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Starring
:
Michelle
Yeoh
Ben
Chaplin
Richard
Roxburgh
Brandon
Chang
Sihung
Lung
Margaret
Wang
Kenneth
Tsang
Action
:
Kuo
Chui
Producer
:
Thomas
Chung
Michelle
Yeoh
Gao
Feng Jun
Director
:
Peter
Pau
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THE
TOUCH (2002)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
The
hype surrounding this film during pre-production was
significant enough to stir a definite feeling of anticipation
in me. Michelle Yeoh had always been an actress who was
electric on the screen and had starred in a number of films
that still stand out as classics to this day. Meanwhile, she
was to be supported by two actors who have proved themselves
in a number of big-budget Hollywood productions. The icing on
the cake was that Peter Pau - the cinematographer par
excellence - was at the helm and was bound to bring his
resplendent visual style to the screen. Unfortunately, reviews
on the films release were far from flattering; despite
reasonable box-office results in Hong Kong, the critical
community were far from happy with the finished article and
words like 'disaster' were freely being bandied about. This
backlash was the main reason for the sudden splash of cold
water on my enthusiasm, though now I've finally plucked up the
bravery to watch it.
Circus
acrobat Yin (Yeoh) is close to her performing family and, as a
well-loved team, they travel throughout China demonstrating
their extraordinary abilities. On the eve of her brother's
birthday, Yin is shocked to see the return of Eric (Chaplin) -
the adopted 'son' of her late father who, after training with
the team, left them to seek his fortune. This quest for
fortune is focused on using his acrobatic training for
criminal purposes, stealing valuable artefacts to order for
his pompous boss Karl (Roxburgh). Eric's return is not
welcomed by Yin and her family, but his own dubious dealings
mean that they are soon in the middle of the action. Yin
learns that Eric has stolen a heart-shaped jade medallion from
his 'employer' - an artefact that supposedly unlocks the
secrets of the legend of the Sharira - who naturally wants it
back. When Karl sends his minions out to get the medallion
back, the only succeed in capturing Eric and Yin manages to
keep hold of the valuable object; she then rescues Eric and
decides that perhaps it is time that she begins to believe in
the legend of the Sharira, a story she had been told by her
father years before. Karl will not be thwarted though and
manages to kidnap Yin's younger brother and use his knowledge
of the Sharira for his own quest. With her brother now
involved, Yin agrees to travel with Eric and uncover the
legend of the Sharira while also rescuing her naive brother.
I
really wanted to like 'The Touch', I really tried to stop any
of the criticisms I'd heard from affecting my judgement.
Despite my intentions, 'The Touch' is a turgid production that
fails to make any real use of an obviously enlarged production
budget. Having said that, it still proved to be SLIGHTLY more
enjoyable than expected and there were odd moments that
indicated that all might not have been lost. As the cons
outweigh the pros, it's worth mentioning the better aspects
first. Peter Pau's eye for stunning visuals and beautifully
constructed frames is retained in 'The Touch' and, with the
unusual landscapes that feature heavily in the film, he
relishes using them to the full extent. His use of ambient
lighting and gentle atmospheric touches are trademarks that
Peter Pau happily utilises. In Michelle Yeoh he also has a
leading lady who has a history of combining the roles of the
feminine lead and action star effortlessly while Ben Chaplin
and Richard Roxburgh are quite impressive names in the
supporting cast.
However,
'The Touch' is sunk by some major mistakes on the part of
Peter Pau and the rest of his production team. The initial
problem is perhaps the storyline. The 'Indiana Jones-esque'
story has been seen countless times before; with such a
well-used formula, 'The Touch' needs to be special enough to
side-step this stumbling block and, sadly, it simply isn't.
The elements that compose the film have been seen too often
before and usually presented much better than they are here.
As director, Pau also struggles with the tone of the film - he
cannot decide how to paint the villains, this being also
hindered by poorly drawn characters. While Karl is, at times,
quite a cruel villain, his sub-ordinates verge on being
slapstick figures, presenting all the menace of Ben Stiller.
The biggest fault of the film, though, is the computer effects
that prove to be a major part of the production. Simply put,
they range from the below-average to the dreadful. From Yeoh's
poorly animated scarf to the painfully awkward-looking finale,
'The Touch's attempts to integrate the effects with the actors
looks as realistic as 'Tron'. Whatever hope there was of
creating excitement is utterly diminished by the CGI.
It
gives me no pleasure at all to give 'The Touch' 2 1/2 stars. A
big-budget mess that, occasionally makes good use of its
actors, this is a movie that has few strengths to rely on. The
fact that 'Magnificent Warriors' - Yeoh's much more successful
action-adventure outing - was made for a fraction of 'The
Touch's budget says everything about Pau's finished article.
Rating:
  
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