Mo fei cui

Here we go again on an action adventure with breath-taking speed. An alien artifact is discovered in Greece, taken to Hong Kong, and everybody tries to get hands on it, while a little boy discovers the crystal contains an alien talking to him. Sometimes it happily provides super powers, sometimes it doesn't even talk, must be one of those WEIRD aliens, although... after it was locked into that crystal for 2000 years, it needs no excuse. Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton as Russian agent Karloff (as my dubbed version calls him) deliver some spectacular fights. Even if everything is a bit incoherent and can't decide if it wants to be a kid's movie or a violent action flick, it's speedy and enjoyable, apparently even with a reasonable budget for good quality since a lot of footage was shot on location in Greece. My favorite line is Richard Norton telling the little boy: "If you co-operate, you get some ice cream. If not, you go to Siberia." Going back to school after holidays never sounded so good.

I sat down to watch the 1986 movie "Mo Fei Cui" (aka "The Magic Crystal") here in 2022 for the first time. I had never heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it.

The movie's synopsis didn't really make a good point of selling the contents of the movie, but I still opted to watch it, since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen. However, I wasn't harboring any particular expectations to writer and director Jing Wong.

The storyline started out quite nicely enough and actually seemed like a fair enough movie, but then suddenly there was a sentient crystal introduced, and the movie took on a more family-friendly demeanor. I wasn't expecting that turn of events, and it would have been nice to know that the movie was a family adventure with elements of action and comedy as well. But truth be told, then there was actually a little bit of everything for everyone in the audience by all the genres mixed in here.

I have to be honest and say that it was Andy Lau that was the main attraction here for me, because I have never been a fan of Cynthia Rothrock. The movie does have a good handful of Hong Kong actors and actresses on the cast list, mostly minorly known performers, but a few familiar faces here and there if you are an avid fan of the Hong Kong cinema. I wasn't really familiar with Richard Norton, but he definitely put on a good performance in "Mo Fei Cui".

Something that bothered me, when I sat down to watch "Mo Fei Cui", was the fact that all dialogue was dubbed into Cantonese, even the English speaking character's dialogue. That just doesn't sit right with me, especially so since dubbing is just a stupid thing.

There is a good amount of action throughout the course of the movie, and that definitely helped carry the movie, especially at the times where the storyline took on a bit too far out there comedy approach or go all family-friendly. And Andy Lau sure did surprise me with his action performance in "Mo Fei Cui".

My rating of "Mo Fei Cui" lands on a five out of ten stars. The movie suffered from having a storyline that went from being a proper action adventure to a family-friendly action adventure.

"Magic Crystal" takes an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to movie-making: there is action, comedy, spy stuff (the villains are KGB), exotic adventure ala Indiana Jones (it was partly shot in Greece, and there are underground lairs full of traps), and science fiction (a little boy befriends an alien creature - does that remind you of anything?). The mixture of all these different genres isn't 100% smooth, but at times it is exhilarating, particularly during the fight scenes, which are furious and ferocious. Cynthia Rothrock (possible highlight: her Eagle Claw kung fu), Richard Norton (ph: the way he handles his double sharp weapons at the end ), Andy Lau (ph: using an umbrella as a weapon!), and the actress who plays his sister (ph: her astonishing body-bending abilities) are all superb in action, and there are some big laughs as well (a man wakes up to find his hands and feet having exchanged places!). IMO, any martial arts/80's Hong Kong film fan should seek this one out. (***)

This is a fantasy comedy film from Wong Jing, where cop Andy Lo (Andy Lau) along with friend Pancho (Wong Jing) and nephew Pin-Pin (Bin Bin) travel to Greece to find his long lost friend Shen (Phillip Ko). He is being chased by the KGB and Interpol after discovering a rare, supernatural gem.

There are plenty of martial arts action in the film, courtesy of Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock and Edward Norton. The action really doesn't slow down, especially toward the second half of the movie, which made it look overkill at some point. While the movie starts off a little slow, it picks up steam when our lead characters are in Greece and a high-profile chase between the KGB and Shen take place, with Andy and company and the Interpol agents caught in the middle.

Actor Chan Pak-Cheung has a supporting role in the film and delivered some laugh-out-loud comic relief, especially during the scenes where he comes under the spell of the supernatural gem. The "friendship" between the gem and the kid character was pretty heartfelt.

