|
Cast:
Louis
Koo
Nick
Cheung
Christy
Chung
Athena
Chu
Shoji
Kurata
Ben
Lam
Producer:
Wong
Jing
Director:
Ching
Siu Tung
Score:
 
|
CONMAN
IN TOKYO
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2000 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Through
his extensive mixture of tricks and skills, Jersey (Cheung)
becomes the self-proclaimed king of all gamblers in Hong Kong.
Beating a local rival to finally cement his reputation, the
arrogant young gambler celebrates with his beautiful
girlfriend (Chung) and loyal cronies at a local restaurant.
His loud boasts about his own proficiency alert the restaurant
owner who honestly states that Jersey would be no match for
the legendary Cool (Koo) who mysteriously disappeared years
before. Annoyed at this slight to his name and with a genuine
admiration for Cool's excellence, Jersey decides to travel to
Tokyo to find the legend and discover why he went into hiding.
Although his initial search proves fruitless Jersey stumbles
upon a Chinese restaurant in the Tokyo backstreets that is
coincidentally owned by a young man who seems to fit Cool's
description. It is only when the local Yakuza come to extort
money from the owner that he finally reveals himself to be
Cool and Jersey swear allegiance to his idol. Cool, however,
is not interested in the gambling world and has shunned the
spotlight ever since his true love was virtually paralysed by
a stray bullet intended for him. It is only when Jersey
discovers that Cool's sworn brother had betrayed him that the
pair agree to combine forces and take on the might of the
varied foes.
There's
no question of producer Wong Jing's influence on this action
comedy. Obviously it is another in the series that started
with 'Conman'
and 'Conmen
In Vegas', but there's also the thematic similarities that
are so prevalent in his best known work. The broad comedy is
sometimes amusing and sometimes are matter of taste and it is
mixed with some frenetic action. Just as the comedy can be
needlessly crude, the moments of excitement can be quite harsh
given the film's generally light context. With two such
contrasting elements, Wong Jing also throws in the obligatory
drama with varying degrees of success. For all of these
imbalances, 'Conman In Tokyo' is mostly very entertaining; at
his best, Wong still knows how to make a film that remains
engrossing despite its faults.
It
may seem strange to focus so much on the producer when
director Ching Siu Tung is at the helm, but it is clearly the
former in control rather than the latter. In the director's
chair, Ching holds the film together in his usual accomplished
way though there is little here to indicate just how important
he is to Hong Kong cinema. Indeed thinking of his stellar
track record, it is disappointing to see how little of his
influence there is within this film. By ignoring who the
director is, viewers with reasonable expectations will find
enough to enjoy here. Louis Koo is excellent in the lead role,
mixing charm and style exceptionally while Shoji Kurata puts
in a typically mature performance as one of the main
antagonists. Nick Cheung remains an enigma, at times
thoroughly frustrating yet often strangely appealing - Christy
Chung and Athena Chu inject some welcome glamour in to fill in
the gaps. This isn't the best ever Hong Kong movie - it isn't
even the best ever Hong Kong gambling movie - but it could
have been much worse.
|
