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Starring
:
Mok
Siu Chung
Fennie
Yuen
Chin
Kar Lok
Shing
Fui On
Wu
Fung
Benny
Lai
Producer
:
Yuen
Chung Yan
Director
:
Yuen
Chung Yan
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NIGHTLIFE
HERO (1992)
A.K.A.
- Night-Life Hero; Night Life Hero
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Chung
(Mok Siu Chung) and Peter (Chin Kar Lok) are two loyal friends
who move from scrape to scrape with the latter often being
saved the former. When a loan shark (Shing Fui On) and his
heavies start to put considerable pressure on Peter because of
his copious debt, Chung devises a plan that puts the villains
behind bars. This proves to be especially well-timed when
Peter anounces that he is getting married and Chung himself
finds also falling in love. Unbeknownst to Chung though, his
new love is in fact the daughter of a wealthy real-estate
tycoon and all of his subsequent attempts to earn a living are
all being orchestrated by his potential father-in-law. These
tests are put into perspective when Chung's nemesis is freed
from prison and immediately sets his sights on revenge.
'Nightlife
Hero' is the kind of predictable, clichéd action comedy that
the average high-brow film critic would flush down the u-bend
rather than consider 'cinema'. Thankfully, for those of us who
enjoy a flirtation with good, fun-filled 80s Hong Kong cinema
will forgive the numerous holes in the production and
appreciate it for its outstanding fight sequences and
cloth-eared comedy. Yuen Chung Yan manages to just about
achieve an equilibrium between the numerous action set-pieces
and the naive comedy that, in moderation, makes this
particular period of Hong Kong film-making such an ebullient
joy.
The
plot is the standard poor boy falls in love with rich girl who
subsequently tries to hide her identity - not really a
storyline that stands up to close scrutiny. This golden age of
the Jade Screen was awash with tales of loveable scamps
wanting to leave their life of crime behind and 'Nightlife
Hero' remains true to this well-trodden path. Mok Siu Chung
does justice to the familiar character type he's landed with,
mixing together a street-wise style with the more vulnerable
side that the love interest in these films is destined to
find. Nonetheless, such aspects take a back-seat to the
plentiful action which champions the invention and excitement
a great choreographer can bring to the screen. In these days
of CGI-drowned action films, such human endeavour is easy to
admire. Only when 'Nightlife Hero' gets too bogged down in
supposed pathos does it lose its considerable momentum. Until
that desperate sag half way through, this is an oft-ignored
flick that will spark a pleasant feeling of nostalgia in us
all.
Rating:
  
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