Madam City Hunter (1993) [Film Review]

Madam City Hunter; or, This is not a sequel to Jackie Chan's film
      Don't be angry. This is for you. Tofu flower. Isn't it special?
While researching information on the original City Hunter (1993), I stumbled upon this inconspicuous film with a very informative title and my beloved Cynthia Khan in the leading role. Thinking that it’s a sort of rip-off/spin off flick I decided to give it a go and the movie turned out to be completely something else.
Release Info
Directed by: Johnnie Kong Starring: Cynthia Khan, Anthony Wong, Kara Hui, Sheila Chan
Language: Cantonese Original Title: 城市女獵人 Runtime: 98 min
 
Synopsis
Cynthia Khan (most notably known for Yes, Madam!/In the Line of Duty series) plays Officer Ching who accidentally disrupts a gun smuggling operation. Head of the deadly Five Fingers gang in turn frames Ching for killing a group of teenagers. As a result, her superior, Officer Kwong (Tommy Wong), suspends her for the time of the investigation. Ching with the help of a goofy private detective Charlie Chan (Anthony Wong) start the hunt for the gang and the very first lead they find is connected with Ching’s father (Wu Fung) who has recently married the mysterious Siu-Hung (Kara Hui).
Madam Strikes Again
As previously stated, Madam City Hunter has absolutely no connection with Jackie Chan’s City Hunter, however, it has a similar light-hearted tone. On the one hand it is very entertaining in terms of action, but on the other, it fails miserably at humour and plotline development.
What is awesome is that the movie starts right off the bat with an explosive introduction in which Cynthia “scythes” down some random bad guys with guns and grenades. You’d expect the film to slow down after such a great prologue but it doesn’t. What we get is even more kung fu fighting and great action stunts. It is only when Ching gets suspended that the film loses its momentum and relentlessly drags throughout the middle section, only to go out with a bang with an epic final showdown at the bamboo scaffolding (similarity to an action set piece from Rush Hour 2 is purely coincidental).
With regard to the disadvantages, the filmmakers seemed not to have paid much attention to the story at all and treated breaks between action as an opportunity to try out some experimental shooting techniques (like a teenage shootout on acid or Kara Hui’s striptease with lots of rapid zoom-ins) or throw in a bit of comedic relief. In consequence, you have to really focus on the dialogue in order to know what is going on, because otherwise, things may get confusing towards the end. In addition, Sheila Chan (Anthony Wong's sidekick in the film) provides a test of endurance for the viewers with her highly irritable performance that was supposed to be funny. I have nothing against Sheila herself, but unfortunately, screaming like a maniac in front of a camera does not equal comedy by default.
Aside from these disadvantages, the movie is more than watchable. Anthony Wong deserves an honourable mention as a crazy private eye, because he is too cool for school in this role. Not only does he manage to deliver a few laughs, but also has a great deal of fighting scenes which are a pleasure to watch. Kara Hui sadly doesn’t do a lot of combat, but at least we can admire her sex appeal as a deadly femme fatale.
 
Recommendations
On the whole, I enjoyed this movie a little more than Jackie’s City Hunter. If the moments of embarrassing goofiness from the second act had been done away with, Madam City Hunter would have been a classic girls with guns flick. If you’re not patient enough to sit through the silliness to get to the proper stuff, then don’t watch it. Otherwise, I safely recommend this film to anyone who likes good old HK action. Plus, there’s Cynthia Khan and Anthony Wong at the height of their careers.
Overall score: 6/10

City Hunter (1993) [Film Review]

City Hunter; or, Jackie Chan in Live-Action Manga Adaptation
This week’s review will be about another classic motion picture from Jackie Chan’s repertoire, in which he took on the character of adventurous private detective, Ryo Saeba.
Release Info
Directed by: Wong Jing Starring: Jackie Chan, Joey Wong, Kumiko Goto, Richard Norton, Chingmy Yau
Language: Cantonese Original Title: Sing si lip yan Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 100 min
Plot
Ryo (Jackie Chan) gets an assignment from a prominent Japanese CEO to track down and retrieve his daughter Shizuko (Kumiko Goto). After failing to do so, his assistant Kaori (Joey Wong) takes a leave of absence and boards a cruise liner called Fuji Maru. Ryo goes after her and while travelling as a stowaway, the detective discovers that Shizuko is accidentally on board as well. Apart from the trio, there also happen to be terrorists led by Colonel MacDonald (Richard Norton) who take control of the ship and take all the multimillionaires hostage. Now, only Ryo Saeba with the help of his sidekicks and undercover police officer Saeko Nogami (Chingmy Yau) can save the passengers.
City Hunter not in the city
After seeing the trailer and reading some info about City Hunter manga (I have never read or seen anything from that franchise), I had high hopes for an excellent 100 minutes of ass kicking done by Jackie. Well, my expectations were only partially satisfied.
The major issue of this film is that it is very inconsistent in style. I know that it’s supposed to be an action comedy flick, and whereas the action is delivered flawlessly, the comedy fails miserably. That is the case mostly due to a huge amount of slapstick humour that is thrown at the viewers every two minutes. Slapstick in general is okay, especially when done by Jackie, but in this movie it is stretched to the limits of anime. Like, as if the movie tried to copy anime style, which totally doesn’t work. Whilst, I like watching Jackie struggling at his fights with the baddies, it is quite tiring seeing him constantly grinning and making stupid faces like a handicapped mime. Yet, this is not the problem only with his characters, but with all the characters in the film. In addition, the situation is not improved when the action sequences are accompanied by sound effects straight from Scooby Doo!
 
