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Starring
:
Shin
Eun Kyung
Park
Sang Myeon
Lee
Won Jong
Joo
Hyon
Cho
Mi-Ryong
Choi
Eun-Joo
Zhang
Ziyi (cameo)
Action
:
Jung
Heung-Soon
Writer
:
Choi
Hae-Cheol
Jeong
Heung-Sun
Producer
:
Lee
Sun-Yeol
Director
:
Jeong
Heung-Sun
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MY
WIFE IS A GANGSTER 2 (2003)
A.K.A.
- My Wife Is A Gangster II: The Legend Returns
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
The
first 'My Wife Is A
Gangster' was a middle-of-the-road film
for me, mainly because even though it was entertaining enough fluff,
it suffered badly
due to the director's attempts to squeeze numerous genre
elements into the one movie. After picking up the high
profile sequel, I was slightly dubious that it would fall into
the same traps but thankfully I was pleasantly surprised.
As
we pick up the tale of loveable gangster Eun Jin, she is
deep in the thick of the action, still fighting for territory
with rival gangs and kicking ass wherever she goes. That
is until she takes a nosedive off a building in the heat of
battle and winds up in the middle of nowhere with a bad case
of amnesia. Luckily, she is taken in by a friendly
restaurant owner who not only finds her useful in the kitchen
but also begins to fall deeply in love with her.
However, Eun Jin becomes increasingly frustrated at not
knowing how she acquired her skills or became the woman she is
today so begins to try out all sorts of remedies (including
electrocuting herself!) in an effort to regain her
memories. Unfortunately these all prove fruitless and
its only when she uncovers her fighting skills that people
begin to question what skeletons might be lurking in her
closet. Now the race is on for Eun Jin to remember the
past before the past catches up with her as the rival gangs
begin trying to track her down!
'My
Wife Is A Gangster 2' opens with a similiar flash of action
to the first film, a trait that is not only misleading but also
instantly had me fearing the worst. Thankfully though,
this time around this sequence is significantly less eye
catching and doesn't give the viewer a chance to be swayed into making
unnecessary assumptions so once its finished, its back to the
business of formulating a basic storyline and letting the
comedy take preference. This firm establishment in one
particular genre allows the film to notch up an instant
improvement over the original and the fact that it never really takes itself too seriously or has
allusions of grandeur makes it far more appealing. The acting is all very pleasing and the jokes
are, on the whole, silly enough to amuse even the most
hardened critic although there is still the tendency (as is
often the case with Asian films) to lean towards the bizarre
melodramatic over-reacting to situations that can leave a
puzzled expression on the faces of newcomers. That said
though, it does avoid the cringeworthy predictability that
these films can generate and the premise based gags work well on
numerous levels, keeping the atmosphere light and airy
throughout. There is however one irritant
that I feel the need to highlight and that is the absence of
the character of the husband who appeared in the original. For
some reason the actor is completely omitted and not even
mentioned which seemed to be a large oversight for me in the
continuity department.
When
it came to action in the first film, I was pleasantly
surprised at just how sophisticated it was (especially for a
film labelled as a comedy) but at the same time disappointed that it didn't play
more of a major part in the overall film. Obviously I
was hoping that this was something that would be rectified for
the sequel but having already explained that this is primarily
a comedy, it's likely you will have realised that the action
is also downplayed to a significant degree. Once again
though, there are a number of fight sequences integrated into
the story but the standard has certainly slipped and is
perhaps more akin to the bit part that it should play in a
film of this manner. The choreography has now taken a
huge leap towards the typified wirework and quick-cut editing
that is common throughout the majority
of martial arts films today and is (for me anyway) almost
totally uninspiring. There is the odd flip or kick that
may still catch your eye and if I'm being generous then I
could say that the finale possesses some entertainment
but on the whole, it is nothing that ignites any real
spark or is worth re-visiting like the old Hong Kong comedies
of days gone by. In a way I shouldn't really be disappointed
as I constantly complained that the original should decide on
one genre or the other but it is still a shame that the
glimpse of old school action that wet my appetite has now been
extinguished altogether.
Overall
then, 'My
Wife Is A Gangster 2' is a definite improvement over the
original with some extremely enjoyable elements of comedy and
an atmosphere that will certainly bring a smile to your face
on a dreary day. Obviously
it still isn't perfect or even a film that I would consider
"amazing" but it is comfortable viewing and a movie that will
probably find itself in my DVD player on more than a few occasions.
Rating:
 
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