Mo fei cui

'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.

"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. (***)

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.

Magic Crystal is one of those family/action films that you can enjoy on a boring afternoon, not saying this film is bad or anything.

The story of the magic crystal is rather odd, but once you get into it, you'll start to understand (I hope). The cast in the movie is pretty good being played by a host of Asian movie stars.

Cynthia Rothrock is an interpol agent looking for the magic crystal, and Andy Lau is also some kind of special agent as well.His nephew finds the crystal in his bag, only to befriend it since it can talk to him using telepathy. The crystal has the power to project images and even brainwash you from a certain distance. Richard Norton is a greedy Russian looking to use the crystal for his own little pleasure.

Whom ever choreographed the fight scenes in this movie made Cynthia and Richard look awesome. From Richards' Tiger Fist all the way to Cynthias' Preying Mantis and Eagles'Claw the fighting was great.

Let's not forget Andy Lau, although his fight wasn't as intense as the others, he made due with what he was using, also making up for it in latter films.

In the end the Magic Crystal is a decent film to watch, my only gripes are the cheesy music that played over and over. Meaning it was the intro's theme, the fighting theme, and the ending theme. That was the only damn music playing!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Richards' poorly dubbed Russian accent was terrible. Cynthia made a joke about it in the film stating "Your English is almost as bad as your Chinese".

Anyway give it a peek, I found it to be entertaining.

Reviewed by Filmmining 101:

Wong Jing is not a director known for his subtle approach to filmmaking. Usually his numerous outputs bear pedestrian humor, thinly sketched plots and very "old school" female characterization. However, the action Hong Kong cinema of the 80s and early 90s was not known for catering to people's sensitivities and feelings.

A product of a now bygone era, "The Magic Crystal" seeks to be a weird mixture of "E. T" (1982), Jackie Chan street style fighting and a kinda-spy like globe trotting adventure. Featuring kitsch aesthetics that would not look out of place in a poor "Indiana Jones" clone, "The Magic Crystal" won't win anyone with its clumsy storyline and banal execution. As an example of the action 80s Mecca though, it shines consistently by delivering multiple set pieces throughout its (rather) long running time.

Under gorgeous Greek scenery (where they filmed without permission so the background extras are literally confused citizens and tourists alike), there is something exotic watching Andy Lau kicking ass next to the Parthenon (!). A foot chase going from Acropolis to Zappeion might not make sense geographically from those of us who are from Greece but it is a refreshing environment change from the typical Romanian, Londonian or Parisian sequences from other movies.

Boasting excellent stuntwork and several places that are used for trading blows, henchmen fly left and right with spectacular results: a face off inside a house is unexpectedly superb, a one on one fight in front of Zappeion makes for a very compelling skirmish while Richard Norton has the most screen time as a Western baddie here as opposed to his other Hong Kong entries (e.g., "The Millionaire's Express" (1986), "City Hunter" (1993), "Mr Nice Guy" (1997)) demonstrating his martial art prowess in an era that martial art flicks were not very popular outside of the Asian market.

The cast is great sharing the typical chemistry between goofiness and seriousness tip toeing between almost incomprehensible proceedings and mattering high school level exposition to move the plot. Andy Lau has tones of natural charisma (and two years later will deliver a spectacular performance in Wong Kar-wai's "As Tears Go By" (1988)) and Wong Jing as his buffoonery inducing brother-in-law gets some solid laughs. Norton and Cynthia Rothrock are clearly more martial artists than fully fledged actors and it shows but then again for a film that proudly displays a B-movie affection, their iffy acting does not come across as cringy or unintentionally hilarious.

"The Magic Crystal" does not require any additional analysis as it hardly has anything original or truly groundbreaking neither it is a multi-layered motion picture that you would think long after it end credits roll. Simultaneously, you cannot criticize with a straight face its various faults as the filmmakers are aware of their existence and choose to ignore them for the sake of entertainment. At the end, this is a solid martial art flick that stays true to its action roots due to its plethora of fight segments which will please the hardcore fans and might even allow newcomers to enjoy the pedestrian humour throughout.