R E V I E W :   Martial Angels 

Reviewed 4/30/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Deltamac / 2001 / 87 minutes
Directed by Clarence Ford
Written by Sharon Hui Qui Long

The American film Charlie's Angels opened to wide fanfare last fall. That film pulled in big box office numbers while featuring three beautiful women. This version borrows part of the title and features seven beautiful women in skin-tight leather. Sound like a surefire recipe for success?

The film played in Hong Kong cinemas in February 2001 and grossed a modest HK $4.8 million.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: Cat, a thief, falls in love with Lok Chi Yang, another thief, while both are trying to steal the same piece of expensive jewelry at an exclusive party. The relationship breaks up and Cat gets out of the criminal life, becoming a secretary at a computer firm. Three years later, Chi Yang is being held hostage by the Russian mafia because he was unsuccessful in stealing a computer virus from the company where Cat works. To save Chi Yang's life, she and her best friend Octopus round up their old crew of thieves (they all grew up in an orphanage, evidently), including big sister Monkey, Spider, Goldfish, Peacock, and Pigeon. Subterfuge, explosions, and action ensue.

Performances: All seven "angels" are lovely to behold, but their acting abilities seem to vary with their underwritten characters. Shu Qi has the lead role of Cat; for the most part she does fine but towards the end of the film I found myself more entranced with her shiny lip gloss than her thespian skills. Kelly Lam Hei-Lui puts forth a good effort as Octopus, an action-oriented woman who is emotionally self-contained. Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu makes the most of her part as Monkey, who must seduce an executive of the computer company and also provide leadership for the motley crew. Amanda Strang is left adrift and gets stuck playing the hapless victim in the two most unsavory scenes. The three remaining "angels" are played by Teresa Mak Ga Kei, Rachel Ngan Wing Sze, and Rosemary Vandenbroucke. Julian Cheung Chi Lam as Lok Chi Yang leaves little or no impression, while Terence Yin Chi-Wai as the maddog psychopath Bone yelps, licks, and barks to little overall effect.

Production: The direction by Clarence Ford lacks any dynamic energy. Certain scenes, isolated from the rest of the story, display beauty and a tiny bit of imagination. Overall, though, the pace drags and the action scenes (choreographed by Adam Chan Chung-Tai, who in addition to Ford has also worked with Wilson Yip) are uninspired and flat. The script by Sharon Hui Qui Long (who has contributed to The Lovers, Once Upon a Time in China and America, and, most recently, the disappointing Love Correction) has trouble coming up with enough story to extend the running time to 87 minutes. Likewise, the cinematography by Fung Yuen Man (also responsible for the better looking Clean My Name, Mr. Coroner! and The Blood Rules) is workmanlike and the music by Ha Sam Mei (just his second credit as film composer) is forgettable even as it's playing. None of the many locations are used or filmed in an interesting way.

Rating: Category IIB. Much gunshot violence and plenty of explosions, but little explicit bloodshed. The rating also reflects two distasteful sexual situations, neither of which show skin but both of which left this viewer quesy.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The letterboxed (1.85:1) presentation looks average. Too often the disk looks like it was produced by Mei Ah, reflecting that company's reputation for soft and dull imagery.

Sound: Both the Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are mono (DD 1.0). I don't know why; the theatrical trailer is presented in both languages on the disk, so it's not like the original audio tracks were not available. I listened to the Cantonese track and it sounded OK. This is a case where the extra 'oomph' of a DD 5.0 soundtrack would have helped distract the viewer from a routine film.

Subtitles: The removable white English subtitles are easy to read and well timed, with relatively few obvious errors. Also available are traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles.

Features: Nine chapters can be selected from the menu, which is illustrated with still pictures from each chapter. The original theatrical trailer is provided in separate Cantonese and Mandarin versions. All menu options are presented in Chinese only.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent -- low priority for Shu Qi and Sandra Ng completists. All others can safely pass on this uninspired action film.

 

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