EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES - DONG CHENG XI JIU (1993)

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tony Leung Kar Fai, Jacky Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Carina Lau, Veronica Yip, Joey Wong, Kenny Bee

Imagine a film starring some of Hong Kong's biggest stars, then have them portray famous characters from Jin Yong's novels, and the result is one big mishmash of a movie, devoid of a coherent plot. It's a shame because, with a little more thought and care into the script, this could have turned out much better. This film was made specifically for the Chinese New Year holidays, and the billing of ten big stars was obviously a marketing attempt at drawing in as big an audience as possible. In this case, less is more.

Those of you with little knowledge of Jin Yong's works will find themselves confused by all the historical background and the endless references to names and situations. Nonetheless, it won't make a damn difference to your overall liking of the film - a pile of turd is still a pile of turd, no matter if you knew where it came from.

Ou-yeung Fung (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), a Persian official, collaborates with his cousin (Veroncia Yip), the Persian queen, to usurp the throne from the king. But to complete their coup, they must get the royal seal from the Third Princess (Brigitte Lin), who has fled to Nine Mountains to find her master. This is predominantly the main plot, but there are a number of story strands weaved into the overall fabric.

Chou Pat Tung (Carina Lau), a male Tao monk with homosexual inclinations, is on a mission to find the killer of her "brother", Master Wong (Kenny Bee) of the Chuen Clan. Meanwhile on Nine Mountains, students (also lovers) Wong Yat Si (Leslie Cheung) and Chow (Joey Wong), are interrupted by the appearance of Third Princess. Wong immediately falls in love with her, and his master orders him to accompany the princess to find the Nine Sacred Scroll.

Chow is distraught, but she is actually predestined to marry her cousin, Hung Chat (Jacky Cheung), chief of the Beggar Society. However, his shabby look repulses her; as a result, he wants to commit suicide because of her rejection. His meeting with Ou-yeung is the funniest scene in the whole film, as we witness the hapless Ou-yeung try to kill Hung Chat without any success.

Somewhere else, Prince Duen of Dali (Tony Leung Kar Fai) is told that he is the reincarnation of Buddha (or whatever), and he needs to find his true lover to help him leave earth for his nirvana. All characters converge upon an inn, where plenty of mishaps and misunderstandings gives the actors the chance to behave extremely silly.

To be honest, the performances aren't that bad, even though it looks very juvenile at times. It just tends to be way over the top, and the overall package reminds me of children's television stock. The action scenes are even more unbelievably silly, with heavy emphasis on flying, flying, and flying. This isn't the worst part, which goes to the even more heavy usage of "speeded up" action. When you see these gifted actors perform fight scenes in almost superhuman speed, it's gets very annoying, and feels a waste of time and talent. A comedy doesn't have to be so blatantly banal - eg. Stephen Chow's films are full of excellent verbal comedy and eye popping action, but it seems here that the filmmakers decided to make everything puerile, hoping the attraction of major stars would cover up the abysmal script.

Overall, a wasted opportunity, particularly with ten big stars in the line up. There are some funny moments, but not enough, and the action is uninteresting as well as being a tad boring.

RATING

5 / 10