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Starring
:
Donnie
Yen
Athena
Chu
Yu
Rong Guang
Chan
Chin Pang
Action
:
Donnie
Yen
Producer
:
Simon
Tu
Director
:
Donnie
Yen
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SHANGHAI
AFFAIRS (1998)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Donnie
Yen stars as a righteously-inclined doctor who, with his young
assistant, travels to a distant town to set up a new practice.
Almost immediately, Yen and his assistant step into the middle
of a local dispute as gangsters are attempting to pressure the
penniless locals. Finding himself in this situation, Yen
resolves to keep treating the townsfolk, but keep well clear
of the criminal intrigue. However, he finds himself at odds
with the gang leader when he falls in love with the villain's
sister and refuses to ignore these feelings. Added to this is
the gradual discovery that his new nemesis is kidnapping local
children for sale to a diabolical medical researcher. Such
tensions explode into an ending where Yen must face the whole
gang to rescue the woman he loves and finally vanquish his
foes.
It's
a sad thing to report that, after starring in a number of
classic Hong Kong action films, Donnie Yen's career seems to
have taken a severe turn for the worst. Whether or not his
proposed involvement in certain Hollywood productions will
give Yen a deserved chance to shine is debatable, but needless
to say that in Hong Kong he is stuck in the rut of low-budget
film-making. 'Shanghai Affairs' is a key example of this as
the obvious low-budget detracts from the film and therefore
make it a very uncomfortable viewing experience. Thankfully,
Yen disposed of his cheap self-conscious camerawork for this
film, but any invention that could be expected is simply not
evident. Hong Kong has a good track record of churning out
hidden gems on a low-budget, but 'Shanghai Affairs' definitely
doesn't fit into this category. The action lacks any spark or
excitement and the narrative fails to grab onto the viewer in
the slightest. With the talent that Yen has, it's such a
difficult thing to see him in a film like this and the problem
is increased by the appearance of Yu Rong Guang and Athena Chu
who also deserve better material. 'Shanghai Affairs' is best
avoided, even for ardent Donnie Yen fans.
Rating:
  
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