Tie jia wu di Ma Li Ya

Martial arts action with robots. It's like a live action anime from Hong Kong. Strong plot, strong story, cool robots.

ON A SCALE OF 1-10 (10 BEING BEST)

I GIVE "I LOVE MARIA"

9 1/2 STARS

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE (+ SIDE)

1) COOL STORY (It never wavered)

2) COOL ROBOTS (Perfect designed)

3) LIKEABLE HUMAN CHARACTERS (The lead characters are very funny and likeable)

ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE (- SIDE)

1) NO DUBBED VERSION (It only has subtitles and that gets in the way of watching the story)

Never having heard about this 1988 Hong Kong action sci-fi comedy titled "Tie Jia Wu Di Ma Li Ya" (aka "I Love Maria"), and stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2022, of course I had to sit down and watch it, given my love for the Hong Kong cinema.

I have to say that this movie from writers Kai-Chi Yuen and Hark Tsui is corny. Sure, it was watchable, but it was a rather cheesy movie actually. Not the greatest moment in Hong Kong cinema, nor was it a particularly great sci-fi feature.

And I was very surprised to see that the movie had Sally Yeh, Paul Chun and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung on the cast list.

The special effects in "Tie Jia Wu Di Ma Li Ya" are adequate enough for a movie such as this, and taking into consideration the years since it was made.

"Tie Jia Wu Di Ma Li Ya" is a movie that is watchable once, but it hardly has enough contents to its storyline to warrant or support a second viewing. And I know that I am not returning to this movie a second time, because it just was a bit too mundane and bland for my liking.

My rating of directors David Chung and Hark Tsui's movie "Tie Jia Wu Di Ma Li Ya" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Some evil organization called Hero Gang (???) wants to conquer China by using Pioneer robots (I think) and a group of sissies must stop them. I Love Maria is a somewhat enjoyable sci fi action movie. I liked the action, robot designs, the cyberpunk elements were medium-high and Sally Yeh does an excellent job as a robot. Of course, as with HK movies of this nature, the comedic elements are a downfall. I prefer my HK movies to be dark and hateful so up yours. Plus the story was ridiculously stupid and most of the characters were unlikable. And I would like a lot more blood!!!! Urgh! In the end... The pros I mentioned were enough to keep me fat and happy like a mongoloid.

A sci-fi action film and gag filled comedy is about an improbable love triangle between washed out gangster Whiskey, put upon police scientist Curly, and a robot named Maria. The Hero gang has been terrorizing Hong Kong at will with their giant robot, Pioneer One. Bumbling reporter Ching attempts to track down the story, only to have his efforts thwarted at every turn by the police. Meanwhile Whiskey and Curly fall under suspicion from both their employers when they befriend each other during a bar fight. They flee, only to be hunted down by the Hero Gang's latest robot, Pioneer Two. Modeled after the gang's beautiful second in command, Maria (and intentionally resembling the Maria robot from Metropolis)the robot becomes damaged during it's pursuit. Curly rebuilds her to aid him and his friends to clear their names, and spends the rest of the film battling Whiskey for her affections. (In order to issue her a command one must begin with "I love Curly", much to Whiskeys annoyance.) This fun film epitomizes the "can do" attitude of 1980's Hong Kong film making. The special effects may seem clumsy, but the earnest effort and shear joy of film making shows through. The eventual triumph of the three friends (four if you count Maria) should put a smile on anyone who's ever felt like an outcast.

The plot is simple at best, and the humor is often childish, and yet it works. The reason it 'works' is likely the pace. As in a movie like Airplane, you do not have much time to think about each attempt at humor, as there is another one following too close on its heals. The effects were actually quite good for the time and apparent budget. Surprisingly to me, the characters were actually not likeable for the most part. The only likeable characters would be the semi-retired gang boss and the android Maria. If you already like period HK action and comedy, then you will likely like this one. I am not a genre fan and I still liked it after watching it for the first time today.