Legend of Wisely (Wai Si-Lei chuen kei, 1985)

Teddy Robin Kwan

Hong Kong

89 min, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)

A big-budget (well, by Hong Kong standards anyway) adventure that turned out to be a science fiction film in disguise. This time the famous writer and explorer Wisely (Sam Hui) is tricked by his diminutive friend David Ko (Teddy Robin Kwan) into helping him steal the legendary Dragon Pearl from a supposedly evil cult. It turns out that the cult is really some harmless religion and when its 10-year old master implores Wisely to help, he decides to recover the Pearl and return it to them.

Ko's employer is Pak Kei-Wei (Lung Ti), who seems to be running some Chinese underground cartel or something. At any rate, he's got plenty of money, lives in a big mansion, appears to be evil, and has the charming Pak Sue (Joey Wang) for a sister. Bummer. She happens to be an avid reader of Wisely's prodigious writings. Double bummer. She resolves to help Wisely steal the pearl from her brother. Triple bummer. They abscond with the pearl and KO only to be intercepted by the minions of one Howard Hope (Bruce Baron), who is an enigmatic recluse with unknown designs, which, however, include the pearl and killing everyone who thwarts his (still unknown) plans. Needless to say, he comes into possession of the pearl and now Wisely and Sue have to take it away from him.

This takes them to Egypt, where Wisely saves Kei-Wei's life (and the latter turns not to be evil after all, just over-protective) but in the process is sucked in by quicksand. Needless to say, he miraculously does not die but makes his way to Nepal, where Sue and her brother have already gone to help the cult get its pearl back. Everyone gets together and they finally reach the temple only to find most monks dead or dying from third-degree burns. So Howard is the evil one? Not so fast. When they manage to find the guy, he's sporting a cheap Velcro suit, which (in these films) means he's a spaceman. It then turns out that the pearl is his, but no one believes him, so they fight a little and defeat him despite his superior powers, which unfortunately do not include climbing skills or zapping small kids who have stolen your pearl. When all is said and done, Wisely gives Howard the pearl (SO EVERYTHING UP TO THIS POINT HAS BEEN IN VAIN, INCLUDING THE LAST EPIC CONFRONTATION) and the guy powers up his cheesy space ship that looks like a dragon. Whew! An explanation of the ancient dragon-sightings!

That the (inappropriately titled) THE LEGEND OF WISELY borrows much from the equivalent Hollywood films, like INDIANA JONES, becomes obvious even before the first glimpse of the pyramids. Despite the big budget, however, it never comes close to being as entertaining as the films it rips. There are plenty of breathtaking vistas, both of Egypt and Nepal, there are many dynamic chases, but the film suffers from over-saturation with hand-to-hand combat, holes in continuity or logic, and insufficient motivation (why, for example, does Sue decide to help Wisely?), which are shared by many Hong Kong productions, but which are usually not annoying because of the actors. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of Sam Hui's or Teddy Robin Kwan, and they are the ones mostly frolicking around the screen. I wanted to see the film only because Joey Wang is in it, but her role is stupid, small, and although she did everything possible to make the best out of it, ultimately unsatisfactory. The two white dudes were just plain bad.

The Universe DVD has a pretty decent transfer and the widescreen showcases the great landscape, which was perhaps one of the few good things about the film. There is not much speckling, which is surprising considering the age of the film. On the other hand, the special effects sucked big time and the DVD revealed that the space ship was a fake. The edge enhancements also ruined some of the SFX shots because they clearly revealed that the characters were filmed with a blue (green?) screen. The sound is OK (I only listened to the Cantonese track) but the English translation was a bit below average. There were many spelling errors, and inappropriate use of tense, which sometimes made it hard to figure out whether they actors were referring to past, present, or future events. There are some extras (a trailer, and previews of other films), and chapter access. Not bad for $5, but the film barely warrants even that expense. Of course, it is a must for Joey's fans, like this reviewer.

July 15, 2001. BLS