The Four
The Four
aka 四大名捕
2012
Script by Gordon Chan Ka-Seung, Frankie Tam Gong-Yuen, and Maria Wong Si-Man
Directed by Gordon Chan Ka-Seung and Janet Chun Siu-Jan
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Emotionless spends 99% of the film looking at people like this
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What if X-Men was a confusing mess with too many characters, little character development, and an over-reliance on visual effects vs. telling a good story? Besides X-Men 3, you’d also get The Four! Gordon Chan trades mutant powers for qigong skills in this big budget production that follows the trend of Mainland cinema relying far too much on visual effects to carry weak scripts and bland characters. While The Four does deliver some nice looking sequences, overall it fails to achieve its goal of being entertaining, and even fails to wrap up any plot lines in the film. The Four seems to go out of its way to make sure nothing happens.
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Don’t worry, the obligatory scene where all the main characters fight for no reason still happens.
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The latest update of prolific (and troubled) Malaysian writer Wen Ruian’s work, The Four has been adapted numerous times for television in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China. Featuring four male detectives with special powers who work directly for the Emperor and solve problems, this version is distinct for two reasons: It is the first big budget film adaptation, and one of the male characters has been made female. Even China is changing characters around to try to attract broader demographics! In general, I have no problem with that practice. But this specific case causes some problems, as discussed below.
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I’ll show them, I’ll build a real clockwork orange!
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I’ve heard of the Bride with White Hair, but this is ridiculous!
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3 comments - What do you think?
Posted by Tars Tarkas -
September 11, 2012 at 1:01 am
Categories: Movie Reviews, Ugly Tags: Anna Fang, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Bao Bei-Er, Cheng Tai-She, China, Deng Chao, Jiang Yi-Yan, Kohata Ryu, Liu Yi-Fei, Miao Chi, Ngai Sing, Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Sheren Tang Shui-Man, Tin Kai-Man, Tina Xiang Tian-Ran, Waise Lee Chi-Hung, Wu Xiubo, Wu Ying-Jie