Tek dou bou

"Tek dou bou" ("Lucky Encounter" in English) is the first Johnnie To movie that I've seen. A quite enjoyable one, I might add. As in many Hong Kong movies, it has a ridiculous plot that's an excuse for a series of gags. In this case, some inventors come across a murdered boy's ghost, and they decide to help him avenge his death.

Of course, it's one of the most cornball things imaginable, with a whole sequence that appears to be based on "Home Alone". The one problem that I had was that there was a lot of product placement (I'm not sure if it was deliberate or the Coca-Cola just happened to be there, but it was sure prominent). Other than that, I liked the movie.

Overall, it's a fun movie. Not as much in the way of martial arts as other Hong Kong movies, but that's not a problem. I'm eager to see To's other movies.

Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Kent Cheng stars as two inventors who encounter the ghost of a benevolent little boy, who was murdered by his power-hungry uncle Cheap Chan (Anthony Wong). Therefore, the inventors vow to help the little ghost avenge his death.

This is not one of those conventional ghost comedies from Hong Kong, as it stars a little kid in the title role. It's mostly lightheartedness with whimsical elements such as the roles of the toy inventors to the character of the Professor (John Sham), who uses computer equipment and laser-like gadgets to detect and deflect ghosts. It's kind of like Casper the Friendly Ghost mixed in with Back to the Future and Ghostbusters, but with a modern-day setting with a little bit of romance tucked in.

The avenge plot is pretty exciting, along with the the "humans and ghosts cannot co-exist in the same room" warning. There is also some laugh-out-loud comedy courtesy of one of the lead actresses, Kingdom Yuen, and Kent Cheng - the two together make a hilarious pair. Lots of overboard sappy and puppy love moments, unfortunately, mostly involving Tony Leung and actress Sonny Song (who couldn't really act to save her life). And, the main villain Cheap Chan is as cringe-worthy as running your nails on a chalkboard. But, all in all, it's not a bad Chinese ghost story. It's kind of innovative, exciting, kid-innocent and humorous all at the same time.

Grade B-