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PROTEGE
DE LA ROSE NOIRE (2003)
A.K.A.
- Protégé De La Rose Noire; Black Rose 3
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Gillian
and Sandy are two young girls down on their luck after one is
kicked out of school and the other is an alien (??) abandoned
on earth by her parents. When the two of them meet
whilst looking for an apartment, they forge an instant
friendship and decide to look for a place together. In
the paper they see an advert for the perfect place so to
decide to hail a taxi and check it out. In steps Jim Lo
(Cheng), the heroic taxi driver who does his best to please
all his clients in all departments. After dropping off
the Twins, he leaves his card with them and tells them that
should they ever need his assistance then all they need to do
is call. Once inside the house though, Gillian and Sandy
realise they may need Jim's help sooner rather than later as
they find themselves confronted by Black Rose (Mo) and
numerous hidden traps. However, this is all one big plan
by Black Rose as she wants the Twins to prove themselves so
they can forge the ultimate crime fighting force!
'Protege
De La Rose Noire' was my first experience of watching a
"Twins" movie (after tip-toeing past the highly
controversial 'Twins
Effect') and I have to say that it wasn't a favourable
one. The trailer and previews portrayed the film as a
very modern comedy littered with a combination of clever
parodies and high octane action but sadly this is not the
case. The finished product proves to be nothing more
than a concoction of bizarre (and highly unamusing) slapstick
routines that serve only as a showcase for the inflated egos
of the Twins rather than attempting to provide any real
laughs. There is no apparent purpose or fluid storyline
to this mess and when the final credits roll you are only left
bemused and bewildered as to why you wasted your time watching
it in it's entirety.
Performances
from the majority of the cast are also extremely
disappointing. The Twins themselves spend the best part
of the film trying to look cute rather than act whilst their
attempts at humour just appear exaggerated and fall flat on
their faces. Meanwhile, Ekin Cheng (the apparent
heartthrob of the piece) is condemned to be the butt of most
jokes and spends the movie being bruised and battered around
by the Twins. Experience is close at hand though in the
form of Teresa Mo who is an actress directly from the Dean
Shek school of comedy and continues in that vein here,
producing an extremely over-the-top and irritating character.
In fact, the only person that ignited a spark of interest
within me was Donnie Yen's sister, Chris Yen, who shows
impressive skill in martial arts and a decent on-screen
presence. It's just a shame that a vehicle such as this
is her introduction to the audience.
In
conclusion, this is a very unfunny comedy that is probably
only best suited to fans of the Twins. It is poorly
scripted, extremely exaggerated in the acting department and
disappointing when it comes to action. Chris Yen and the
catchy musical score are the only plus points that keep it
from gaining an embarrassing one star.
Rating:
  
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