Member David Rees Posted June 23, 2008 Member Share Posted June 23, 2008 Some harsh comments i think for a film which overall was very enjoyable. The choreography was good, a few blips here and there but i thought impressive, gone are the days when stuntmen (or actors) get hurt just for the hell of it or because of low budgets. (except perhaps for tony jaa and his team!) I think its one of the better films of the past year or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mark Pollard Posted June 23, 2008 Member Share Posted June 23, 2008 If you enjoyed the movie, that's fair. I cannot dispute your opinion. As others have pointed out, I have praised movies that some would consider awful including LEGEND OF THE WOLF and DINNER WITH AN ASSASSIN. I'm just amazed how much slack people give this movie and its action scenes when it used as much obvious wire rigging as a standard Ching Siu-tung wuxia film. This is partly what Jet Li and Jackie Chan were criticized for when they came to Hollywood to star in movies like ROMEO MUST DIE, THE ONE and THE TUXEDO. There is a reason why stunt doubles are used, even in Hong Kong and even during the "good old days." You get guys who can do the best flips, falls or whatever and let them do it in place of an actor who otherwise might still do 80% of his own stunts. I don't understand this obsession with seeing actors do everything themselves. It forces action directors to make concessions. They have to dumb down the action while directors alter the tempo and angle of a shot just so we can see their face better. This is not how you shoot the best action scenes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted June 23, 2008 Moderator Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add that to my list. Wicked Game was released in the States as Extreme Heist by Replay Home Video. It's directed by the action guys behind Drive, Koichi Sakamoto along with his Alpha Stunts team and stars Johnny Yong Bosch of Power Rangers fame. Not a bad film considering it has zero budget (which shows), think it's from 2002. It's true. The commentators did mention that Benny wanted the audience to see that it was Nick getting kicked down the stairs and not a stunt double. I'm not going to argue that Tse didn't go above and beyond for this movie. He did. I just didn't like how it turned out and I don't blame that on him, at least for the physical work. That's interesting to know, I bought the HK dvd when it came out and have no plans to double dip on the Dragon Dynasty version. I do agree with you on Benny Chan not being a very good director, I've discovered my enjoyment of his films largely rests on how much I'm a fan of the actors who are in them. I enjoyed his Jackie Chan collaborations New Police Story and even Rob-B-Hood. I always found it ironic that it was the same director who made New Police Story, which Jackie said was an indication of the direction he wanted to take his films in considering his age, that also ended up making Rob-B-Hood, which was the film that brought Jackie full circle straight back to the loveable everyman character he's played his whole career...with Stanley Tong's The Myth literally serving as a bridge in the middle where he played one of the more 'serious' roles as well as the Jackie we're all used too! It was on the strength of these that I decided to watch Heroic Duo & Divergence, which where both made in the same time period (2002 onward), but I can safely say they where 2 of the worse films I've ever seen, period. I can never decide which has the edge for the worse scene, Leon Lai's wife telling him she cried so much when he left that she now suffers from permanently blurred vision in the Heroic Duo, or Aaron Kwok hysterically crying while rolling down a hill backwards in his car in Divergence. Awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member dyenboy Posted July 29, 2008 Member Share Posted July 29, 2008 just got around to see this movie and thought it was good, not great but watchable. If there were more fighting involved, it would have made a better action movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted February 14, 2009 Member Share Posted February 14, 2009 Ok...i just read the review on Invisible Target and dammit was i surprised....he completely bashed the film in every way and bassically said it was complete crap..... I really loved this film...from beggining to the very end i thought it was great....i loved the characters and the story and the action was nice!!i thought the story was very solid with some nice little twist and turns and surprises ....and plenty of people ive talked to in person have loved this film as well... i wanna know...what do yall think of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted February 14, 2009 Member Share Posted February 14, 2009 I hated everything about this movie. Some of the action is good, but there are no exchanges, just one punch or kick and someone is flying through glass. The final fight I figured would be good but Wu Jing just dominates everybody. And the movie was supposed to be emotional, but it all felt artificial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted February 14, 2009 Member Share Posted February 14, 2009 I agree with Morgoth. Everything is overdone. They action is not really stand-out action like Flashpoint or SPL. Nothing really memorable or meaningful here, nothing to really separate it from every other action film out there, ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LoBo Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I was also very disappointed by this film. ________ Medical marijuana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted February 14, 2009 Member Share Posted February 14, 2009 Goodness some of you are hard to please! I thought it was great fun with some excellent action.