Full
disclosure: I pretty much loved this
movie. Is it high art? No, but it’s a damn good time, with an
engaging cast and wonderfully-entertaining action sequences.
When her
fiancé is a no-show at the altar, Macy heads to Tokyo in the hopes of finding
him. She’s followed there by Yung, the
interior decorator who insists on collecting the fee her beau owes him, but
once they arrive in Japan, it’s immediately clear that there’s more going on
here than a delayed flight or a groom with cold feet. Bad guys who work for worse guys are also on
the hunt for the missing Takahashi, and Macy and Yung additionally catch the
attention of Mr. Lin, a Chinese private eye working in Tokyo who’s been on the
case.
I’ll
concede that it’s not a perfect film.
There are cheesy moments here and there, and some of the twists are
plainly there to disguise the overall thinness of the plot, which at times
feels merely like a means of getting from one action set piece to another. All that said, it is a perfectly-serviceable action mystery with comic
flourishes. It clips along at a good
pace and always entertains, even if it doesn’t always hold together as a tight
narrative.
Some good
performances here. I’m not familiar with
either Kelly Chen or Ekin Cheng, who play Macy and Yung, but they’re both very
likable. Together with Tony Leung
Chiu-wai’s Lin, they make for an engaging trio.
I know this is a film that, since its release has spawned two sequels,
and I don’t know if either is any good, but I’m still looking forward to seeing
them based on the chemistry generated by this cast.
But far
and away, Mr. Lin is my favorite thing about this movie. He’s mysterious, suave, magnetic, and just
the right amount of ridiculous – there are some great bits, especially in his
action scenes, that neatly balance on the right side of goofy without veering
into cheesy. The “but can they trust him
really?!” signs are practically
flashing in neon, but that’s okay. Mr.
Lin pulls people in, throwing them offguard and leaving them unsure what to
make of him even as they’re getting into a car with him. There’s even something fun about how he uses
his terrible Japanese to his professional advantage: he gets the juiciest, most secret cases
because people assume no one’s talking to the Chinese P.I. who barely speaks
Japanese.
Leung is
fantastic in this role. I can’t quite
describe the overall effect of his performance here. Lin is super capable and frequently unflappable
in the seemingly most-hopeless situations, but at the same time, there’s just
the slightest air that he’s making it all up as he goes along and is flying by
the seat of his pants. I don’t know what
it is, but I love it and I’m excited to see more of this character.
Recommend?
In
General
– I would. Great action, really
entertaining, and a good jumping-off point for this franchise. I hope the other two movies are this much
fun.
Tony
Leung Chiu-wai
– Definitely. While this character is
pretty well designed to make audiences enjoy him, Leung plays it for all he’s
worth. He’s like a charisma bomb wrapped
in an investigator package and pulling off some audacious action scenes.
Warnings
Violence,
brief sexual content, language, and drinking/smoking.
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