Jing mo gaa ting

Sue me I liked this.

You've heard the story before: two kids who don't believe their dad's way out tales find he was telling the truth when he's kidnapped and they have to go rescue him. Its been the story of countless films most recently in films like Spy Kids. Here its done with an Asian flair and for the most part it works. Its not the be all and end all of action films but as a 100 minute lark its quite nice (even with tongue in cheek this film does contain some graphic violence and blood of the PG 13 variety). The fights are incredible even if the wire work is far from believable. I liked this film a great deal, my only complaint is that the pacing at times is a bit slow, considering this is the directors second time out of the box I'll cut him some slack. In reading reviews on this film I was struck by the intense dislike for the director. I'm not familiar with him or his earlier work as actor or director but I can't see why the knives have been drawn, its just a harmless movie.

If this film passes your way give it a shot. Turn you mind off and grab some popcorn and you'll have a good time.

An overall well-made movie with excellent martial arts and a nice simple story line... great for a lazy afternoon ! The plot is simple, family of trained martial artists have to save their father after he is held by a villain, western of course, and bald.

Some up and coming Chinese actors shown especially Gillian Wong, the new Michelle Yeoh, in my opinion anyway. Also the weapon work demonstrated by the young boy (obviously a weapons competitor in the US) is truly outstanding. You can definitely feel the hand of Jackie Chan in the fighting sequences.

Xangshuo ! (Enjoy !)

Leading a normal life as a herbalist and practitioner of traditional medicine, Master Yue's past comes back to haunt him before long, much like Anthony Wong's advancing years have accumulated to make the cherished thespian look a tad odd in a fast paced actioner. One can't help liking Wong, but at his age it may be prudent to rethink career strategies and maybe concentrate on character roles, where the man's unique style and skill can be better realized.

Yue, done by Wong, has raised quite the superhero family, and even keeps mementos from his James Bond-like history in service of Queen and Country stashed away in a Batmanish hideout behind the med shop. Indeed, House of Fury at least comes to terms with Hong Kong's British background, treating it as a respectable aspect of the city's identity rather than something to avoid.

But lest anyone be beguiled into thinking this Jackie Chan-supervised martial arts escapade a History Channel docudrama. Things quickly turn to focus on Yue's little troupe of gong fu supremo's, comprising son Nicky (Stephen Fung, who also directed) and daughter Natalie (Gillian Chung). The three, a mite reminiscent of the Avengers in their snazzy little Mini with the Union Jack all over the car's roof, face a brutal cavalcade of vindictive retribution from seriously disturbed Rocco (Michael Wong of Magic Kitchen, New Option series and Women from Mars). The latter blames Master Yue and his martial arts progenitor for becoming wheel-chair bound, and has traversed the world for 12 years in search of payback.

What follows qualifies as Yuen Wo Ping's best choreography since as far back as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, consisting a myriad bewildering moves that make the most of locales and environments. In addition, Yuen injected some of the trademark splits, rebounds and kick combos so often associated with his work, and we have to admit all cast members have done well in carrying out their action duties. Too bad HOF has little to offer beyond its excellent fight sequences. The story doesn't challenge the intellect of a five year old, even with supporting characters trying to flesh out goings on. Charlene Choi steps in as Natalie's best friend from school, and together they aim to relive some of that awfully cute Twins shtick. Breathe easy, though, for Steve Fung at least knows enough to keep those two at bay, so the damage remains minimal. And Chung even does great as a believable fighter.

Then you have your Daniel Wu guest appearance, which seems plain lackluster following superb contributions to similar action product New Police Story, not to mention leading 2004's remarkable One Nite in Mongkok. Daniel portrays Jason, a suspiciously nice Natalie suitor with more of an agenda than you may suspect. But then again you probably won't notice, since Wu gets too little a presence in HOF to have any impact. Same can be said of Michael Wong, who we've seen do more impressive roles in low-budget flicks like Super Car Criminals. Still, he pulls off a moderately likable villain, abetted by young performer Jake Strickland as bad guy Rocco's son and fanatical Street Fighter aficionado. Fourteen year old Strickland adds two very impressive fight segments, almost eclipsing the rest of the minion gang. Among these cronies feature prominently professional martial artist Wu Jing (Legend of Zu, Drunken Monkey) and sultry, eclectic Josie Ho (Naked Weapon, Butterfly). To Director Fung's credit, House of Fury contains smooth editing and plenty of inventive camera use, not to mention artsy montages that succeed in lending the movie a more thoughtful air, instead of just coming across as pretentious. On second thoughts, HOF may be too polished for its own good. Then again, this reviewer just watched 1993 no-holds-barred classic Butterfly and Sword, so go figure. At any rate, like most HK action titles in recent years, this one too keeps blood and other expressions of "mature" content in check, hence don't expect to be shocked, wowed, or otherwise flabbergasted. Of course, cerebral taxation has no place in House of Fury. The film culminates in an ending lame even for a textbook mindless mayhem HK number, resulting in a product worthy of attention almost exclusively from those who enjoy watching quality fight choreography, even if it has hardly any meat to back it up. While not offensive, Stephen Fung's second major foray as a director shows ample technical and managerial prowess with barely any creative oomph. We can only hope he improves later on.

