Sunday 3 January 2010

The Treasure Hunter (2009) @ 刺陵

At a glance:
Kevin Chu's Treasure Hunter is basically how The Mummy gets an Asian treatment as Taiwanese tomb raiders go to Mainland China and frolic about in the deep desert to cook up some Indiana Jones adventure. To drive the picture, the Kung Fu Dunk director re-teams with regional pop prince Jay Chou and ropes in supermodel-turned-actress Lin Chi Ling, who finds time among boutique launches to star in another big picture after debutin in John Woo's Red Cliff.
Bad news on the doorstep:
I fell asleep watchin this. At least two abang photographer were snorin loudly at the Malaysian press preview. Can't decide if Storm Warriors is worse.
Perennial wonderment:
Poor Jay Chou. Fans mother him and keep him protected; his crossover pet project as a big screen actor has not been easy, considerin most older audiences won't give him the time of day. Since his relatively successful turn in Secret, the talented musician can't get any respect for starrin in Kung Fu Dunk and nobody likes the fact that he's Kato in the upcomin Green Hornet either instead of Stephen Chow. Media spotlight is heavy on a such a marketable star and many say the man (with a facial expressions range that is notoriously limited) ought to stick to what he knows best. Perhaps it's then a case of low expectations because Mr. Chou does manage to do better this time around. He has at least added one more broodin angle to his repertoire of looks as a devil-may-care, bike-ridin cowboy drifter who's also the guardian of an ancient city. Sadly, this movie is simply too derivative to be interestin.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?Perhaps in territories like China where the influx of Hollywood movies are capped and governed by law, everyone will think that Jay Chou crackin a whip is the birth of a new hero icon. The rest are probably just happy that he didn't spot a fedora. One and a half stars.