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Directed by: Dante Lam, Donnie Yen Starring: Ekin Cheng, Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung The action/comedy Chin gei bin, aka The Twins Effect, was one of the more successful Hong Kong films of 2003. It also contains one of Jackie Chan’s more enjoyable movie appearances in well, years. NOTE: Here I will be reviewing the original Hong Kong cut of the film, not the American version released by Columbia Tristar renamed “The Vampire Effect” and reportedly trimmed of over 20 minutes of footage. The Twins Effect begins with Reeve (Ekin Cheng), a vampire hunter armed with a nifty little gadget that’s like the ninja-rope from the game "Worms" and sword in one. After losing his old partner, whom he loved, he gets paired up with an attractive young vampire hunting recruit (Charlene Choi) who also happens to be his biggest fan. Meanwhile, Reeve’s sister Gypsy (Gillian Chung) finds a great guy in the form of a vampire prince (Edison Chen) who lives in a church with the creepy Anthony Wong and prefers not to kill in order to get his blood fix. However, when it turns out that a super powerful European vampire Reeve is hunting is also after the prince, whose blood can unlock a vampire bible containing untold power, both camps are soon going to find both their worlds colliding. The movie is a fairly brainless action romp that doesn’t quite combine action and comedy scenes fluidly. The fact that the film has two directors taking on separate scenes is indicative of this, with the narrative progression not quite fitting at times with some wild changes in tone and a loss in plot focus towards the end. Though to give action director Donnie Yen credit, with the exception of a slightly dull opening sequence, his fights are quite well-choreographed, edgy and exciting, using the abilities of the character’s innovative weapons to a large extent. The film is a showcase for a Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi, who are better known in Asia as a pop group called “Twins”, hence the original title. Charming and competent in their roles, when it comes to the fights they surprisingly do very well in this element and have been touted by others as two female action stars to watch for in future. Edison Chen and Ekin Cheng are unfortunately less engaging in their respective roles while Anthony Wong turns in a great performance as the prince’s hapless assistant. And as noted before, Jackie Chan has not one but two completely gratuitous extended cameos, that in one features some comedic kung fu against the vampires which, although on odds with the tone of the other action sequences, is still enjoyable to watch. In the end, you could say that The Twins Effect is Hong Kong’s answer to those splashy Hollywood blockbusters, films designed to entertain without being too involving. Good enough for a rainy night’s entertainment. 3.5/5 PROS: Some good fight scenes, Jackie’s cameo. CONS: The film doesn’t quite fit together smoothly. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351887/ mrkillboy fucked around with this message at 04:54 on May 5, 2004 |
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May 5, 2004 04:48
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