Actress Sharla Cheung also has a supporting role but, along with Chan Pak-Cheung, wasn't utilized enough. I would rather have them serve as the leads over the attention-freak and cocky Andy Lau.

There are some plot holes here and there, but overall, it's a fast-paced movie that is delightfully cheesy and pretty entertaining.

Grade B-

'Magic crystal' is very distinctly and emphatically over the top, direct, and ham-handed in many regards. It's all in service to silly fun, yes, with a focus on martial arts action. All the same, in the narrative, scene writing, and characters - and I assume as well in the dialogue for which sometimes questionable translated subtitles are provided - there's a certain brusqueness, a childish playfulness, and a disregard for any air of realism that all make the movie a bit of a wild ride from the very beginning. And then there's Joseph Yip's original score, mostly fairly repetitive: where it does vary, some parts are better, more dynamic, and more successful than others in imparting a minor sense of action-thriller urgency, but at almost all times it sounds quite like the music was composed as MIDI compositions on a low-grade keyboard and never developed further. And the props and post-production work that realize the titular MacGuffin and its associated effects - an astoundingly powerful artifact, pure movie magic fantasy - are... Well, they serve their purpose.

On that note, however, it's very easy to call to mind Hollywood films with a very similar slant. While some of the humor and action here is on the marginally adult side, if 'Magic crystal' were remade for American audiences, it would very likely be marketed as an action-comedy kids' movie, like '3 ninjas' (1992) or 'The pacifier' (2005). For all the ridiculousness on hand, the intent behind the movie is clear, and with that one can readily overlook many of the indelicacies in the feature's construction. After all - preposterous and geared for outlandish amusement as it all may be (and, in many ways, low budget in appearance) there's care in the orchestration of each scene that's admirable. Even if the tale is in part an amalgamation of Cold War spying, 'Godzilla'-like dalliances with otherworldly powers, and 'Goonies' -style exploits, the cast and crew worked hard with what they had to produce what really feels like a surprisingly strong realization of a very frivolous and irreverent idea.

More than anything else, that absolutely goes for the movie's true core, the fight scenes. The action is wonderfully entertaining, fast and intense in all the many instances where any opportunity arises to insert martial arts. Every major cast member participates, to my delight, even some characters we wouldn't expect. We see demonstrations of some specific techniques, and superb use of a variety of weapons, which I feel are relatively rare for martial arts flicks of this tenor. With Andy Lau and Cynthia Rothrock being most prominent as the chief "goodies," and Richard Norton as the antagonist, they and all their co-stars give outstanding illustrations of their skills and disciplines that are exhilarating both all on their own, and of course with their incorporation into larger bombastic melees. There are many great martial arts flicks in the world, and I dare not try to make a comparison, but all I can say is that I was caught off guard by just how robust and invigorating the choreography is here. Kwok Keung Chan, Yu-Shu Wu, Ivy Yew, and all others behind arranging the fights, and performing stunts, are to be congratulated for such a tremendous contribution.

It's hard to give the slightest care to acting when the feature is driven by such action and care-free fun, and to be frank, what characteristics initially grabbed my eye as I began watching can barely be counted as flaws in consideration of what 'Magic Crystal' ultimately is - only aspects that may turn off some potential viewers. There's one concrete criticism I do have to make, though, for especially in endeavoring to accentuate the more juvenile touches of comedy in the picture, at a few points the screenplay meanders. We meet characters with no meaningful place in the plot; we get scenes without significant connection that provide some levity, but more than anything else only distract from the center. This is a noteworthy shortcoming that's unfortunate, because otherwise - for all the ludicrousness of every kind, I really rather think that Wong Jing's screenplay, like his direction, is far more deserving than I would have anticipated as the feature began.

Just in case I haven't made it clear enough, this is a title with the sensibilities of an 80s-90s Hollywood kids' action-comedy, rounded out with elements and story beats that require able suspension of disbelief. Terrific and gripping as the fight choreography is, even those who step in being familiar with someone in the cast, and ready for a less than serious romp, are apt to be taken aback by how cheekily, purposefully weird everything first appears. Yet the disparate, somewhat bewildering parts all manage to crystallize (sorry) into an unlikely enjoyable slice of nonsense that nonetheless fulfills the need for earnest action. There's a lot going on here, and somehow it all works. You don't need to go out of your way to see this, but if you want a martial arts movie and are open to all the possibilities in the world of cinema, then 'Magic crystal' is a unique, satisfying way to spend 95 minutes.