Dong jing gong lüe (2000)

Dong jing gong lüe: Directed by Jingle Ma. With Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chen, Cecilia Cheung. Is anyone who he says he is in this caper that moves from Hong Kong and Las Vegas to Tokyo? Ken doesn’t show up in Vegas for his wedding; his disconsolate bride, Macy, heads home for Hong Kong and finds John, an interior decorator, waiving a check of Ken’s that has bounced. She leaves immediately for Tokyo to find her businessman boyfriend, and John tags along. Ken’s flat is teeming with members of the Ito gang, who are also looking for Ken. John and Macy escape, with the help of a crew of look-alike cuties who work for Lin, who claims to be a private investigator. He too is looking for Ken. Where is Ken, why has he disappeared, and who will find him first?

“`Tokyo Raidersu0026#39; starts off fast and furious. Before we are on a first name basis with one of the main characters, he is embroiled in a fight scene the can only be described as Jet Li meets James Bond meets MacGyver. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003en`Tokyo Raidersu0026#39; moves at an incredibly fast pace, Fight and Chase, Fight and Chase, and I found myself fighting and chasing the ever elusive plot. I saw the version dubbed into English, and perhaps thatu0026#39;s the only fault of the movie. I never fully got a grasp of who each character was, what their name was, as well as the purpose for their actions. Introductions to the characters are never properly given, and soon the plot twists so much you donu0026#39;t know whou0026#39;s who, whou0026#39;s Chinese, whou0026#39;s Japanese, whou0026#39;s working for which mob boss, and whou0026#39;s actually a good guy. This might be part of the filmu0026#39;s mystique, or just really bad English dubbing. In any event I didnu0026#39;t really care. The martial arts fight scenes are plentiful in this film, and they are brilliantly done. The actors themselves are very skilled in the martial arts, and the director really enjoys playing with slow motion and rotating camera angles. The effect is absolute brilliance: a truly new art form made up of technical merit and intelligence in both filmmaking and martial arts skill. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie has been called a comedy. Itu0026#39;s not so much a comedy as it is a comedy of errors. I liken it to `Lock Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsu0026#39; as both involve some frantically hysterical antics that happen when average Joes get mixed up in the seedy mob underworld. Both films move at a mile a minute as well. Have I mentioned this film moves fast yet? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThe artfully done martial arts more than makes up for any confusion caused by the speed of the plot and the poor English dubbing. If you thought `Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsu0026#39; needed some Kung Fu added to it, this movie might just be your soulmate. . 7/9 Stars”