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ironfistedmonk Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 I thought it was alright as well but I wasn't expecting anything from the film to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekisha Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Goodness some of you are hard to please! I thought it was great fun with some excellent action.... Do you call that "excellent action"?Well this movie doesn't suck but it's not good either.I am mostly dissappointed by the fight scenes and the thing Nic Tse wants to revenge for his girlfriend.As we can see Wu Jing didn't kill her intentionally.It's just Benny Chan's stupid idea,everytime he makes a big film and everytime he spoils it.But i'd like to note Jackie's son and Mark Cheng did a great job here.Watched only once and that's it,no more It's only my opinion so don't try to throw tomatoes.... ________ FORD SCORPIO SPECIFICATIONS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Milkyway Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 Usual Benny Chan overdramatized fare I've seen from him many times before. I've seen much worse though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member June Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 hello all, my favorite hong kong action film in 2008. but get the subtitled dvd not the dubbed. hard to do dubbed if seen subtitled first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GwaiLoMoFo Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 I thought it was a good film. Not great, but highly enjoyable for me. I could see how some people would be disappointed (there are some here who are never happy). Ive watched it twice and it help up the second viewing. Im glad I bought it and have it in my collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member thedirtytiger Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 I thought it was a great film , a little too many wires in parts but some of the best action I have seen for a long time. Be sre to check out Benny's film Big Bullet, another classic ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Amazing Psycho Per Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 Didn't care for this one at all... The fights are pretty generic, nothing stands out and the overall movie is pretty forgetable. Watched it once, never will watch it again and I'm glad I didn't buy it. I usually really don't care for movies starring non martial artists in fighting roles. They rarely deliver, except when in very good hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member drunkenmaster Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 It tries very hard to be a throw back to the eighties style of action, with every action set piece more over the top than the next one. If all you want is mindless action and no believeable character development or depth then this is entertaining enough. You just have to switch your brain off before watching. I did switch off my brain and must confess that I did get some enjoyment out of this one. I'm not sure if my brain has been switched back on yet though. Hey! It's a Hong Kong action film.......... with loads and loads and loads of crazy stunts and action. 'Nuff said. :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 did yall watch the subs or dubs?? because i did the subs and the story i thought was really nice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member drunkenmaster Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 Subbed, of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 If this was a throwback to the 80's action film, it wouldn't be 130 minutes long for starters. It also wouldn't have all the attempted "depth" (pop-psychology) about if people can change who they are. It's just plain silly! But that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member drunkenmaster Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 If this was a throwback to the 80's action film, it wouldn't be 130 minutes long for starters. It also wouldn't have all the attempted "depth" (pop-psychology) about if people can change who they are. It's just plain silly! But that's just me. I did say "trying" and "style of action". Obviously there was nothing eighties about it. Benny Chan just loves to go OTT on the action and the mellodrama every chance he gets. At the end of the day this is pure popcorn entertainment that you either get the taste for or analyse to death. Of course there is a third option. Ignore all things Benny Chan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest maskedavenger Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 100% crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 Oh i no. I'm just saying that a lot of people say it is a throwback action type of film and if that was Chan's goal, then he missed his goal. I do not think all of his films are bad, though. To his credit, i loved Who Am I? despite the bad acting and NPS was mindless fun too, it wasn't TOO over-the-top like this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted February 15, 2009 Member Share Posted February 15, 2009 I agree Massa not all of his movies are bad. I liked Man Wanted, Who Am I and NPS,and I loved Big Bullet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Solid Ronin Posted February 16, 2009 Member Share Posted February 16, 2009 I really enjoyed. I'll agree with many on here and say while the film wasn't anything super amazing. I still had a good time watching it and while usually a one sided fight bores me to tears (It ruined Transformers for me) I still liked it as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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