"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Friday, February 28, 2020

A Little TLC(w): Seoul Raiders (2005)


While I haven’t quite decided how I think it compares to Tokyo Raiders, I really enjoyed this movie.  It’s a lot of fun to see Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Lam again, and sure, the plot is pretty popcorn-flick, but I could watch those action scenes all day.

When Lam comes across a multi-million-dollar McGuffin – the “Avenger” Plate, for anyone who cares to know – he steals it from the crooks who stole it in the first place and attempts to return it for the reward money, only to be double-crossed by the intelligence agents he was liaising with.  He’s then recruited to tail the crooked agent to South Korea and recover the plate before it can be sold to a notorious gangster.  Along the way, he acquires a partner/rival in the form of J.J., a hungry young thief who’s eager to improve her circumstances.

At first, I found myself missing Macy and Yung from the first movie, as I hadn’t realized that only Lam was carrying over.  Although I’d easily call Lam the franchise’s best asset, I did enjoy the makeshift team-up vibe of the first film and had been expecting to see those relationships continue.  As the film went on, however, I got invested enough in Lam’s dynamic with J.J. and Owen, the agent who stole the plate, that I didn’t miss the old crew as much.  And while the characters are different, I enjoy the fact that Lam apparently has “an entourage of cute girls” he can enlist to help him in any country, who are all devoted, resourceful, and scrappy.

As in the first film, the action scenes are the biggest selling point for me.  You can certainly find greater skill/mastery in other films, but the fights here have so much style and personality, enough that you don’t really mind that the story is little more than an excuse to string one fight scene after another together.  We’ve got fights in bath houses and subway cars, fights on escalators, and fights involving dinner plates.  They’re endlessly fun and watchable and, for me, never feel repetitive.

With Leung back as Lam, the film is anchored by his entertaining, charismatic performance.  It’s essentially just more of the same from the first film, but I don’t mind that. They obviously aren’t the kind of movies, and this isn’t the kind of character, where you expect dramatic personal growth.  You’re in it to see Lam be smooth and cocky while simiultaneously a little ridiculous, and the movie delivers handily on that front.

In addition to the excellent fights, I like Leung’s breezy, mildly-adversarial chemistry with Qi Shu, who plays J.J., and I love the offbeat notes of humor.  In particular, I like Lam’s moment of pettiness with Owen on the subway, a ludricously-held pose in one of the fights, and Leung’s 100% dedication to delivering the line, “There’s nowhere to run with a naked butt.”  Ha!

Recommend?

In General – I would.  It’s not hight art, but it’s hugely entertaining.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Yeah.  While it’s nothing new from Tokyo Raiders, I love watching Leung in this role.

Warnings

Lots of violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.

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