O Grande Desafio

Version: Columbia/Tristar DVD, Cantonese with English subtitles

A somewhat different offering from Jackie Chan in 'Gorgeous'. Bu (Shu Qi) is bored in Taiwan, and after reading a message in a bottle, she goes to Hong Kong to search out a mysterious stranger (Tony Leung), who turn out to be not be exactly what she expected. Eventually she meets C.N. Chan (Jackie) and grows close to him. Meanwhile, Bu's fiancée is looking for her and Jackie has troubles with Lo (Emil Chau), a childhood friend and now business rival.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this, even though romantic-comedies aren't really my thing. It isn't your usual Jackie Chan-style, but if he wants to try something different, then I will gladly support him. I found 'Gorgeous' funny, although others will disagree. There isn't much action, but when there is, it is excellent. The two fight scenes with Brad Allan are some of the best fight-scenes Jackie has ever filmed. They really are incredible, but in the end, this really is more of a 'feel good' movie than anything else.

Apparently the version I have is cut by 20 minutes, missing a cameo Stephen Chow. Damn. Stephen Chow is cool.

'Gorgeous' isn't for everyone - fans of the Chan-man should check it out, but I'm not guaranteeing you'll enjoy it as much I did. 7/10

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.

I was not expecting a movie like this at all from Jackie Chan. After 30 or 40 minutes passed with no fight scenes I started getting antsy. The second half of the movie redeemed itself though with 2 amazing kung fu spectacles that still boggle my mind weeks and months later. In retrospect this is a very good movie - and the romantic angle was done really well and in a decent and sweet fashion - no one night stand sex scenes ala the rest of Hollywood - this was much more sincere than that. The guy playing Alan is a tremendous performer and should be given a chance for more starring roles, he stole the show from Chan in both scenes. Worth 10 bucks or so just for the fight scenes, and the rest of the movie ain't so bad either. :)

Confusing movie. It's a love story action and comedy in one piece, in a very Jackie way. I was looking at it and thought to myself, wow It's rocky meets notting hill Jackie Style. The fights with Brad Allen are cool and the rest of the fights are funny. The girl that's on Jackie's to do list is very cute! Also a nice performance by that guy that plays a gay, he's really popular and famous I think, but I forgot his name. The fights with Brad Allen (together with the brilliant comedy of the Henchmen) highlighted this movie for me. It seems that they used wires and sped it up a bit, but it's awesome none the less. Keep your eyes on Brad Allen's feet. His footwork is awesome!

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.