Boh lei chun

Well for a start this movie is underrated. I don't think that an average rating of 5.4 justifies how good this movie really is.

This is the first movie that i have ever seen that uses comedy, romance, and martial arts to such a good effect in a movie. Sure, there are other Jackie Chan films with hints of romance, and there is always lots of fun and excitement, but this movie is different, because unlike a lot of his other movies, this one is based on a romantic story, yet still has a lot of great martial arts and some laughs to offer its audience.

What makes this such a great movie for me is that the choreography for the fighting I thought was excellent. The romantic storyline is simple yet effective. It is an easy movie to to watch and enjoy.

Now the rating.... a lot of people probably thought this was going to be an action packed movie. Now there is quite a lot of action considering this movie was intended to be a romance/comedy. It just proves that Jackie Chan can pull off a romantic comedy really well.

This is a Jackie Chan movie with a difference, it is also a romantic film. The same Jackie trademarks are exhibited, the action scenes and the humour, but the romantic angle is fuller than in his other films. The storyline is based on an old concept, a message in a bottle, but updated. The characters are well chosen and believable. The action scenes are up to Jackies usual standard with plenty of humour mixed in. I really enjoyed this movie as it caters for all the included genres equally. For those who enjoy purely action films stick to Bruce Lee or John Woo. It was not the best romantic comedy I have ever seen, but this is one of the best films that span several genres in equal amounts. Awarded an 8 but perhaps should have been a 9 for its successful mix of styles.

I say kudos to Jackie for trying to expand his range a little bit, especially after having so much success over the years using the same formula. For once Jackie gets to act a little bit and play a role other than a cop/new kid in town/martial artist whose father/brother/girlfriend was kidnapped/murdered/disgraced. Sure, it's not high drama, but it is a very touching romantic comedy.

Jackie plays a wealthy businessman who is so wrapped up in his work that he has forgotten how to take time to enjoy what he has earned. Bu (Qi Shu) is a starry-eyed romantic who tries to help him remember. Mixing things up a bit is Chan's less scrupulous rival Lo, played by Emil Chau.

This rivalry serves to shoehorn a couple of fight scenes into the movie, and while I did really enjoy them (I like seeing Jackie in a good one-on-one matchup once in a while) they're really secondary to the plot of the movie. They're definitely worth seeing, though. Set up as elaborate boxing matches, they're a bit more realistic than most of his scenes.

I enjoyed this movie quite a lot and would love to see Jackie do some more like it. After all, we have to admit that Jackie is getting up there in age. While he's still just as amazing as ever, why not give him a break from being pushed through windows and dragged behind trucks once in a while?

In a fishing village in Taiwan, the dreamer Bu (Shu Qi) loves fairy tales and has just been proposed by the fish man Louie. However, her dolphin finds a bottle with a love message inside and the romantic Bu decides to seek out the author Albert (Tony Leung) in Hong Kong. However she is frustrated when she discovers that Albert is gay and the message is for his former boyfriend. Meanwhile, the millionaire and wolf broker C.N. Chan (Jackie Chan), who owns a recycling company, has a serious love and business competition with the businessman Howie Lo (Emil Chau) since they were students. Bu witnesses Lo's bodyguards hitting Chan and she helps him with her boat. They have an accident and spend the night together in a small island. On the next morning, Chan brings Bu to his fancy apartment and she does not give her true name to him. Bu also plots a scheme with Albert to lure Chan to become her boyfriend. Meanwhile Howie hires a skilled fighter to beat and humiliate Chan. Will Bu succeed in her intent?

"Boh lei chun", a.k.a. "Gorgëous", is a delightful romantic adventure with a silly but entertaining story and perfect chemistry between Jackie Chan and Shu Qi. The fight choreography is another attraction of this film. The moral value of the fights between Bradley James Allan and Jackie Chan is another important point in this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Grande Desafio" ("The Great Challenge")

Being a big Jackie Chan fan,and knowing from experience how much better the HK versions of his films are,I picked the HK version of this up last week,and I cant tell you how much I loved this one.Im probably one of the few Jackie fans stateside that likes the humor in most of his older movies,as well as the action,so this one really made me laugh,and Shu Qi is just luminous as the female lead.One thing I really liked about this one was the charactarizations of so many of the other players had real dimension to them,including the so called bad guys.And Ive noticed that most of the best one on one fight scenes in his movies are the ones with a fighter thats treated as an equal,and fought as clean,fair fights,(examples:In Wheels on Meals,Dragons Forever,Who Am I,etc.)and his two fights with Bradely James Allen are good examples of this. I know a lot of guys who watch Jackie just for the fights and stunts are dissapointed with this one,the rest of us with a more open mind will probably like this almost as much as I do.