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Magic Crystal


Reviewed by: Sydneyguy
Date: 10/21/2008
Summary: Poor special effects but plenty of action

ITS been a while since ive seen a action movie (apart from Donnie Yen movies) worth mentioning. The action scenes are of a high standard, comparable to Jackie chan movies.

Apart from Andy Lau,there are a few stars to look at, ive always liked the non asians in Cythia Rothrock and Richard Norton. Nat Chan Pak Cheung has always made me laugh and this is no exception.

The plot itself is a little over the top, a magic crystal is wanted by the bad guys which has magic powers, not very original is it!! The cheesy special effects and the occasional funny scenes add to this over the top movie, its worth watching just for the action scenes alone.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: dandan
Date: 03/08/2006
Summary: this was craptastic!!!

i really, really enjoyed watching this...

as most people seem to comment, the story is just stupid, but the action is great. me, i loved the dumb story and found myself laughing along on more than one occassion. andy lau's looking good and cynthia rothrock doesn't let you down.

a highly entertaining slice of film...


Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 04/18/2004
Summary: 80's action adventure cheesiness

Magic Crystal is one part ET, one part Armour of God and several parts Wong Jing - an unmistakably Eighties piece of cinema through and through (especially the cheesy up-beat synth music). The plot has a young kid finding a Magic Crystal in his luggage after a trip to Greece, leading to a KGB department (incongrously made up of Asian goons led by Aussie Richard Norton) chasing after him. Luckily he has uncle Andy (Lau) to look after him, with tough cops Max Mok and Cynthia Rothrock eventually being of some use too. Even papa Wong Jing and random idiot Nat Chan are of some use to the lucky kid and his crystal, I guess.

The film is cheesed up to the max, but dosed on adrenalin too. In typical Wong Jing style there's a bit of everything thrown into the film - there's cheesy effects, goofy humour, family-friendly schmalz and whole subplots that lead to nowhere but are often quite entertaining. There's also quite a bit of action, in the 80's style of fast paced, brutal fights and stunts. Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton come off best in these, apart from the various stuntmen and whoever doubled Andy Lau for the more impressive moves (thankfully it wasn't too much longer after this film before HK film-makers realised he was never going to be a top martial artist and stopped trying to pretend).

Words like "daft" and "dumb" are probably the first words that would spring to the lips of a non-HK Cinema fan if you were to show them this film, but those that are used to Wong Jing's style of film-making will find this to be amongst his more entertaining works, and most will enjoy the action scenes at least.

The new DVD from Mei Ah looks and sounds very good - it still shows it's age and origins (mainly in the amount of film grain) but is quite sharp with strong colours and deep blacks. The 5.1 remix is quite tasteful - it just sounds like a brighter, more dynamic version of the original theatrical mix (also present on the disc for purists) from the bits I compared.

Generally a good buy.


Reviewed by: Graeme Noble
Date: 04/14/2004
Summary: Weird but Wonderful

Silly plot but kind of fun, anyway the action...
There are no real great performances by anyone here, some really cool looking styles from Rothrock at the end, but Andy Lau isn't too great but the choreographing is excellent.
Overall an excellent film with heaps of fights!
9/10


Reviewed by: magic-8
Date: 03/22/2004
Summary: Fine HK Action From Days of Old

Wong Jing takes bits and pieces from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and some martial arts mayhem from Jackie Chan movies to present "Magic Crystal." Wong Jing writes, direct and costars, as the comic relief, in this fine example of '80s Hong Kong action cinema. The plot may be an assemblage of other well-known ideas, but executed in the unique fast and furious style that defines Hong Kong cinema. The eponymous Andy Lau plays the Eagle Hunter, a good-guy mercenary for hire. He gets involved with some bad people like Richard Norton and is assisted by Cynthia Rothrock, during her heyday in Hong Kong action cinema.

The stunning action choreography by Tony Leung Siu Hung, performed by the cast and the amazing stunt team, will leave your mouth agape. Every member of the cast looked like worldbeaters. The choreography, accented by the editing of Lau Siu Gwong, was top notch. Although there is some silliness and some conventional narrative, "Magic Crystal" is fine fun with exciting action. The movie is a kind reminder of what Hong Kong cinema was like 20 years ago.


Reviewed by: stuntpeople
Date: 02/07/2003
Summary: Incredible choreography, how!?

Tony Leung choreographed this thing like it was the last movie he would ever work on. It comes off as blazing, with near-perfect editing and *gulp* Cynthia Rothrock and Andy Lau looking like professionals.

The entire scene in Greece is the highlight, in particular the weapon fight between Rothrock (who still is a bit stiff but it's covered up pretty well) and a hyper-driven Tony Leung who moves like he's on crank. Andy Lau's Charlie Chaplin bit is great too. It's actually pretty simple but appears as a great feat in choreography.

Richard Norton's fight in the house is another great moment that, literally, doesn't stop for it's 2-minute duration. I can't help but give credit again to Leung Siu Hung because he makes use of every square foot in the main room, perfectly so. Norton, like Rothrock, appears slow sometimes and has to be doubled by Leung himself (nice wig), but generally speaking they all fight like they've done it since day one.

And the end 2 on 1 between Norton and Rothrock/Andy Lau has real kung fu everywhere, and the bit with the sais was wonderful.

I have serious respect for anyone who can take such a dumb movie and fuel the action in it with steroids. Nobody except Tony Leung is very exceptional, but all the choreography is splendid. Watch it for that.