Rating: * * *

"House of Fury" is a smooth mix of action, comedy and family drama. It's a lightweight film that neither tries to solve the world's problems, not does it turn into the fashionable bloodbath. And yet there is a degree of character complexity here; a couple of people are not who they appear to be, and even the villain of the story (Michael Wong) actually has a very understandable personal motive for his actions. But it is the fighting (co-choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping) that is undeniably the main draw: although there is occasionally too much wirework for my tastes (sometimes justified - like in the opening sequence, giving it a fitting fairy-tale quality - but often not), there is also a lot of solid and intricate ground (and weapon) fighting that's a throwback to the golden era of HK action cinema (hey, the climactic fight is even set in a warehouse!). Nearly everyone in this film can fight: men, women, old people, kids, etc. Sometimes they do so quite creatively too - as when Anthony Wong defends himself against four kidnappers by imitating Bruce Lee! Gillian Chung has speed, technique and flexibility, she is a female action star in the making; she just needs to increase her aggressiveness a bit. Despite her high billing, Charlene Choi has what amounts to a cameo; this should not really be classified as a "Twins" film. *** out of 4.

The story tells of Yue Siu Bo(Anthony Wong, The Medallion) who lives in Hong Kong running his own Chinese Health clinic. Here he raises his two children High school student Natalie(Charlene Choi, The Twins Effect) and Ocean World Dolphin instructor Nicky(Stephen Fung,The Gen-X Cops, also the film's director). who he also taught martial arts. Both of them have grown weary of their father because of his constant bragging of how he's defeated many opponents in battle, they have just believed he is always lying.

Then one fateful day, a wheel chair bound man by the name of Rocco(Micheal Wong, First Option) arrives at Siu Bo's clinic looking for a man by the name of Tai Chi-Lung, the man responsible for Rocco's condition. When Siu Bo tells him he has no idea who he is talking about, Rocco leaves and later that night send his henchmen to capture Siu Bo.

When Nicky discovers his father has been kidnapped, he goes to the clinic to investigate only to discover that his father was once in fact a secret agent for British Intelligence.

Soon, Rocco finds out that the information he is looking for is hidden inside two charms worn by both Nicky and Natalie, he dispatches his team of lethal martial arts assassins to retrieve them.

Now Nicky and Natalie, with th help of Natalie's Boyfriend Jason(Daniel Wu, Around The World In 80 Days) and her best friend Ella(Charlene Choi, The Twins Effect) whom Nicky has a crush on, must use the martial arts skills they learnt from their father to defend themselves and save Siu Bo before it's too late.

Phew, now thats a synopsis.

This is the second directorial outing for Star Stephen Fung, who's previous film, Enter The Phoenix, was a fun look at the gangster genre which dominated the box office during the 1980's, so his second film was an eagerly awaited film and boy let me tell you it was worth it.

This movie was so fun, it's probably one of the best movie to come of Hong Kong in 2005. Firstly I'll comment of story and acting.

The story is probably the films weakest point, mainly due to Anthony Wong's character being very open about his past as a secret agent, you thin being part of British Intelligence he'd know the meaning of discretion. The plot as well as an action movie is also in some ways a domestic comedy, with the characters many conflicts being due to the fact that the children think their father is a lair and the father thinks he is no longer fit to look after them.

This is where some of the humour stems from in a way, although the humour is little weak, it did give me a few chuckles here and there. Now plotting and story aside, let's talk about the acting. For a film like this not much is really called upon of the actors. It's worth noting that this was executive produced by Jackie Chan so the end product is very family friendly, so no graphic violence or bad language of any kind, which isn't a bad thing in this case. Anthony Wong gives the strongest performance in the movie giving some much needed gravitas to what is really a flawed character. Stephen Fung does a good job as always as the frustrated and weary Nicky, while Gillian Chung has improved greatly since her performance in The Twins Effect.

Daniel Wu gives fine support considering he does very little in the movie but the worst performances come from Charlene Choi, who is given some of the worst lines, and Micheal Wong, who was just too wooden to make the character seem menacing in anyway. Also veteran Hong Kong actor/producer/director Wu Ma provides strong support as Uncle Chiu.

Now lets get to the good stuff, the martial arts fighting. Which has to be said is the best thing about the movie. They where directed by martial arts action supremo Yuen Woo Ping(The Matrix Trilogy, Kill Bill 1 & 2) who has once again proved why he's one of the best in the business. He does a great job of making everyone who fights in the movie look highly skilled, even thought most of the actor are not martial artists. Each fight is a joy to watch and recalls the glory days of martial arts action cinema in the 70's and the 80's.

To finish off, this is an extremely fun film and I highly recommend that if your a fan of Kung Fu action movies you go and buy the DVD without hesitation as you will not be disappointed.

I gave this film 5/5 stars!