R E V I E W

The Final Winner

Universe | 2001 | 80 minutes
Directed by Ally Wong Ka Fai
Written by Siu Yat Ming

With Jackie Lui, Grace Lam, Michael Tse, Benny Chan

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

Ally Wong Ka Fai has worked as a cinematographer since 1989. His best-known efforts may be Donnie Yen's Legend of the Wolf and Ballstic Kiss. He began directing films in 1998; this is his seventh completed production (the previous one being Clueless).

The film played briefly in Hong Kong cinemas in December 2001.

M O V I E

plot
A tired story about triad gangs. I must confess that I cannot even summon up more than the rudimentary memories about the plot, but I remember being quite bored and having difficulty staying awake.

Two gangs are in conflict. One is led by a pacifist, and the other by a vicious gangster. Three buddies are stuck in the pacifist gang; one of them falls for a very sweet would-be prostitute (Grace Lam, much more appealing than in the recent Crime of a Beast), and so on and so forth.

performances
Grace Lam looks very pretty. No one else in the cast really stands out; on the other hand, no one appeared to be an amateur. Give the film credit for a good ensemble performance.

production
While I don't recommend that anyone spend any money to see this (except for die-hard Grace Lam admirers), it seems like bad form to detail the defects of the production. The most overriding thought I had was that there was no reason for this film to be made, other than the fact that the cast and crew needed something to do for a couple of weeks and decided to make a movie, hoping to break even on the video sales.

Director Ally Wong Ka-Fai seems to have a way with performers, and it would be interesting to see what he could do with a decent script (Siu Yat Ming previously wrote There is a Secret in My Soup) and a larger budget.

The videotaped presentation looks like video (whether it's digital or not doesn't seem to matter), although cinematographer Cheng Chi Wing achieves some variations in lighting that make for a bit of variety in the visuals.

rating
Category III. I believe this is due to a generally positive presentation of the triad lifestyle. No explicit sex or nudity is shown, profanities are kept to a minimum, and the violence is not extremely explicit or bloody.

D V D

look
The colors look very solid and the black tones are deep. One advantage of the videotaped presentation is that there are no scratches on the print.

sound
Four audio tracks are provided: Cantonese Stereo, DD 5.1, and DTS, and Mandarin DD 5.1. I listened to the Cantonese DTS track, and it sounded very good with an expansive sound field.

subtitles
The white removable subtitles are displayed in a font that was quite large and very easy to read. Traditonal and simplified Chinese subtitles are also provided.

features
Eight chapters can be selected from a video-clip menu. One star's file (brief biography and film listing) is provided for Grace Lam. The original theatrical trailer is included as are trailers for Extreme Challenge and Crime of a Beast.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Pass, unless you are a devotee of Grace Lam.

(Reviewed 02/13/02)

THIS DVD IS AVAILABLE AT HKFLIX.COM