Member blue_skies Posted August 10, 2011 Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 A very fun action adventure movie. Andy Lau puts in a very solid martial arts performance but the show is completely stolen by Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton, who are both superb in this movie. Some funny moments, some silly moments but there cannot be any doubt who the real stars are. Norton in particular really excelling himself in the role as the villain, even when not performing any martial arts… Or just a tiny bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted November 3, 2012 Moderator Share Posted November 3, 2012 I should start this thread off by thanking fellow forum members TibetanWhiteCrane & Jinha for creating this thread - http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18900 - which successfully lead me to tracking down a DVD of this movie which I've been after for a while, thanks guys! 'Magic Crystal' hails from the era of Hong Kong movies that for fans of modern day action is probably the most loved - slap bang in the middle of the 80's. It's the era when movies combined hard hitting kick boxing style action, crazy stunt work, ridiculous melodrama, more ridiculous comedy, and threw them all together to create some of our best loved movies. This 'everything & the kitchen sink' approach perfectly sums up 'Magic Crystal', & under the direction of schlock meister Wong Jing probably even more so than usual. The story is ridiculous, a (you guessed it) magic crystal is discovered in Greece which the KGB and several others are after, and somehow ends up in the hands of an innocent child who's related to secret agent Andy Lau. The crystal also happens to talk, walk, control peoples minds, change peoples genetic structure, and various other alien type nonsense. Cue various bizarre scenes of typical HK style comedy, which to be honest, by Wong Jing's standards, is actually pretty funny. However amongst all this, or should I say in spite of all this, we get an almost who's who of HK action talent passing in and out of the movie in a variety of small roles, with the big guns going to Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, & Andy Lau. The action is the reason to watch, and there's stacks of it, with barely 10 minutes going by before another fight scene comes along, often featuring multiple opponents. ShaOW!linDude, if you're reading this....Mini Review please! Andy Lau displays some great physical dexterity in his scenes, one of which I've attached a youtube clip of below to provide a taste of the action, but the highlights surprisingly go the gweilo team of Rothrock & Norton, who perform some amazing choreography under the direction of Tong Leung Siu Hung. Rothrock is on fire with her weapons work, and Norton also gets his licks in with some amazing sai action in the finale. To list all of the fight scenes would take too long, but needless to say if you're a fan of the glory days of HK action cinema, 'Magic Crystal' should give you your fill, even with the silliness that comes along with it. 2LRGVoOzE_g 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted November 3, 2012 Member Share Posted November 3, 2012 Cool beans! I'm intrigued by that clip. I'd love to see this. I thought at first I had this already, but I don't. I'm thinking of Crystal Hunt with Donnie Yen. will hunt this down at some point and review it at some point, OAB, but right now money is tight. Thanks for hipping me to this. (Was that Yuen Biao doubling Andy Lau at the beginning of the clip?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted November 3, 2012 Member Share Posted November 3, 2012 Nice clip, i have yet to see this film, must track it down....I have always thought Andy Lau was a very underrated screen fighter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Goofy, silly comedy with lots of action. Overall fun, with a family audience in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted November 8, 2012 Member Share Posted November 8, 2012 Love this movie. It's stupid but the fights are awesome. And nice to see the kick lady from Five Super Fighters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member sym8 Posted May 13, 2020 Member Share Posted May 13, 2020 Stupid story,but when you have choreography like this who cares.Rothrock is fantastic in this,pulling off some great modern choreography with traditional shapes thrown in.With the exception of Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars Andy Lau never looked this good and Richard Norton is on point as the main villain.Forget the story just enjoy the fight scenes🤜🤜🤜🤜 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 10, 2021 Member Share Posted May 10, 2021 In Wong Jing's memoir, he talked about Sharla Cheung Man during the making of this movie: “When she was acting in Magic Crystal, she was plump but not as fat as Lydia Shum. You can imagine how surprised I was when I saw Sharla in Swordsman. She was slim and beautiful.” 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted August 28, 2021 Member Share Posted August 28, 2021 Today I sat down and watched Magic Crystal (1986) for the first time. Holy shit, this film is bonkers. I had no idea the titular magic crystal was a living, breathing thing. With tiny little legs, no less. I can see this one being a “love it or hate it” film. While it’s loopy, I genuinely enjoyed it. There was enough action to appease my love of martial arts and all the other hijinks are fun. Sadly, the newly released Blu Ray has absolutely atrocious English subtitles. