Forget the unconvincing and rather squicky love story that's supposed to be the main plot of this movie. Watch this one for the following three things:
1. Jackie Chan vs Brad Allen in two killer fight sequences. Fast, furious and full of beautiful footwork, these two sequences play more like an elaborate mating ritual than a fight. Brad's off-screen relationship as one of Jackie's young proteges is evident, and it's a rush to see these two going at it, Brad's style so clearly influenced by Jackie's. The respect these two have for each other just charges their scenes, and it almost feels as if Jackie is passing the torch on to Brad here by letting Brad win in the first fight and then calling the second one a draw. Wow. But don't think for a moment Jackie's lost it...the final fight shows that he still can deliver the goods.
2. The relationship between CN (Jackie Chan) and LW (Emil Chau). Playing rivals since childhood, Jackie and Emil have the best scenes together...it was just interesting the way LW just couldn't bring himself to be a real "bad guy" even as CN was doing everything he could to basically put LW out of business. Even when LW was going to have CN thrown overboard, he instructed his goons to make sure CN had a buoy so he wouldn't drown. And later on when LW brings in Brad Allen to kick CN's butt to humiliate him, LW just looks so disappointed and worried when Brad actually does it.
The best scene, though, was CN washing the gasoline off of LW, when LW was going to burn down CN's warehouse and take himself out at the same time. The two of them going on and reminiscing about how they messed things up when they were younger was too funny and sweet. NICE slashy moment. I wanted CN to forget about that irritating and way too young girl Bu and realize that he and LW should get together. Sigh!
3. Jackie in white, nearly the entire movie. Mrrrrrrowl! Isn't it a crime to look this good in stark white?
But about that squicky love story...I'm sorry but as much as I love Jackie, I couldn't stomach his character and the extremely young Bu together. Nothing against the actress Qi Shu, who played her part as well as could be played. She just seemed way too young and too immature for CN. I know the point was supposed to be that her innocence was exactly what CN was looking for...but it bothered me. I couldn't see them convincingly together.
SUMMARY:
Overall rating: B. The main plot didn't thrill me, but the fights and the sub-plots were good. Also it just felt l-o-n-g, a rare complaint I have about a Jackie movie but this one just seemed to ramble on with no real point.
Droolworthiness: A+ Jackie in white. Sweaty training sequence. 'Nuff said.
Slashiness: B+ for the CN and LW scenes, and for Tony Leung as Albert, the gay man Bu meets in Hong Kong who tries to help her win her man.
Action: A- Two awesome Jackie vs. Brad scenes, two shorter prop fights for Jackie...not a lot, but what's there is good stuff.
Version note: I saw the HK subtitled version of this movie, not the dubbed & edited US release. From what I've read elsewhere the US version lost some of the funnier moments, which I guess were considered 'too foreign' to be funny to US audiences. Oh well...
