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野蠻秘笈 (2006)
My Kung Fu Sweetheart


Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 05/25/2013
Summary: Delightful gory nonsense

This is one a select list of HK movies (including God Of Gamblers Return and the Chinese Ghost Story trilogy) which I think of as addiction teasers. That is, as an introduction to HK cinema likely to lead to addiction.

I completely disagree with mrblue here. When Wong Jing fires, he excels, and he certainly does with MKFS. Even the obvious sloppiness (in the production, the choreography, the hammy overacting) only adds to the charm and the manic hilarious pacing. Loosen up and enjoy the wild ride.

How can you resist a movie with lines like these .....
"You're dead. Stop massaging me."
"We're friends to the end. My underwear is yours."

Wong Jing is a "boots-and-all" director. He throws everything at you, sometimes all at once, going all-out to entertain at a cracking pace. Formulaic ? Definitely. And he's so damn good at it.

Just one sour note. I would perhaps have rated MKFS a point higher if there had not been so much pointless smoking. Dolina smoking in the bath is at least in character, but I really can't accept the couple in the final frames smoking, when they didn't in the rest of the movie.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Hyomil
Date: 04/07/2011


Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: j.crawford
Date: 11/29/2006
Summary: a funny film

Master filmmaker Wong Jing continues to mine the "Kung Fu" box office phenomenon that was started by Stephen Chow Sing-Chi's Kung Fu Hustle (2004). After working 2 features out of the mahjong angle, here he reaches deep into his bag of tricks to give us a funny film that blends the wuxia fantasy with the romantic comedy.

Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah are together again as kung fu masters and parents of Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi who is a kung fu master herself, having been trained at a magical Academy run by Wong Yat-Fei. For the wuxia segments, Producer Wong brings back the crazy effects that he used in films like Holy Weapon (1993) and Kung Fu Cult Master (1993). Action Director Benz Kong To-Hoi keeps things fast, furious and quite entertaining.

The romantic comedy segments are a different matter. Ms. Cheung turns in a heart-warming performance. She actually looks like she's having a good time at work. Director Wong's choice of Leo Koo Kui-Kei as the leading man slows everything down. I guess Louis Koo Tin-Lok was unavailable for shooting. Look for Actor Wong as a funny character who joins the adventure and the ubiquitous Hui Siu-Hung who is always good for a few laughs.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: mrblue
Date: 06/28/2006

Even though I am probably one of Wong Jing's biggest supporters on the internet, even I have my limits. My Kung Fu Sweetheart pretty much represents all that's going wrong with Hong Kong film-making as of late. It throws a bit of everything at the viewer, and ends up being a mildly entertaining mish-mash that you'll mostly likely forget about within minutes of ejecting the DVD.

I'm not really going to bother getting into the plot -- it's your basic Wong Jing "flying paper" fluff, so if you're looking for a deep story, you'd better look elsewhere. There's some action, some romance, and a whole lot of dopey comedy. Honestly, the only reason My Kung Fu Sweetheart gets even a passing greade is on the charm of its' cast. Well, except for Sammy, who has replaced Edison Chen as my most hated HK actor. Not only are his voice and mannerisms the cinematic quivalent of nails on a chalkboard, he actually has a mullet.

Despite the bad hairdos and hit-and-miss style of My Kung Fu Sweetheart, it's probably worth a look if you're a fan of Cecilia Cheung and you've already checked out her other movies. Still, one has to wonder just how many stunningly average productions like this the HK studios can crank out before both local and international audiences turn their back on them for good.

[review from hkfilm.net]

Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 04/23/2006

Wong Jing... love him or hate him, he's certainly sold more movie tickets than you ever will! MY KUNG FU SWEETHEART is the third time since Kung Fu Hustle came out that he has re-teamed Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu, this time as the parents of Cecilia Cheung, who turn out to be martial arts masters secretly fighting crime and evil in the modern day world. Cecilia wants to follow in their footsteps so she learns Kung Fu at Hua Shan in her summer holidays, then becomes a secretary because kung fu doesn't pay the bills in the modern world. She falls for her new boss (Leo Ku) but trouble is a brewin' as the villainous martial arts master Pai Mei (White Brows) returns to the world.

MKFS can't be called original - in fact I'm sure it's deeply formulaic at heart, but it amalgamates such a wide range of ideas and antics that there's hardly time to stop and think about that. The overall plot arc will bring exactly zero surprises, but some of the individual scenes certainly will (or should). The film is fast-paced and entertaining, without being too taxing on the brain cells. Production values are pretty high, though it does feel a bit slap-dash at times (hey, it is Wong Jing). Leo Ku is certainly not a charismatic or talented actor but manages to remain fairly un-annoying (perhaps only because Sammy Leung is called in to draw our fire) - Cecilia definitely deserves a better romantic co-lead though. Yuen Wah & Yuen Qiu are really just having fun again, and nobody can blame them for that.

Given the title, you might be expecting there to be a bit of action in the film - and you won't be disappointed! Well, unless you expected the action to be good. The choreography seems ok, with some decent wirework going on, but it's filmed and edited poorly, so you can't see much of what's happening. Provides some excitement in places, but not a reason to watch the film.

It's not a profound film, not a classic of our times, but I certainly enjoyed watching it :)

Reviewer Score: 7