map leading to ancient treasure. |

Cast

Jay Chou	...	Qiao Fei
Chiling Lin	...	Lan Ting
Eric Tsang	...	Chop
Daoming Chen	...	Master Hua
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chu-he Chen	...	Desert Eagle
Will Liu	...	Friday
Pu Miao	...	Swords Thirteen
Ian Powers	...	Russian Smuggler
Kenneth Tsang	...	Tu Lao-dai

Directed by
Yen-ping Chu

Produced by
Yang Du	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ricky Ho

Makeup Department
Xiaohai Yang	....	makeup artist

Visual Effects by
Goby Hsiao Yun Chou	....	CGI senior animator

Stunts
Siu-Tung Ching	....	stunt coordinator
Ian Powers	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Raymond Lam	....	a camera/stedicam operator

Music Department
Coralie Hartl	....	music contractor
Phillip Hartl	....	concert master: violin

Production Companies

• Chang-Hong Channel Film & Video Co.
• Yen Ping Films Production

Distributors

• Cinema Asia Releasing (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Eleven Arts (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Noori Pictures (2010) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Scorpio East (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Splendid Film (2010) (Germany) (theatrical)
• E1 Entertainement (2010) (France) (DVD)
• Emperor Motion Pictures (2009) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (HBO2) (limited)
• Splendid Film (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Splendid Film (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Also Known As:

"Ci Ling" - Taiwan (original title)

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | UK:12

Company:

Chang-Hong Channel Film & Video Co.

The Treasure Hunter is not so bad

Well, that is the truth. As it is directed by the guy behind Kung Fu Dunk, I am surprised that this is actually more entertaining than his previous movie. I did not really enjoy Kung Fu Dunk and I was disappointed at how some great ideas turned into a rushed plot movie. So after reading the horrible reviews of The Treasure Hunter, I lowered my expectations. I didn't catch it in cinema due to the reviews and instead I waited for the DVD which surprisingly came out quite fast. I rented it and prepared for the worst. But it turned out to be actually cheesy fun.

The story: Those who bluntly said that this is a rip-off of The Mummy and others are right. The director took the popular adventure movies and spun a story on his own which turns out not to be original. Though not original, I was still entertained by cheesy fight scenes and action-packed story. Now, the story is nothing much to mention and time of the story is weird. First, they are in the dessert and another scene shows them in a modern city. Unless they are jumpers, it is impossible but in a story. The story is a bit jumbled but the action covers it. The action (some are a bit sloppy) is not great by any means but it is entertaining. The acting is not that good. Jay Chou, I don't even know how he got into the movie with his one and only expression. Chiling Lin, the female main character, is a disappointment. Her acting is not bad in Red Cliff. But now, she creates some laughable expressions.

Overall: It is not a great movie even for a Chinese movie but it serves its purpose, to entertain. A lot of people hate this and call it the worst movie of 2009 but I don't think so. I enjoyed this better than Kung Fu Dunk, the movie where ideas become rushed and into junk.