A Punch To Revenge - Going Through The Motions

Aug

2

A Punch To Revenge - Going Through The Motions

≡ Category: Action, Hong Kong, Martial Arts, Movie Reviews By Country, Not Worth Your Time |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Action/ Martial Arts
Director: Lee Chiu
Year: 1989

Rating:

NOT WORTH YOUR TIME

There have been plenty of exciting films based on the premise of Mainland Chinese criminal gangs who get betrayed by their duplicitous Hong Kong brethren. Unfortunately, A Punch To Revenge isn’t one of them.

The stars certainly aren’t the problem. Ben Lam and Oshima Yukari have good chemistry together and both are charismatic actors. Eddy Ko excels as a desperate cripple with a mongoloid son, whose wife is driven into prostitution by economic necessity. Joh Chung-Sing is believable as the righteous and brave Mainland Chinese gang leader. Even Chan Ging, who plays the villain, isn’t to blame; he’s just miscast. His character is supposed to be a slick, ruthless operator, but Chan Ging is more suitable as a comic villain. He’s too broad by half to be effective.

But the real problems are the script and direction. The script calls on Oshima Yukari to be a victim, and she’s just too full of life and spirit to fit that description. The script is overly formulaic and routine. There are no surprises to speak of, and the reversals and action built into the script lack imagination for the most part.

Speaking of which, the action is really ho-hum for the Golden Age of Hong Kong (1985-1995), which is surprising considering that there were three action directors on the show: Ridley Tsui Bo-Wah, Ho Wing-Cheung, and Bruce Law. That’s too bad because Oshima Yukari and Ben Lam are very capable performers. Oshima Yukari especially gets off quite a few kicks which transcend the mediocre choreography.

Fortunately, A Punch To Revenge redeems itself a little in the end fight between Ben Lam and the Chinese gangsters. Screwdrivers, a table saw and a can of petrol come into play, but the result, entertaining though it might be, is scant reward for the viewer’s investment of an hour and a half.

Yet again, Oshima Yukari is let down by her writer and directors. She’s just adorable in this flick and she has so much energy, well, she’s just a life force.

So, who should see A Punch To Revenge? Golden Age of Hong Kong completists (and maybe not even them) and rabid fans of Oshima Yukari.