Da Ying Jia
2000 / 91m - Hong Kong
Comedy
1.5*/5.0*
Winner Takes All poster

Watches

June 22, 2020

1.5*/5.0*

Clifton Ko makes a swindler comedy. A popular niche in Hong Kong that yielded some entertaining films, but Ko's attempt is pretty bland. The usual mix of genres (comedy, crime and action) is mostly absent and Ko turns this into a full-blown comedy. The problem is that the film is hardly ever funny.

Performances aren't up to par. There are some familiar faces here, but most of them fail to land their jokes. The soundtrack is absolutely dreadful and feels like an afterthought, while the film itself looks like something out of the 80s. It all feels very rushed and put together without putting too much thought into it.

It's a little odd because Ko is capable of making good comedies. Without the proper actors, a decent script and the necessary funding though, it seems he can't perform miracles. At least the pacing is decent and the film constantly propels itself forward, but unless you're absolutely starved for a Hong Kong comedy, I can't really recommend this.