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Directed by: Jingle Ma (馬楚成 ) Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai (梁朝偉 ), Richie Yen Yin Jai (任賢齊 ), Shu Qi (舒淇 ) Seoul Raiders once again joins Lam (Tony Leung) as he follows a pair of printing plates stolen by Owen Lee (Yen) to Seoul, where it will be sold to a major counterfeiting ring. The movie itself follows a very simple plot; Lam is following Yen across Seoul. While the movie itself is 98 minutes long, a good portion does become filler and painfully boring fight scenes. The humour and comedy in the film is quite well done and admittedly very funny at scenes, although non-Hong Kong viewers will lose the full effect of some of the jokes used. Despite the simple story, it does have a tendency to drag on at times, such as the chase scenes or the fight scenes. The positive aspects of the film include Tony Leung, who as many know, is a god on screen. He carries out the sly Lam very well, with his sardonic and clever persona carried across by his somewhat dis-shelved yet handsome look. He works well with the many comedy scenes, with his witty and cunning looks help deliver the jokes on the unsuspecting Lee. Yen does a good job of carrying out his role as the "victim" and antagonist, as the story advances will show. The story is plain and simple, although rather predictable. Some plot twists to follow, and as mentioned, can be seen from a mile away. Clearly this is not intended to be a thought provoking film or the like, but rather, as mindless entertainment, which Jingle Ma has done well. Many famous Korean actors also take up roles in this film, with several speaking Cantonese. Unfortunately, the movie does fall victim back to recycled themes and devices. Many aspects from the prequel Tokyo Raider are used, such as character developments, although this is not very noticeable except to the most nitpicky. The fight scenes are fun to watch at first, but towards the third or fourth fight, become painfully repetitive and boring to watch. Their focus on kicks, higher kicks and elbows simply becomes tiring once they appear in every single fight. To nitpick more, the spoken Cantonese by the Korean girls has an understandable accent, although it can be grating in long dialogues. The soundtrack is very typical, hardly memorable. Overall this is a very entertaining and funny film to watch. The house was packed when I saw it on Monday, but then again, it is expected on Valentine's Day. Recommended. RATING: 4 PROS: Tony Leung, well done comedic scenes. CONS: Cultural jokes, recycled themes from previous movie, weak fight choreography. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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Feb 16, 2005 06:02
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 15:40 |
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