Who's the Assassin

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Simon as Bond was not as cool as it sounded

Bearserk wrote:Simon as Bond was not as cool as it sounded

He's definitely above the material, which is probably why he's barely in most of these, but at least he was willing to help out the little filmmakers I guess. A lot.

Simon's interesting in that he's one of the few Hong Kong actors to run the spectrum from older A-list pictures (usually as villains or support) right down to bottom-of-the-barrel video junk, so the more of his movies you watch, the more you can learn how an actor "tunes" his performance according to the project (or the paycheque) at hand! It's like free acting lessons, Hong Kong style!

I'm still hoping I stumble across his NEW PROJECT BLAIR movies one of these days. Saw those in one of your shopping lists and have always wondered where they rank in comparison to the Bond's Angels series. They look pretty bad, but reviews are non-existent.

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Yes, this was certainly not something they put their soul into, Simon does a fine role with the material and whatever little screen time he has been given, but the story is just so bad, I just can't seem to see what they where thinking about when they wrote the script
And the acting from the rest of them leave a lot to be desired, and although New Project Blair wasn't exactly something to write home about either, they where at least better than this one

Bearserk wrote:I just can't seem to see what they where thinking about when they wrote the script

They were probably thinking about keeping themselves employed! The more of these DTV productions I watch, the more I realize just how valuable they really were to the Hong Kong film industry in those lean years, and why they simply shouldn't be brushed off by the likes of the internet "experts." Long-term, the effect of these productions may have been negligible (don't know for sure), and many of the people associated with them probably bowed out of the industry altogether, but from around 1999 to 2004, a LOT of people were able to keep working, including many performers who'd been through the glory days of limitless filmed productions. Stuff like this may have been what they were reduced to, but it was work after all. It kept their faces and their names on VCD sleeves for a few years longer, even if the productions contained within were often dire. Still, there are gems to be found, but you gotta move up the DV quality ladder a couple of steps, to the likes of the stuff being churned out by Nam Yin around the same time. I've often been surprised by the quality of bit-player Jameson Lam's writing on a number of those projects.

New Project Blair wasn't exactly something to write home about either, they where at least better than this one

Hmmm. Now I gotta find those. As always, if you're looking to unload . . .

Brian Thibodeau wrote:They were probably thinking about keeping themselves employed! The more of these DTV productions I watch, the more I realize just how valuable they really were to the Hong Kong film industry in those lean years, and why they simply shouldn't be brushed off by the likes of the internet "experts." Long-term, the effect of these productions may have been negligible (don't know for sure), and many of the people associated with them probably bowed out of the industry altogether, but from around 1999 to 2004, a LOT of people were able to keep working, including many performers who'd been through the glory days of limitless filmed productions. Stuff like this may have been what they were reduced to, but it was work after all. It kept their faces and their names on VCD sleeves for a few years longer, even if the productions contained within were often dire. Still, there are gems to be found, but you gotta move up the DV quality ladder a couple of steps, to the likes of the stuff being churned out by Nam Yin around the same time. I've often been surprised by the quality of bit-player Jameson Lam's writing on a number of those projects.

Off course, and I like my fair share of those cheap flicks, but they do have to try at least, and this one falls so very short on the story side, and execution is kinda horrible
There where nothing new to find here, at least not for me. It just seems to be a cheap flick with no story where they have put in a couple of chicks to go around looking pretty, which could have worked, but which also falls short as they for sure aren't using them as they should. Nor can they blame it on inexperience, as they have plenty of experience from other movies.
But as you say there are plenty of other good cheap movies shot on DV out there, we just have to find them

Brian Thibodeau wrote:

New Project Blair wasn't exactly something to write home about either, they where at least better than this one

Hmmm. Now I gotta find those. As always, if you're looking to unload . . .

Hehe, you can always dream But I don't think I ever will part with any of my asian movies, but if you would be interested in Jumanji which came with my DVD-player when I bought we might get to an agreement

Bearserk wrote:Off course, and I like my fair share of those cheap flicks, but they do have to try at least, and this one falls so very short on the story side, and execution is kinda horrible

Yeah, the whole Bond's Angels series is pretty destitute stuff. I think when the new girls take over (which might even include WHO'S THE ASSASSIN, or at least the one after it for sure), there's a slight improvement because they actually attempt to do some basic stunts and fight choreography instead of just running around streets and alleys. I don't think I'd give any of them more than a 2 out of 10, and even the 2 's would only because of the later ones attempting to add something to the mix.

I wonder what the motivation was to do eight of them, though? Perhaps the distrib was desperate for product, not unlike the NEW OPTION series. Compared to some of those excruciatingly padded turkeys, the Bond's Angels pictures have their no-budget charms, so I guess it's all relative! Mind you, watching most of this stuff on 2x or 4x speed is inevitable at some point, which speaks volumes.

. . .where they have put in a couple of chicks to go around looking pretty, which could have worked, but which also falls short as they for sure aren't using them as they should

They probably should have went for Cat. III on them. That might have been more fun. Funny how these video productions are either sex "dramas" or "action" pictures, but rarely both! So many missed opportunities.

