MovieChat Forums > Sing si lip yan (1993) Discussion > MY REVIEW OF IT

MY REVIEW OF IT

posted 15 years ago by Martialhorror
6 replies | jump to latest

Source: http://freewebs.com/mhch93

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE SITE!

CITY HUNTER(1993)
(Directed by Jing Wong)

Plot: City Hunter is a private investigator who is assigned to search for the rebellious daughter of a wealthy client. He ends up on a cruise ship where he must save her and stop a group of murderous terrorists/thieves.

Review:

You’re kidding, right? Tell me this is an April Fools prank. Jackie Chan wouldn’t do a movie this terrible, even being more unwatchable than his Lo Wei movies, right? Did somebody slip some acid in my drink or what? This movie REALLY sucks. Very rarely do I get so annoyed at a movie like I did now. Ladies and gentleman, I give to you Jackie Chan’s worst movie……..by far!

I would ask what Jackie Chan was thinking, but apparently he himself disowned the movie. This began a feud with the director, which began a feud between Jackie and Jet Li, which thankfully ended. So I can guess this movie wasn’t a bad idea to begin with, even though it really kind of was. Manga/anime does not translate well into live action movies. Why hasn’t anyone figured this out yet? “Dragon Ball”, “City Hunter”, and “Speed Racer” are all grating to watch because it tries to hard to be the perfect adaptation.

“City Hunter” is obviously an adaptation of a manga/anime that I’ve never seen, and I’m not sure how loyal it is to the source material. City Hunter is the name of our hero…ugh, again with these stupid names. I have a theory that if your name is the same name as your occupation, then the movie your in probably sucks. “Dragon Ball” had Monkey boy(not kidding) and “Speed Racer” had Speed. Seriously, why can’t these guys have real names? To be fair, the original version has normal names. Just avoid the dub.

Anyway, we’re first introduced to a comical(it is kind of amusing) expositional back-story where City Hunter’s best friend is killed. He promises to take care of his relative, but is forced to swear that he can’t ever seduce her. Oh yeah, did I mention that City is a complete ladies man? Anyway, cut to a few years later, Carrie(the relative) has grown up to be a beautiful young lady who obviously has feelings for our lecherous hero, who mostly ignores her. They get an assignment to bring back Kyoko, the daughter of a wealthy business tycoon who has run away. This leads them to a cruise ship where terrorists are onboard. City Hunter must defeat the terrorists. Oddly, the terrorists were surprisingly evil. They murder, steal and apparently rape. Jeez, did villains from darker movies accidentally stumble upon this one?

My main issue with the movie is the humor. It constantly tried to be funny and while there are a few amusing moments, it mostly grated me. Things that the movie must’ve thought was hilarious were more on the offensive side. Is watching women get beat up funny? Apparently the director thinks so. Come on, watching City ogle women gets old after awhile. Then what the hell was up with that “Street Fighter” scene? That was ALMOST as dumb as that “Speed Racer” movie.

The characters were also an issue. City Hunter is not a very likeable hero. I can forgive his lechery, but he’s quite the insensitive bastard who randomly beats up a bystander because he steps on his sandwich. But the main issue with him is that he’s a static character, a character that never develops. The movie ends with him not changing a damn bit. Carrie is simply annoying. Kyoko isn’t much better. The rest of the cast feel pointless and I’m not sure why they’re there. Maybe they were in the source material or something. In this movie they have no relevance. The card slinging fighter was the most interesting character, but why is he here again? The plot has all the necessary ingredients for a bad movie. For one, did it rip off “Under Siege”? Being that the directors next movie was a “Die Hard” rip-off…. Two, the villains never kill the hero when they get the chance. Three, why do villains HAVE to kill all the innocent bystanders for no reason? You’re just going to antagonize them into eventually trying to retake over the boat. This never actually happens though because God forbid any realism sneak into this movie.

You know, I could actually forgive everything in this movie. After all, it’s a kung fu flick, which is why I watch them in the first place. Unfortunately, where is the kung fu? It’s like 30-40 minutes before the first real fight actually happens and it doesn’t even involve Jackie Chan! When he finally does fight, instead of showcasing excellent choreography, it’s played for comic relief. There are only three real fight scenes here, but they all happen near the end of the movie. By that time, I didn’t care.

The only real good thing I can say about the movie is its playful production value. The backgrounds and set pieces all have a very colorful, comic book feel about them. However, once they get on the boat, this aspect is dropped. There are three impressive fight scenes, and it makes me wish there were more of these. I also dug one of the stunts. When Kyoko shows her gymnast skills, I was very impressed. Oh yeah, I did like the “Game of Death” references.

So really, how irritating can a movie be before it actually becomes kind of amusing? I can see this movie having a cult following. Unfortunately, like most of the live action adaptations of anime, this one fails. It’s dull, annoying and poorly written. Movies like “X-men” and “The Dark Knight” show how these types of movies SHOULD be made. Otherwise you get crap like “City Hunter”.

Jackie Chan(City Hunter) overdoes it, but is charismatic enough for me to forgive his involvement in this movie. If he wasn’t in the movie, I’d be much crueler to it. Hated his dubbing though. Joey Wang(Carrie) is cute but her over-the-top antics annoyed me. Richard Norton(Col. Macdonald) and Gary Daniels(the main henchman) are actually pretty menacing as the villains, even if their acting is typical.

