Tokyo Raiders; or, Trust Nobody
A private eye who speaks bad Japanese, but I like him.
With this month’s premiere of Europe Raiders (August, 2018),
I decided to find out what it’s all about with the filmmaker Jingle Ma and his
directorial Raiders franchise, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as the main lead.
Strap yourselves in as we are going to descend into the fun chasm of Tokyo Raiders.
Release Info
Directed by: Jingle Ma Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chen
Language: Cantonese, Japanese Original Title: 東京攻略 Runtime: 100 min
Synopsis
Macy (Kelly Chen) is hopelessly waiting for her fiancé
Takahashi (Toru Nakamura) at the altar, but he does not arrive. While searching
for him in Japan, she is joined by an interior designer Yung (Ekin Cheng) who
claims to have been financially conned by Takahashi. The two find themselves
being chased by a yakuza crime boss Ito (Hiroshi Abe) who also, for some reason,
is looking for the elusive Takahashi. Macy and Yung are rescued by Lam (Tony
Leung Chiu-Wai) who claims to be a private detective framed by Takahashi. The trio
decides to work together in order to find the man in question, however, each
one them carries their own hidden agenda.
Raiders of the Lost Spy
Judging by the title and the trailer, I thought that I’m in
for a heist movie, but I was completely mistaken. Tokyo Raiders can be best
described as a mix between a mystery spoof and a spy/action thriller made
purposely for the Chinese New Year. From the very first scene, the viewers are thrown in medias res of the
story as Tony Leung epically knocks down with an umbrella hordes of bad guys to
the flamenco beats very much in style of the Gypsy Kings.
The development of events (who is who and what is going on)
becomes clear only 30 minutes into the picture, as the character of Lam
delivers a lengthy exposition. However, this in turn initiates a cascade of
triple plot twists, because it turns out that the whole exposition was fake
and, actually, our main heroes are not who they claim to be (immortal
spoilers!). This method of being kept in the dark may be perceived as the
movie’s disadvantage by some, but I didn’t mind it at all and just went along
with the light-hearted goofiness on screen.
Additionally, the movie is filled with lots of great action
set pieces. These may not be Jet Li or Donnie Yen’s standard, but they are
enjoyable nonetheless, especially as many of the fights are elaborated into
chase scenes. Thus, we get to see a street chase, a road chase, and even a
water chase with some memorable Tokyo locations in the background. All of this
combined with the crazy awesome music score by Peter Kam.
With regard to performances, Tony Leung is evidently too cool for school in the role of a detective/spy as he overtakes the picture with
his charisma (it’s clearly visible that he had a lot of fun on the set). Kelly
Chen serves as a great addition in the role of a heartbroken bride and provides
the movie with a substantial amount of charm and elegance. Ekin Cheng is the
third great pillar of the film, especially in terms of the fight scenes. The
three actors worked together so well that their chemistry is reflected in the
characters. I only wish that Kelly and Ekin could have reprised their roles in
the sequels. In addition, Cecylia Cheung as one of Lam’s Charlie’s Angels and
Hiroshi Abe as an allergic yakuza boss deserve a mention.
Recommendations
Safely recommended to anyone who is looking for an hour and
a half of good entertainment. Tokyo Raiders reminded me greatly about Asian
“midnight” movies, shoved out of the main TV programme format, which I used to
watch a lot as a teenager. The movie is great fun in a light tone and with a
well-choreographed action. It really deserves a wider recognition, instead of
being underrated. What is more, Tokyo Raiders is also responsible for marking
the end of a certain technological era as it was the very last motion picture
released on LaserDisc. All things considered, see it if you can, because
they don’t make them like they used to.
Overall score: 8/10
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