EAST MEETS WEST 2011 Review
Karen Mok stars as Sammi, a rebellious, strong-minded woman who flits from job to job and has had so many unsuccessful relationships that she is now openly hostile to members of the opposite sex. Currently working as a mortician's make-up artist, Sammi receives a call from Scarlet (Huang Yi), begging her for help. The two women used to be best friends in high school, until Scarlet seduced Sammi's father, Kenny (Kenny Bee). Years later they are still together, despite the fact that Kenny's music career is on the skids and Scarlet owes money to a Mainland tycoon...which is the reason she called. Charles (Eason Chan) has taken her hostage and will not release her until Scarlet's HK$500,000 debt is repaid.
On their way across the border, Sammi and Kenny take a taxi driven by the strangely manic wannabe-actor Wen, and before long have picked up a couple of miscreants, Jade and Bing (Jaycee Chan), who come along for the ride. But when a small boy darts in front of their car, they swerve and crash into his father, Da Xiong (Ekin Cheng). The car explodes and they are all presumed dead. That is until all seven of them are embodied by seven Heavenly Dragons - immortals who live on Earth in secret to protect humanity. Witnessed only by the young Xiaofang, it takes a while for Sammi and her newfound friends to adjust to their superpowers, but soon enough they are united and go off in search of Charles - only for romantic sparks to fly when Sammi and Charles come face to face.
Suffice to say the plot of EAST MEETS WEST is far from its strongest element, but what it does bring to the table is a reliable cast of notable actors, a likable central couple in Sammi and Charles, and a bombastic third act packed with special effects and superhumans facing off against each other. The film employs some great new music from Anthony Wong and the costumes are the most outrageous outfits you will find this side of a Mardi Gras parade. While far from practical when it comes to fighting crime, they do add some great moments of humour to the proceedings - like when Kenny Bee deflects a piece of falling debris with his oversized quiff.
So legend has it, there were originally Eight Heavenly Dragons sent down to Earth, but one was consumed by greed and turned to evil. Ever since, the seven remaining immortals have searched for him and attempted to take him down, but as yet they have never succeeded. It will come as no surprise to learn who the villain is, and it makes for a suitably conflicted finale. Stephy Tang - who has taken a number of interesting supporting roles recently that go against her goody-two-shoes image, rises to the challenge and makes for a nicely villainous henchwoman.
EAST MEETS WEST is far from a great film, but my expectations had been trodden so low by Lau's previous efforts that this film needed to be little more than passably competent with a modicum of intelligence and wit to surpass them - which it did, and then some. Karen Mok is always a pleasure to watch on screen and dolled up in boots, fishnets, hotpants and ridiculous accessories just made the whole experience immediately less painful. She has some good onscreen chemistry with Eason Chan, who also makes for a likable foil. Kenny Bee gets to poke fun at his own real-life persona as a washed-up pop-star, and while Ekin Cheng and Jaycee Chan aren't given a great deal to do, the film still manages to be consistently fun from beginning to end.
While EAST MEETS WEST by no means exonerates Jeff Lau for his previous misdeeds it does at least prove that he has still got what it takes to make a decent movie. The film is relentlessly energetic and brimming with enthusiasm, and is almost garish in its vibrant use of colour and CGI. At a time when Hong Kong movies seem to be either completely po-faced and serious or incapable of telling a story, it is nice to watch a film so light and breezy that also displays a bit of quality and intelligence behind the eyes. EAST MEETS WEST is a hugely encouraging step away from the brink for Jeff Lau.
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