Perhaps the primary fault of all this is that the dialogue was allegedly written on the set by the director, because the film actually never had an actual screenplay aside from a brief story outline. Also, the music score is literally ear piercing and totally disrupts the film. On the one hand, the theme song is quite catchy but incidental music strikingly resembles circus tunes, making the action look not as epic as it actually is.
Aside from these issues, I really liked the rest of the film. Jackie did an awesome job with all the stunts and fights, especially the final showdown with the terrorist leader. The supporting cast does an okay job, apart from all the grinning. However, Chingmy Yau deserves an honourable mention, because she engages into some combat, which is a rare thing to see in her films.
From the particular things I truly enjoyed were definitely Jackie’s fight scene at the movie theatre while Game of Death was being shown on the screen, the Street Fighter arcade parody, which is definitely the icing on the cake, and a stunt with exploding corridor (bombastic stuff!).
Recommendations
Safely recommended to Jackie Chan fans, though I’m not so sure about City Hunter fans. Nevertheless, if excessive slapstick does not bother you, go ahead and check it out; but, if it does, I suggest watching the film with the volume set low. One way or another, you should enjoy at least the action aspect of the film.
Overall score: 6/10 (Would have been 8 if the movie had been more serious.)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) [Tokusatsu Review]

Godzilla vs. Biollante; or, the King and the Overgrown Weed
Four years after the moderately successful reboot of the Godzilla franchise and the start-up of the Heisei Series, the Big G returns again from the dead in order to fight off a mutant product of reckless science known as Biollante.
Release Info
Directed by: Kazuki Ōmori Starring: Koji Takahashi, Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Megumi Odaka
Language: Japanese Original Title: ゴジラvsビオランテ Runtime: 105 min
Synopsis
The film opens with the aftermath of Godzilla 1984’s finale. A deadly mercenary steals Godzilla cell samples from Tokyo ruins and gives them to Dr. Genshiro Shiragami (Koji Takahashi) at the Saradia Institute of Technology and Science. The Japanese scientist wants to use the cells to produce genetically modified plants for the foreign superpower of Saradia. However, there is an explosion at the institute in which Shiragami’s daughter, Erika (Yasuko Sawaguchi) dies. Five years later, a massive volcanic eruption occurs at Mount Mihara and, as it turns out, Godzilla is still alive. Bio-Major terrorists threaten Japan to force them to give up Godzilla’s cells, or otherwise, they will blow up the mountain and unleash the King. Meanwhile, Dr. Shiragami is experimenting on his own with the cells on Erika’s roses, leading to the creation of the abominable Biollante. Now, only the King can face the horrible monster.
The Real Eco-terror
Allegedly, the makers of the film held a public story contest for a possible film script and, thus, they eventually went with the idea about a gigantic plant and a dead daughter devised by a dentist. Interestingly, the second-best script in the contest was about Godzilla facing a highly advanced AI Computer (that’s the Kaiju film I’d love to see!), but instead of saving it for later, Toho reworked it and made Gunhed (1989) movie.
Nevertheless, how does Godzilla vs. Biollante hold up? It is certainly a better film than Godzilla 1984 in terms of the improved King’s appearance and better special effects, but it has a few flaws. Firstly, there’s too much spy elements incorporated in the story. We have over-the-top Bio-Major mercenaries, a Saradian assassin ("Damn, it's Godzilla!"), police investigators, wiretapping, classified documents and so on.
 
Secondly, the music score by Koichi Sugeyama is quite interesting, but it is nowhere near as great as the memorable themes of Akira Ifukube. Allegedly, the working cut of the film had Ifukube's music incorporated, but for some reason, Toho decided to change it. Aside from that, the film is more than watchable. We get great action, a lot of rumble and destruction. Even though Biollante seems a weak enemy at first, she becomes a badass opponent in the finale when extremely wounding the King, but we all know who’s going to be the winner in the end.
With regard to performances, Kenpachiro Satsuma obviously rocks as Godzilla. In terms of human characters, Koji Takahashi as Shiragami, Toru Minegishi as Gondo, Yoshiko Tanaka as Asuka, and Megumi Odaka as Miki Saegusa are all great, especially Miki whose character will go on to have a special relation with the King for the rest of the Heisei series.
Recommendations
Highly recommended to all Kaiju fans. Apart from the fact that Godzilla vs. Biollante may seem to some as an outdated film, it is certainly still entertaining and has great battles in it. Godzilla vs. Biollante is a classic entry in the series in its own right.
Overall score: 7/10