Violence: PG-13. There is enough to secure this rating.

Nudity: Lots of sexual material and attempted rape. But nothing explicit.

Overall: “City Hunter” is a movie that’s so bad, Jackie Chan himself had to disown it. I’m torn between a ¼ and a 1.5/4 star rating. I believe it deserves a 1.5/4 Star rating but will give it lower simply because it needs to be stressed that this is Jackie Chan’s worst movie. Unless you’re a diehard fan, I’d avoid it. Especially if it costs you anything. If you think this review is poorly structured or choppy, which it probably is, it’s because this movie frustrated me that much. I simply want it out of my mind forever.

1/4 Stars

my reviews of martial arts and horror films
http://freewebs.com/martialhorror

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Martialhorror 15 years ago

I actually wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't for the fact that the director seems intent on cashing in on big American pictures.

my reviews of martial arts and horror films
http://freewebs.com/martialhorror

[–] Coolestmovies 14 years ago

This review demonstrates such a massive misunderstanding of, and inexperience with, Hong Kong cinema, that it's almost not worth criticizing.

This paragraph, for starters, is typical of the ignorance found in this review:

You know, I could actually forgive everything in this movie. After all, it’s a kung fu flick, which is why I watch them in the first place. Unfortunately, where is the kung fu? It’s like 30-40 minutes before the first real fight actually happens and it doesn’t even involve Jackie Chan! When he finally does fight, instead of showcasing excellent choreography, it’s played for comic relief. There are only three real fight scenes here, but they all happen near the end of the movie. By that time, I didn’t care.

So, let me get this straight. It's a Jackie Chan movie, and a Hong Kong movie, so therefore it's automatically a "kung-fu flick" which should deliver YOU a good fight scene in the first five minutes? You CANNOT be serious. Do you know ANYTHING about Hong Kong cinema, in particular its comedies? This IS a comedy, and action-comedy. The tale of Jackie "thinking" it would be a serious picture is an absolute myth that has been reprinted too many places to mention. The fight sequences, like those in nearly ALL of Jackie's movies, were DESIGNED for humorous impact first and foremost, and all of the ones here showcase extraordinary choreography we've come to expect in all of his pictures. Just because it's played for "comic relief", as you say (but which isn't true, since most of the action in CITY HUNTER furthers the plot), doesn't mean its

Hong Kong cinema has a rich, deep history of comedy into which CITY HUNTER fits quite nicely, even as it adapts (loosly, by the ADMISSION OF ITS OWN MAKERS) a Japanese anime. You absolutely should familiarize yourself with more than one Hong Kong genre if you want to be taken even remotely seriously in reviews like this.

And Jackie's name is NOT "City Hunter" in this movie. It's Ryu Saeba, just like in the anime. Were you even paying attention?

ALSO, Chan has not disowned the movie. He doesn't rank it as a favourite, but he hates other films he made far more than this one. He had a falling out with the director, who parodied him later on in HIGH RISK (a movie you allude to but don't mention by name, rather oddly), which starred Jet Li. The "feud" you mention between Chan and Li NEVER HAPPENED. God I hate this kind of misinformation being spread around the web. Doesn't anyone do research anymore? Sigh.

I appreciate the effort you put into such a long review, but ONLY the effort, because your facts, and many of your interpretations, and especially your knowledge of the greater Hong Kong cinema, is sorely lacking.

[–] Martialhorror 14 years ago

I won't denty that at this point, I wasn't quite the expert of HK cinema that I thought I was.

I watched the dubbed, where he is called City Hunter throughout the entire film.

I should familiarize myself with more than one HK genre? My interest isn't within HK cinema. It's within kung fu films.

Er, I did research. Dont blame me if most of the web info is wrong. I did read his autobiography later on, and he didnt seem to mind it as I had heard.

I respect your appreciation of the movie, but while you point out the facts which are wrong, you never attempt to defend the other points I criticized.

Its been a long time since I've seen the movie(and wrote the review), but rereading the review, I still believe it is a *beep* movie with unlikeable characters, pointless characters a slow pace and too many unfunny gags.

Since doing this, I've watched a lot more kung fu films, and have become more used to the annoying comedy. But City Hunter rarely- if ever- made me laugh. So can you blame me for hating it? You stating it fits nicely in HK style, but thats like saying Disaster movie fits in with the recent slew of spoof films. It still sucks, even compared to the others.

This movie is still a piece of garbage, and your post, while pointing out some mistakes made by me, did not really defend it as a good movie.

my reviews of martial arts and horror films
http://freewebs.com/martialhorror

[–] theElion 13 years ago

Some people just doesn't get silly humor.

____________________
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?

Nah, it's just a man in tights and a cape.

[–] windkun 13 years ago

100% Jackie Chan Fanboi, with that said, I know and don't reccomend this movie as a kung-fu stunt movie, theres some cool scenes for sure (skating scene, which unfortuantely jackie injured his ankle during and had a double do the flip on the car and another trick).

THE HUMOR IS RIGHT OUT OF THE MANGA / ANIME STYLE HUMOR. that like falling in a position to the facial expression and ways the characters react in a way, is right out of how the manga is drawn, thus the humor is pulling directly from the same type of "Anime" humor.

In that way it works, and I dig the film... its just on the bottom of my Chan list somewhere.