SYNOPSIS:
Compulsive gambler, Thongs, opportunistic Octupus and greedy
landlord collaborate to kidnap BB, the grandson of a tycoon.
However, when they realize that the triad is after both the
ransom and BB's life, they decide to make their hostage their
protegee instead. Cornered by cops and threatened by ferocious
gangsters, the trio embarks on a hair-raising yet funny escapade
to put BB safely back in his cradle.
MOVIE REVIEW :
The
most bankable star of Asia is back! And is our dear old Jackie
in top form after his disastrous “The Myth”? Well,
for a hardcore fan like me who grew up watching Jackie’s
movies since his first kungfu flick back in the 70’s,
“Rob-B-Hood” is nothing like his past productions.
I guess it’s sacrilegious for a reviewer to end with
a rating of it right here so bear with me while I blabber
a bit more on “Rob-B-Hood” (RBH).
Point
number one: It has been decades since Jackie, Sammo and Yuen
Biao teamed up on the big screen. Remember “Meals On
Wheels”, “Project A” and the “Lucky
Star” series? The original plan was to get this dynamic
trio for RBH but the plan fell through due to scheduling conflicts
and Yuen has to settle for a cameo.
Point
number two: Jackie has long lament to the press he’s
gearing towards the “Robert De Niro” way, more
dramatic roles instead of the usual super cop kind, which
apparently our man here is so sick of. In “RBH”,
Jackie plays a compulsive gambler and a professional thief
at night, a character full of flaws and nothing like his usual
goody-two-shoes roles. However, he’s not at all-out
bad guy, you see, the audience still crave for a kind-heartened
Jackie. That’s where the scriptwriters have to give
allowance.
The plot
has it that Jackie and his accomplices, played by Louis Koo
and Michael Hui are tasked by the triad to kidnap the grandson
of a tycoon. But things turned a bit out of hand when the
baby gets way too irresistibly cute for the trio to part.
The best
part in watching a Jackie Chan’s flick is that there’s
always a clear line drawn between the good and the bad. The
good will takes on the bad and vice versa thus allowing Jackie
and his stunt crew to creatively insert in some fight sequences
to please the hungry action fans.
Perhaps
my expectations of Jackie’s stunt works are much higher
given his past works (Yes, I can hear some people grumbling
about Jackie’s age). The fight scenes in RBH are at
best mediocre and the car-chase sequence in it is regrettably
lackluster for a Jackie’s headed movie. One particularly
disappointing scene has Jackie and his old time buddy, Yuen
Biao who cameo as a goofy inspector and a group of baddies
battling over the baby in an apartment. Truly child’s
play indeed.
But then
it’s the wish of director Benny Chan who opted for a
softer, comical approach to the stunt choreography so action
fans like myself, remember to take this into account.
Clocking
in at almost 130 minutes, although it kind of sagged a little
towards the middle, for character development and romance
time. You can hardly feel the clock ticks however given that
the cute antics of Baby Matthew make it hard for the audience
not to lap it up. And yes RBH is filled with cameos as well,
one worthy mention is Daniel Wu and Nicolas Tse’s hilarious
appearances as two greenhorn security guards. It’s apparently
hard to give credits to Louis Koo or veteran Michael Hui as
neither of them shines in this movie. Hui can be forgiven,
as his screen appearances are truly limited while Koo, sad
to say, seems to be duplicating his charismatic good looks
as a playboy from one movie to another.
RBH
marks Jackie’s third comeback movie in Hong Kong since
venturing into Hollywood in 1998. Minus the crybaby cop in
“New Police Story” and the cheesy general romance
thingy in “The Myth”, Jackie is a natural though
when comes to being a hardcore gambler. But still, “Rob-B-Hood”
doesn’t really standout as a JC classic for sure but
nevertheless an enjoyable family flick that could be well
a whole lot better.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
This Dvd comes with the original movie trailer plus
"A Battle of Wits" teaser and "Singapore Dreaming"
trailer.
There's only a short 20 minutes making-of which feature interviews
with Jackie, Director Benny Chan, Louis Koo and some of the
cast members. In addition, some behind the scenes shot and
the movie theme song. Nothing fascinating but it's a bit disappointing
for the lack of intros to the action sequences.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
movie is presented in only Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 with
Chinese and English subtitles. As always the Mandarin dubbing
does little justice to the original cast's voice dubbing.
If you are not a hardcore audiophile, this dvd is passable
in terms of audio and visual.
MOVIE
RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review
by Linus Tee
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