Magnificent Warriors (Zhong hua zhan shi, 1987)
David Chung
Hong Kong
88 mins, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)
If you are a Michelle Yeoh fan (if you're not, you're weird), then this DVD is a must-have for your shrine... ahem, shelf. Pure crock plotwise, the adrenaline ride is absolutely stunning, with what has to be one of the most electrifying performances by all actors, but above all, Michelle. I don't want to dis the others, but she is the vehicle for this film and it shows big time.
The year is "sometime in WWII"(TM) and the Japanese have already invaded Manchuria and, it looks like, the place where Kaal is situated. Now this city is ruled by a quisling of a patriot named Youda (Lowell Lo), who is more afraid of the Japanese than he hates them. The blatantly evil General Toga (Matsui Tetsuya) wants to build a plant to make poisonous gas (yep, THAT makes him really evil) and, naturally, the Chinese resistance wants to stop him. Enter Fok Ming-Ming (M.Y.), the intrepid pilot, fighter, gun smuggler, and what-have-you. She is sent on a mission to help agent 001 Paulina Wong (Tung-Shing Yee) foil the evil plans of the evil General, and they do, but not before engaging in what has to be the most amazing stunt work I've seen in ages. Yes, this was way before CGI could make everyone fly. The comic relief provided by Richard Ng is sometimes a bit of a stretch but pretty enjoyable on the whole. Cindy Lau, who played Chin-Chin, is excellent as the clueless and acrobatic brat.
There are some things that made the film be somewhat less than great. I understand how the Chinese must feel about the Japanese, but I have not seen such blatant propaganda ever since I saw that last abomination ENEMY AT THE GATES. The Japanese are not only evil, they seem quite incompetent. But you know it's a lie given what they managed to accomplish in WWII. I sort of liked the casting of a Japanese to play the role of General Toga, but his last act, where he helps the battered city people, is as incomprehensible as it is absurd. I find Michelle fighting and defeating hundreds of sword-carrying samurai more believable. Well, maybe it was supposed to be a caricature, just like all the Nazis in the INDIANA JONES films, so who has the time to develop characters in such a movie.
The Universe DVD is not too bad (I hear that it's nowhere close to the HK Legends British release, damnit). There's some softness, which is to be expected, and the Dolby remix of the Cantonese soundtrack was hilarious. I particularly liked the airplane sound swinging from speaker to speaker when the plane wasn't (really distracting). There are some drops in the sound, especially with really loud explosions. The subtitles were so-so, passing by at the speed of light, as customary, and making it hard to watch the film sometimes.
Bottom line: an essential fare for every M.Y. fan, others may also like it. Don't expect anything close to INDIANA JONES despite all the glowing reviews you may have read. This is a Hong Kong film and therefore has none of the spit-and-polish execution of a Hollywood production. M.Y. wears her hair short too.
June 10, 2001. BLS