You are currently displaying English
情逢敵手 (1985)
Mismatched Couples


Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 07/30/2023

MISMATCHED COUPLES is a very silly film, but it's genuinely quite charming, and its enthusiastic embrace of all things 80's is kind of infectious. Even if Donnie Yen's youthful appearance wasn't enough of a clue when the film was made, I don't think it would take anyone long to work it out.

There's nothing else quite like it, which is reason enough to be worth tracking down. Don't expect a fight-fest though, there's only really one fight, and even that is more like "Oh shit Dick Wei's going to smash me to pieces I'd better run".

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: dandan
Date: 04/02/2009
Summary: dancing and diarrhea...

eddie (donnie yen) lives with his big sis (wong wan-si) and stella (may lo), who is secretly in love with eddie. eddie is, seemingly, oblivious to stella and has his sights set on the glamorous anna (kamiyama anna), and is trying to impress her with his break dancing, when he meets mini (yuen woo-ping). mini is a down on his luck cantonese opera performer, who eddie takes under his wing and tries to set him up with sis, hoping that he will also be able to learn from him. meanwhile, kenny (kenny perez) has his eyes on anna as well, whilst a nutty fighting champion (dick wei) is on the look out for eddie, but for different reasons...

i think i added this of my list of films to buy, primarily because it had woo-ping in a starring role, as well as in the director's chair. to be quite frank, i loved it. sure, it is a very, very silly film, at times - well, mainly when donnie, kenny and their break dancing punk friend (mandy chan) are n screen - but the relationship between woo-ping and wong wan-si is handled really well. woo-ping is really good in front of the camera and everyone seems to be having fun, with a movie that is already pretty good fun, that it rubs off on the viewer.

be it the breaking, the comedy, the romance or the final fight sequence, everything pretty much hits the spot and the role of eddie is perfect for a big cheese-ball like donnie yen. i think i was smiling or laughing from start to end. oh, and i liked chyna's canto-electro-disco-pop soundtrack as well...

a whole lot of fun...


Reviewed by: Beat TG
Date: 10/11/2008
Summary: Highly enjoyable

Possibly the most enjoyable and one of the better movies (not by any means up there with movies such as IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4, TIGER CAGE 2, IRON MONKEY, LEGEND OF THE WOLF, SPL and FLASH POINT but still great for a different reason) I've seen from Donnie Yen.

Haha yeah, sounds crazy huh? I don't think I was in boredom and begging to see DY have more fight scenes as I was watching, although I gotta say that I wish there could've been more of them because Donnie's excellent athleticism, which he makes great use of otherwise, makes you want to see him toward that particular mode. Every single scene, whether it's breaking or comedy or just pure HK romance set-ups, was shot and dramatized flawlessly and creatively and, most of all, they are very entertaining to watch. Yuen Woo Ping does a very exceptional directing job and ensures that nobody is underused and has to have some kind of physical demand for certain scenes so that, like I said earlier about the enjoyment, the entertainment value raises its own bar and becomes more than a functional piece.

Not only Donnie gets to shine here (although he, of course, takes up the most space), everyone gets a chance and does great performances: Yuen Woo Ping who you don't often get to see in front of the camera and in a lead role, Kenny Perez (former Beijing Wushu Academy student for those who doesn't know), Mandy Chan, Dick Wei, May Lo... Everyone makes the movie the way it is. What else is there to say... definitely worth watching if you want entertainment or just want to see Donnie unleash his dancing, comedy or fighting skills (I'm warning you in that case: don't expect too much fights because there's very little).

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy
Date: 06/09/2008
Summary: HOw old does this movie look!!

Im not too sure how to class this movie, part break dancing, part comedy,part romance and a fight scene at the end.

Like mpongpun said, i dont know who the mismatched couple is!! MAybe everyone!!

The movie looks old, the clothes, the break dancing, the haircuts!! Who now carries a boom box with them?

Most of the comedy, is just plain silly and isnt funny. The romance is a typical "you dont know what you have til its lost" theme.

The one saving grace for this movie is the end fight with Donnie and Dick Wei. This alone is worth a watch,its a good blend of fight scenes and comedy!!
Maybe its best just to fast forward to this part!! The rest of the movie is a waste of time

Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: mpongpun
Date: 12/26/2002

So who's the "mismatched" couple? Yuen Wo Ping and Wong Wan Si? Yuen Wo Ping and Donnie? Donnie and May Lo? Donnie and Dick Wei? Take your pick. This flick definitely has that '80's feel. You'll get to see Donnie and couple of other guys pop and break dance all over the place. Yuen Wo Ping plays a former Peking Opera member, named Min, who is out of job and without money-not to mention starving. Min comes across good guy, Eddie (Donnie Yen), and the two literally become the best of friends. Eddie tries to get Min back on his feet by having him work at his Sister's (played by Wong Wan Si) restaurant. Eventually, the story starts to wander in different directions as Eddie has to choose his squeeze between a hot model or a vanilla looking girl (May Lo), not to mention Min's relationship with Eddie's sister. With all these mismatched relationships going on, Yuen Wo Ping manages to add a little subplot about a psycho (played by Dick Wei) who wants to challenge Eddie to a fight at any cost. This is not the greatest movie, but I kind of enjoyed it because of Dick Wei. Rarely will you see this guy doing any comedy, but in this flick, he tops the cake. He looks like a natural. This flick is also one of the rare times you'll actually see Yuen Wo Ping with a lot of screen time. So enjoy this flick while you can!