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted July 18, 2022 Member Share Posted July 18, 2022 Second movie of yesterday : Magic crystal. I enjoyed it A LOT !! I laughed a lot too ! And all the fights were great !! The only thing I have to complain with is that Wong Mei Mei should have been part of the ending fights in the cave. She went looking for her son with the others in Norton's place, and then, she totally disappeared at the end, that's too bad. I discovered Andy Lau in The Infernal Affairs trilogy, but I didn't keep a big memory of him. Then, I saw him in the Casion Tycoon Shaws' duology and I enjoyed him. When I saw his performance in Shanghai 13, I was like "WOW!", and after having watched Magic Crystal, I was like "Wow, wow, wow ! " I loved him in this movie, and I think that I'll try to watch other of his movies. It was also enjoying to see Max Mok fighting in this movie. And of course...Cynthia Rothrock rocked the movie !! And Ko Fei had a too short role in my opinion... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted March 23, 2023 Member Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 5/10/2021 at 3:23 PM, Cognoscente said: In Wong Jing's memoir, he talked about Sharla Cheung Man during the making of this movie: “When she was acting in Magic Crystal, she was plump but not as fat as Lydia Shum. You can imagine how surprised I was when I saw Sharla in Swordsman. She was slim and beautiful.” Did Wong Jing have anything else to say about this movie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted April 1, 2023 Member Share Posted April 1, 2023 On 8/29/2021 at 12:06 AM, Drunken Monk said: Today I sat down and watched Magic Crystal (1986) for the first time. Holy shit, this film is bonkers. I had no idea the titular magic crystal was a living, breathing thing. With tiny little legs, no less. I can see this one being a “love it or hate it” film. While it’s loopy, I genuinely enjoyed it. There was enough action to appease my love of martial arts and all the other hijinks are fun. Sadly, the newly released Blu Ray has absolutely atrocious English subtitles. Eureka's coming to the rescue with their own bluray release of the movie sometime this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Darth Kermit Posted April 1, 2023 Member Share Posted April 1, 2023 I thought 88 was leaked to have it? Or perhaps 88 is US and Eureka UK, just like ITLOD? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted April 3, 2023 Member Share Posted April 3, 2023 Finally got around to rewatching and reviewing this one, which I'd hope to when the Alternate HKFA poll was still in 1986. Here y'all go: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2023/04/magic-crystal-1986.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chu Liu Hsiang Posted November 1, 2023 Member Share Posted November 1, 2023 First viewing, liked it a lot and will definitely rewatch. What a great mix of everything with fine action. I was close to shed a tear over a cheap looking movie alien crystal haha. Loved to see Wong Mei Mei getting off the couch! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted November 1, 2023 Member Share Posted November 1, 2023 On 11/2/2023 at 3:55 AM, Chu Liu Hsiang said: First viewing, liked it a lot and will definitely rewatch. What a great mix of everything with fine action. I was close to shed a tear over a cheap looking movie alien crystal haha. Loved to see Wong Mei Mei getting off the couch! Yes, that's too bad that Wong Mei Mei wasn't in the final fight in the cave. She paired very well earlier with Cynthia Rothrock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HeavenSword Posted July 8 Member Share Posted July 8 (edited) All time favorite Hong Kong film ( aside from Shaw Brothers ) . Now yes , In the action department of course there are a lot of other HK films that are superior to this, but the big thing this movie has is consistency. I really can’t even pick a big standout moment, the film just moves along at such a rapid, flawless pace . Pretty much everything about this works . Wong Jing does a great job with balancing comedy and action and the choreography by Tony Leung Siu Hung is phenomenal. This was during the peak of Hong Kong Cinema, where the Jackie Chan , Drunken Master imitations ran the course and before the hundreds of triad , crime films that would flood most of the early 90s. The cast is excellent too - especially the cool and confident Andy Lau , who not only shows why he was in such high demand throughout the 80s & 90s ( hell to this present day even ) , but proves he was a force and could handle himself in fight scenes as well. Action wise, both Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton also peaked in this film in my opinion - Just look at the spear staff scene with Cynthia in Greece and the 2 on 1 climax with Andy and Cynthia against Norton in the underground lair. Wong Jing himself is also a likeable character and actually got a few laughs out of me . As was the kid , Bin Bin and all his scenes with the crystal . Everyone else ( Max Mok, Nat Chan, Sharla Cheung, Phillip Ko) is solid at worst . I love Magic Crystal . Andy Lau would go on to do even bigger things after this film to this day , but unfortunately Cynthia and Richard never really made another film close to the quality of their Hong Kong films in my opinion, though both continue to be active , with Norton become a fight coordinator for a number of A List films like Mad Max and Suicide Squad. A joy to watch from start to finish . Six stars 😁 Edited July 8 by HeavenSword 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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