Hehe, you can always dream But I don't think I ever will part with any of my asian movies, but if you would be interested in Jumanji which came with my DVD-player when I bought we might get to an agreement

Someday, you'll look over at those vast mountains of already-watched discs, and you wonder if you'll ever find time to watch them all again. Or maybe you'll need the space to build a photo darkroom. Or maybe, just maybe, you'll marry into a family that considers movies to be the work of satan.

Then, my friend, I'll strike . . .

But I'll leave JUMANJI for you.

Brian Thibodeau wrote:Yeah, the whole Bond's Angels series is pretty destitute stuff. I think when the new girls take over (which might even include WHO'S THE ASSASSIN, or at least the one after it for sure), there's a slight improvement because they actually attempt to do some basic stunts and fight choreography instead of just running around streets and alleys. I don't think I'd give any of them more than a 2 out of 10, and even the 2 's would only because of the later ones attempting to add something to the mix.

They did try to include some "fighting" in the end of this, but it was not very good to put it nicely
It seemed they were afraid of falling on the ground, and all the punches was executed very far away and slowly from the actors, so I would rather have them not try it at all

Brian Thibodeau wrote:I wonder what the motivation was to do eight of them, though? Perhaps the distrib was desperate for product, not unlike the NEW OPTION series. Compared to some of those excruciatingly padded turkeys, the Bond's Angels pictures have , so I guess it's all relative! Mind you, watching most of this stuff on 2x or 4x speed is inevitable at some point, which speaks volumes.

It's hard to say, maybe they shot them more or less consecutively, one each weekend for nine weeks, which leads me to, are you missing one of them? There are 9 according to the DB, or was it just a slip of mind
I have 1 or 2 of the New Option movies, I'll probably have to put one of them in the player one day to check it out. I will just have to brace my head for another movie with Michael which I just can't seem to like.

Brian Thibodeau wrote:

. . .where they have put in a couple of chicks to go around looking pretty, which could have worked, but which also falls short as they for sure aren't using them as they should

They probably should have went for Cat. III on them. That might have been more fun. Funny how these video productions are either sex "dramas" or "action" pictures, but rarely both! So many missed opportunities.

Yeah, I can't understand it either why they haven't gone in such a direction, it would be so much easier to sell such a movie and it would have been a lot more entertaining

Brian Thibodeau wrote:

Hehe, you can always dream But I don't think I ever will part with any of my asian movies, but if you would be interested in Jumanji which came with my DVD-player when I bought we might get to an agreement

Someday, you'll look over at those vast mountains of already-watched discs, and you wonder if you'll ever find time to watch them all again. Or maybe you'll need the space to build a photo darkroom. Or maybe, just maybe, you'll marry into a family that considers movies to be the work of satan.

Then, my friend, I'll strike . . .

Hehe, it's a strange thing collecting things, I still have my VHS tapes and LD's taking up valuable shelf place which I rarely or never watch, but I still can't even begin to think to store them away, let alone trade them off

Bearserk wrote:It's hard to say, maybe they shot them more or less consecutively, one each weekend for nine weeks, which leads me to, are you missing one of them? There are 9 according to the DB, or was it just a slip of mind

Definitely a slip of the mind. Although maybe it's a sign that I'm finally starting to forget them, one by one . . .

I have 1 or 2 of the New Option movies, I'll probably have to put one of them in the player one day to check it out. I will just have to brace my head for another movie with Michael which I just can't seem to like.

Trust me, everything you probably don't like about Michael Wong is on display in these films, which makes them interesting in that train-wreck sorta way. I think with the right director, he can come off good (not great, but watchable, like in MIDNIGHT CALLER), but in these, it's like they gave him a rough outline of each episode, tosed him his "cool" SDU outfit and told him to improvise some "Commander Stone" schtick that sounded like the stuff that was actually written for him in the good OPTION movies. The results are generally pretty sad. He even stumbles and flubs lines from time to time and they just leave it in. The use of slow-motion throughout the series is just brutal, though. Most of the time, it serves no dramatic purpose whatsover, making it doubly annoying!

Hehe, it's a strange thing collecting things, I still have my VHS tapes and LD's taking up valuable shelf place which I rarely or never watch, but I still can't even begin to think to store them away, let alone trade them off

Well, you could always open a "Museum of Video History" and charge people admission to your house. Then buy more movies!

Oscar Lam Wai-Kin


Yoyo Mung Ka-Wai

Thanks Magic

Added roles

I seem to recall Oscar Lam being in an earlier Bond's Angel flick called BEWARE OF THE STRIPTEASE. Was his appearance in WHO'S THE ASSASSIN a flashback by any chance? Not sure if that needs to be added to his character entry or not, though.

Can't remember YoYo in any of the earlier pictures, but she might have been. I have only vague recollections of her character being related to Karel Wong somehow in this one.

This is Raymond Cho in his scene from a different Bond's Angels entry, BLOODY LIE. Must have been another flashback in this one?

http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/image_detail ... ay_set=eng


Image gallery from BLOODY LIE, with Raymond in the same scene:
http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/images.mhtml ... ay_set=eng

Yes the image of him is from the intro where they showed what had happened to Kiki.

Yoyo played his girlfriend.