His Fatal Ways (1991) [Film Review]

His Fatal Ways; or, Sucking more money out of a successful series

Alfred Cheung, most probably in pursuit of a bigger income, returns in this spin-off movie of Her Fatal Ways as absent-minded Inspector Sheng. This time he is on his own mission in Hong Kong.

Release Info 

Directed by: Alexander Chan Starring: Alfred Cheung, Teresa Mo, Do-Siu Chun

Language: Cantonese Original Title: Lao biao ni hao ye! Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 90 min

Plot

At the beginning of the movie, Sheng, along with fellow mainland police officers, performs a raid on a secret warehouse of imported weaponry. Unfortunately, during the shoot-out, two criminals flee from the crime scene. As it turns out, they have travelled to Hong Kong in order to make a bank robbery. Inspector Sheng is sent into the wilderness of capitalist HK in order to find the culprits and stop their robbery attempt in time.

Huuuuuuge disappointment

This movie was directed by a guy called Alexander Chan, but let’s be clear, Alfred Cheung was behind it all, along with writing and starring in the leading role... This guy’s fandom (if such exists somewhere in this universe) couldn’t have been more hyped. I, on the other hand, expected at least the same standard of humour as in Her Fatal Ways movies, but this film failed to deliver anything that can be even remotely considered as entertainment.

Alfred Cheung clearly made this movie in order to start-off another franchise of comedies, but this time with him as the main hero. This attempt is understandable (especially in the view of Hollywood’s modern reboots and remakes) and I even approve that, as long as the final product can be at least watchable. In the case of His Fatal Ways, everything seems not to work, starting from the screenplay and finishing on the acting. It looks as if Cheung decided to swallow the successful accomplishment of Her Fatal Ways and label the digested outcome with the series’ name.

It’s not even worth delving into the details of the film, because there’s no logic to it. Throughout the majority of the picture, Sheng doesn’t do anything related to the search for the bad guys. We mainly see him goofing around and awkwardly interacting with the HK officer (assigned to help him on the case) and his family. The subplot with the criminals returns somewhere towards the end of the movie, showing them after the successful robbery of jewellery from a bank and on the lookout to sell it. That’s where Sheng steps in, dressed up as... Rocky Balboa in the final showdown, but not fighting at all with the baddies... The supporting characters do the fighting for him! 

Additionally, we are served with some dry jokes, meaningless slapstick, and toilet humour (literally toilet, considering the scene in which one of the characters tries to shit out the stolen diamonds!). What’s more, Sheng is thrown into a really awkward romantic relationship with his partner’s sister, Hung Ba Mui (Teresa Mo), who is an antisocial, noisy, and emotionally-challenged street chicken-seller... 

All in all, there is nothing more to add about this waste of film reel. To be honest, I am surprised that His Fatal Ways didn’t ruin Cheung’s career in the movie industry. The guy is an experienced director (who apart from Her Fatal Ways also made such interesting pictures as The Banquet (1991), Queen’s Bench III (1990), and Paper Marriage (1988)), but his performance as an actor is, especially in comedies, really average (as in Summer Lovers (1992) or The Yuppie Fantasia (1989)). However, I’ve got to admit that he is awesome in hardcore drama (like In Between Loves (1989), which is a subject for another review). On the whole, His Fatal Ways seems to be a huge mistake.

Recommendations

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the taste of sand in their mouths, because that’s how I felt watching it. It’s just an empty picture, with nothing funny but also nothing vividly outrageous. It’s completely harmless and unentertaining. However, it would be mildly diverting as background noise whilst doing laundry.

Overall score: 3/10