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Starring
:
Michelle
Yeoh
Richie
Ren
Brandon
Chang
Luke
Goss
Lee
Bing Bing
Kouichi
Iwaki
Michael
Jai White
Producer
:
Thomas
Chung
Michelle
Yeoh
Director
:
Jingle
Ma
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SILVER
HAWK
(2004)
A.K.A.
- Silverhawk
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
The
one thing that has to be detached from the mind before viewing
Michelle Yeoh's 'Silver Hawk' is the bitter taste left by 'The
Touch'. Although the critical and commercial reception of
this new action film have been far from positive, the memory
of Yeoh's previous disaster prove to be the main obstacle to
entering into this review with an open mind. The only thing to
be said at this early point of the review is that 'Silver
Hawk' is better than 'The Touch'...
Wealthy
heiress Wong Lulu (Yeoh) is known throughout her home city as
a celebrity and investor in new technologies. While this side
of her is well known, the side that remains hidden is that of
the 'Silver Hawk' - a masked vigilante who fights crime while
also evading the suspicious police department keen to capture
her. Brought in to deal with the irksome crime-fighter is
self-assured police officer Man (Ren) who grew up with Wong,
but has no idea that this demure millionairess is the
superfighting Silver Hawk. Man continues blissfully unaware,
but finds that his investigation into a kidnapped scientist
brings him into regular contact with his childhood sweetheart
in one of her guises. As the trail leads both Man and Silver
Hawk to criminal mastermind Alexander Wolfe (Goss), the cocky
law enforcer begins to uncover the real identity of his caped
adversary.
It
may all be relative, but 'Silver Hawk' is a far more competent
film than Yeoh's other foray into big budget heroics. Such a
statement certainly doesn't mean that it's a great film - it
may not even be a good one - but as the end credits rolled I
was at least pacified by the fact that it entertained, after a
fashion. Nevertheless, these minor commendations do not excuse
the cliché-ridden, Hollywood-ised nature of the film. In all
its delusions of grandeur it foolishly decided not to put any
excitement into its set-pieces and ignored the concept of
logic in its storyline. Though the latter can be forgivable
for a straight action film, the former is a far more worrying
weakness.
'Silver
Hawk' is the perfect example of the ennui that has swept Hong
Kong action films and, to a wider degree, martial arts
choreography. The time was when a director would leave his
camera specifically focused on two or more superbly
choreographed performers and allow the viewer to enjoy one
long take free from any gimmickry. Now, unfortunately, it
seems the intention of film-makers is to put their own obsession
with slow-motion and quick, blurred cuts to the fore instead.
This turns potentially interesting fight scenes into uninvolving
distractions. 'Silver Hawk' does have a few better moments;
the clash between Yeoh and a gang of bungee-corded attackers
is more enjoyable than expected and offers a few nice moves.
Nevertheless, though there's far less of the ghastly CGI that
marred 'The Touch', 'Silver Hawk' still continues to remind
the viewer of the chasm between the choreography of the
80s/early90s and today. It's such a shame that modern
directors seem incapable of marrying together big budgets with
the kind of wondrous imagination that made the Jade Screen so
enticing.
Another
major problem with 'Silver Hawk' is that, like 'The Touch',
the plot is obviously a rehash of every big budget storyline
of the past twenty years. World domination, kidnapped
scientists and cyberpunk assassins (not to mention the
mind-numbing trance soundtrack) are either the stuff of
low-brow parodies or b-movies, not aspiring blockbusters. The
antagonists lack any real menace therefore making the heroes'
exploits redundant; a superhero film these days needs meaty
villains to work and, despite Luke Goss' best efforts, this
simply isn't the case here. Add to this the annoying need to
appeal to younger audiences with inane techno-babble and
achingly hip supporting characters (included in this bracket
is Yeoh protégé Brandon Chang who is only marginally better
than he was in 'The Touch) and 'Silver Hawk' is clearly in
trouble.
'Silver
Hawk' earns three stars despite my previous tirade. The main
reason for this is that the special effects are better
integrated than was expected and Michelle Yeoh tries so hard.
This probably isn't a recommendation in its self, but Yeoh and
co-star Richie Ren try to inject a bit of life into the limp
production. Ren's self-deprecation is appreciated while Yeoh
pulls off the mixture of charm and physical moves very well.
In light of this, and Hollywood's recent success in making
superhero films exciting and 'realistic', 'Silver Hawk' is a
major disappointment. The unfortunate twist is that while
Hollywood looks to Hong Kong's previous lower budgeted
classics for inspiration, modern day Hong Kong action flicks
have completely forgotten them and continue to squander their
relatively opulent production values.
Rating:
 
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