Tokyo Raiders DVD with Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chen (PG-13) +Movie Reviews

Pleasant Surprise

02/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is really cool, comfortable, chewy pop movie. It has a great cast (I only know Tony Leung, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chen and Cecilia Chung, but I understand the Japanese actors in this movie are pretty big in their own country.) It's an example of HK cinema at it's flashiest. I don't get why people think the story is so difficult. I mean, the movie has three (at least) double-crosses. I imagine any director would have a hard time with that, so Jingle Ma did what I think suited his style and just made them "secondary." You watch this movie for the great chemistry between the three leads, the great action and style, and Kelly:) The DVD includes a Making-Of thing that is actually very interesting. What can I say, I've watched this movie fifty times. A quick note, it only has Cantonese and English dubbing, so all you fellow Mandarin Chinese people out there try and find a different version. My ears have only kind of gotten used to the Cantonese after fifty viewings. Lastly, the first scene in this movie is alone worth the price of admission, with Tony beating up some Japanese baddies in style with this really weird but catchy J-Pop soundtrack in the back."

East Meets Far East

A. Lam | sacramento, ca United States | 07/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tokyo Raiders is a text book example of what Hong Kong cinema produces, and depending on your taste, it can be an eye candy or annoyance. Hit or miss, it never stops trying to entertain you. The story is basically about three Chinese in Japan, raising hell and spoiling the bad guys. In between, there are fights, explosion, and of course, car chases. However, since pop stars Ekin Cheng and Kelly Chen needs to protect their squeaky clean image, there is no naked woman where one normally finds in an American production. But Tony Leung's large quantity of beautiful assistants do somewhat make up for it. This film is all about gadgets, plot twist, and style. With much emphasis on the later. It's rapid-fire MTVism editing even outdone MTV itself. And probably needed to hide the fact that neither Leung nor Cheng knows any kung fu in real life. But I like it. The editing keeps the image flowing and makes a typical fight scene interesting.If you like big-budget popcorn movie that test your suspension of belief, in other words like me, you'll at least find it amusing."

A clever story, with great action

kopfkissen | 05/05/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The beginning to this movie is quite bizzare. You are introduced to the three main characters of the movie, and you are misled or make the wrong assumptions, about the relationship between these three characters. It is actually quite cunning. I'll let you find out for yourself.The story is basicially a Chinese girl gets jilted by a Japanese boy. Girl travels to Japan and tries to find boy, with a bit of *unwanted* help along the way. It very quickly shows that there is more to the jilting than meets the eye, and that is not the only convolution in the story.The story is comical, slightly dramatic and is full of novel action. The shooting of the action itself is not only spectacular, but I find quite artistic. Something I find strange is the music, which has a Latin flavour. I liked it, it was cute, but considering the story has absolutly nothing to do with that part of the world, it seemed a bit out of place.Ther wasn't much I didn't like about the movie, except perhaps the introduction of several character which really were not needed for the story at all (but add to the eye candy, so I am not complaining too much).The DVD has pretty much the standard DVD features, language options, subtitle, scene selection, but was a bit scant on the extra features.The English voice acting on the DVD was done well. Although the story (obviously) remains the same, the translation and the context in the English audio version for most of the part is different to the English subtitles and the Cantonese audio option.This movie will appeal to most people, it's cheeky, action packed and keeps you thinking."

Our Man Flint goes Chinese

Michael D. Anderson | Dinuba, CA USA | 02/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tokyo Raiders is a delightful cross between a modern Chinese martial arts film and the wonderful character of the American classics:Our Man Flint/In Like Flint, making use of good camera angles and an assortment of spy gadgets. The acting is well done, and the cast well selected. There is a terrific balance between the heroes and always a little bit of a question as to who is on what side. My only complaint about the film is that there is not already a sequel."

Tokyo Raiders, Amusing, Light-Hearted Action Flick

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 07/03/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"`Tokyo Raiders' is not a great film, but is certainly very entertaining. Three handsome and sexy stars are all attractive, and the location of the modern city of Tokyo (where most of the film was shot) is another asset for the film, which lacks originality in the storyline.

The film starts with a bit comical fighting scene in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with Tony Leung and Japanese thugs in suits (one of them apparently ex-sumo wrestler) following him from behind. Leung's character Lin with affable smile fights back deftly using an umbrella and some 007-like gadgets in the well-choreographed sequences, shot in the street of Kabukicho, Shinjuku, one of the night life district in Tokyo. (Incidentally this place is very close to the hotel where Bill Murray's character stayed in `Lost in Translation.') The scenes are no Jackie Chan action, not intense as Jet Li, but still amusing in its own way.

Then we meet beautiful Macy (Kelly Chen, `Infernal Affair') in Las Vegas. She is waiting for her bridegroom (who is Japanese) who would not show up at the church. Impatient and dismayed, Macy flies to Japan, with a handsome guy from Hong Kong named Yung (Ekin Cheng), who claims that he needs his money back from Macy's fiancé. In Tokyo, both of them soon get involved with a case of stolen secret information, CIA, yakuza, etc. Plenty of actions and a bit of romance ensue.

Actually, though the story constantly attempts to surprise us with twists and turns, it is not the most important part of the film, which is made virtually for the three stars Leung, Chen, and Cheng. These three likable players from Hong Kong, all charming and delightful, perfectly fit the light-heated mood of the film, where people fight fiercely, but not get killed, and even the yakuza (Japanese gangsters) look like gentlemen compared with the fearful gangsters in `Kill Bill Vol. 1.'

Among the actors from Japanese side, Toru Nakamura (`Purple Butterfly') would be the most famous, but his role is sadly a very small one. Equally small are the roles of cute Japanese idol turned actor Kumiko Endo and actor Hiroshi Abe with his trademark eccentric acting. That is simply disappointing for the Japanese viewers like me. Cecilia Cheung also appears briefly, and her role is not a big one either.

But with these three attractive leads, maybe we should not complain. The film is generic in its story, but is greatly helped by the presence of these actors, plus its good (if not great) action sequences and fast-paced direction, `Tokyo Raiders' is an amusing film, forgettable but fairly good entertainment for rainy day afternoon.
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