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Cast:
Charlene
Choi
Gillian
Chung
Jaycee
Chan
Daniel
Wu
Donnie
Yen
Po
Lin Chen
Qu
Ying
Fan
Bin Bing
Edison
Chen
Tony
Leung Kar Fei
Jackie
Chan (cameo)
Action:
Patrick
Leung
Producer:
Albert
Lee
Jian
Guo Zhao
Director:
Yuen
Kwai
Patrick
Leung
Score:
  
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THE
TWINS EFFECT II
AKA:
The Huadu Chronicles: Blade Of The
Rose || Twins Effect 2
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Hong
Kong is perhaps the home of the 'in-name-only' sequel and
'Twins Effect II' is the new big budget addition to these
ever-increasing throngs. Though the 'Twins' return for the
sequel, the genre tackled here is completely different; 'Twins
Effect II' is a fantastical swordplay flick that takes places
thousands of years in the past rather than a modern day comedy
horror. Clearly benefiting from lavish production values and a
copious amount of visual effects, 'Twins Effect II' is another
Hong Kong attempt to produce a film that will appeal to
international audiences as well as the locals. As is so often
the case when such a fusion is attempted, 'Twins Effect II'
tries so hard to please all of the people all of the time, but
ultimately leaves everyone unsatisfied.
In
an ancient kingdom where the geographically-dubious Amazons
rule with an iron-grip, men are treated as slaves and sold at
market like livestock. The Empress has nurtured such an
intense loathing of men that such emotions as 'love' are
punished by execution for both the male and female caught
displaying these affections. Loyal henchwoman of the Empress,
Bluebird (Cheung) is sent out into the populous to stop an
ancient tablet falling into the hands of one of the many
rebels who are spread throughout the land. The tablet details
the location of the awesome 'Excalibur' blade which, when held
by the rightful heir to the throne, will conquer the evil
Empress and restore equality to the kingdom. A pair of naive
theatre performers eventually find the tablet and decide to
uncover its secret, while greedy slave-trader '13th Young
Master' (Choi) decides to tag along in the hope that the
journey will lead to riches. Along the way, the trio are
joined by Bluebird who manages to cover up her real identity
and keep track of those who are keen on overthrowing the
Empress' cruel reign.
All
that would be needed here is a faded reality television star
and a former member of the 'Emmerdale' cast and this would
truly earn the tag 'pantomime'. Outrageous storylines, wicked
rulers, forgotten heirs and ludicrous romance are all present
here as is the predilection with plagiarising every popular
culture icon of the moment - all the ingredients demanded of
that great British tradition. With characters named 'Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon', knowing references to 'The Matrix'
and a special sword called 'Excalibur', 'Twins Effect II' is
the ultimate scattershot blockbuster that throws in everything
bar the kitchen sink and yet is still found wanting.
My
comparison between the pantomime tradition and 'Twins Effect
II' is perhaps a little unfair - at least the former knows its
target audience. 'Twins Effect II' cannot decide whether the
narrative should be taken seriously or whether the tone should
really be one of parody, while the appearance of two directors
behind the lens clearly doesn't help the film's clarity. While
Yuen Kwai has a history of making films that awkwardly throw
together drama and farce ('Mahjong
Dragon' for instance), Patrick Leung's involvement seems
to be very difficult to pin-point; none of the personality
that his other films had have made any appearance here.
Neither director, though, has much idea of how this muddled
production should progress and eventually the storyline grinds
to a halt while the artificial romances take centre stage.
When Tony Leung Kar Fei switches to his hammy alter-ego, you
know that the film-makers have lost significant interest here.
Much
will be said about 'Twins' and whether their appearance in the
film is a factor in its eventual grid-lock. As I've stated too
many times, Charlene Choi is only capable of playing 'kooky'
these days and 'Twins Effect II' shows her at her most
maddening. Although she's meant to be a love interest here and
even though she's an attractive actress, she comes across as
more of an annoying little sister than the kind of woman that
anyone would fight for. This often unlikeable character is
reappearing in Choi's films so obviously someone finds her
petty tantrums charming - a thought that is deeply unsettling.
Gillian Chung, on the other hand, looks uncomfortable with the
daft antics that take place around her; she's undoubtedly a
beautiful actress with some hidden potential, but it will
never be realised while she's in such productions. Riley Ip
had the right way of directing both actresses in 'Just
One Look', but it seems that such pleasingly well-rounded
characters are currently out of reach for both Choi and Chung.
Despite their inadequacies here, neither of the 'Twins' should
shoulder the blame on their own - everyone deserves to be
guilty of recriminations in this flawed production. Jaycee
Chan plays 'dopey-naive' well, but finds the romance with
Chung an emotion too far; it would be unfair to be too
critical of him in such an early role, but giving such a
pivotal character to a newcomer is a serious oversight by the
film-makers.
There
must be a middle-ground between the overblown farce of 'Twins
Effect II' and the emotionally cold 'Hero'
somewhere. Directors are dividing into either camp at the
moment and the fact that the swordplay genre has spawned so
many classics makes this quite sad. While 'Hero' is certainly
the superior film, it would be nice if the balance between
humour and self-importance that the genre last successfully
struck in the early-90s would be again achieved. 'Twins Effect
II' shows admirable scope with its vast landscapes and
ornately designed sets, but cannot create a harmonious blend
throughout its duration. The over-used CGI does, at times,
look ungainly, but this is a problem with modern film-making
around the world rather than just this one production.
Nonetheless, it's unfortunate that the concentration of the
film is on the effects and the parochial 'comedy' and not the
other virtues that used to be second-nature to Hong Kong
cinema.
'Twins
Effect II' was clearly enjoyable to make and throws up a few
moments of promise, the main theme song being one of them. To
sit through it isn't as arduous as I may have made out, but to
see so much money lavished on such mediocrity is very
disconcerting. The expected moments of action are good, but
hardly special and certainly don't show a choreographer of
Yuen Kwai's pedigree in the best light. Each grand action
set-piece exudes a feeling of deja-vu and even the
eagerly-awaited re-match between Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen
lacks impact; too many camera tricks and not enough focus on
their real abilities proves to be the death knell here. Maybe,
despite our collective wishes, CGI and wirework-enhanced fight
scenes really are here to stay. In conclusion though, 'Twins
Effect II' is just too ordinary to justify its budget or
obvious talent. As Donnie Yen says at the film's conclusion
"The future is in the hands of these young people" -
on the evidence of 'Twins Effect II', this isn't a comforting
thought.
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