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Cast:
Yuen
Biao
Cheung
Kwok Keung
Dick
Wei
Eddie
Ko
Moon
Lee
Producer:
Yuen
Woo Ping
Director:
Brandy
Yuen
Score:
 
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THE
CHAMPIONS
AKA:
Crazy to Win ||
The Champion
Year:
1983 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Yuen
Biao plays a young country farmer who gets into trouble in his
local village, his first inclination is to stay and face the
music. His uncle, however, notes that the victim of the
trouble is an important member of the community and the
punishment will therefore be severe. Escaping the ensuing
charge of vengeance seeking locals, the naive youngster
travels to Hong Kong and to the home of a one of his uncle's
trusted friends. Unfortunately the said friend has been dead
for three years, leaving Biao on his own in the big city.
After a few chance meetings though, Biao quickly makes a
couple of new friends, foremost among these being a street
footballer who immediately spots the potential playing skills
of the newcomer. A run-in with a Hong Kong football hero means
that the attempts of both friends to join a proper club are
barred and Biao himself is forced into being the general
dogsbody of the team. When Biao notices the corruption within
his team, the constantly improving footballer is persuaded to
join the rival club and gain the appropriate revenge. The
scene is set for the clash between the newcomer and the
idolised professional as only one can be truly deemed the best
player in Hong Kong.
On
a personal level, the thought of a film that combines my two
absolute passions - Hong Kong movies and football - was simply
too good to be true. The added bonus of the wonderful Yuen
Biao increased the expectation levels to their apex. However,
'The Champions' doesn't really live up to the mouth-watering
prospect that was initially suggested. The football scenes are
everything that is expected of a Hong Kong film; there is
incredible acrobatics and ball skills on display. This is a
trend that regular viewers will no doubt be familiar with as
even the most ordinary activities are given an extra special
boost when handled by a local director (i.e. 'The
Chinese Feast'). When the camera isn't focused on the
field though, the spark that ignites the action scenes simply
isn't there. Too much of the running time is devoted to
over-the-top comedy that proves uninteresting by the end of
the production. Normally this local humour can be endearing
(especially the simple 80's comedy), but here director Brandy
Yuen makes the cardinal error of forcing it into every
scenario. By the time the end credits start to run, there is
the definite feeling that strong potential has been wasted.
'The
Champions' is a wasted effort rather than a waste of time as
there is enough to keep viewers alert. It's also a well-proven
rule that Yuen Biao rarely appears in anything that isn't at
least watchable (there are, of course, exceptions to this) and
so this is still a decent slice of Eastern entertainment.
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