Circus Kids
Reviewed by Yves Gendron
Action aces Yuen Biao and Donnie Yen star in
this 1994 production, directed by well-known character-actor (but equally
prolific director) Wu Ma, about the tribulations of a small troupe of
“Circus Kids” during a troubled period of WWII China. His big-top tent
having been destroyed during a Japanese bombing raid in Shanghai, circus
owner and ringmaster Shen Tinyi (Wu Ma) seeks safe haven in the southern-city
of Canton. Coming with him are his three lovely daughters (Irene Wan, Lily
Lee and Wu Ying Man), his son- in-law the circus clown Chiang Yitien (Lam
Wai), three young pupils and the brash trapeze acrobat Lo Yitung. (Yuen
Biao). Once in Canton the “Circus Kids” bad luck continues however, often
brought about by Yitung’s hot-temper. But righteous ass-kicking police
captain, Tang Fa (DonnieYen) is willing to turn a blind eye on account
of his infatuation for May, one of the daughters. Eventually Master Shen,
Chiang Yitien and Yitung find jobs at a factory but it is soon taken over
by a bunch of gangsters. While Master Shen and Yitung leave immediately,
Chiang stays behind so as to earn at least a little money for the troupe.
As the gangsters convert the factory into an opium producing facility Chiang
volunteers to test the new product with tragic results leading the remainder
of the Circus Kids into a vengeful raid.
Admittedly, CIRCUS KIDS’s premise is a pretty
good one, unfortunately largely unfulfilled though because of shoddy execution.
It’s pretty clear that the film was done not only with limited means but
also on an extremely tight schedule where everything had to be rushed;
the filmmaking proper, the action scenes and the editing which look especially
botched here. The narrative goes at such a fast pace that if the viewer
can understand the story, he is not given the time to get a grip on the
characters and care about them. And even if the narrative was done at a
more proper speed, the viewer still might not find the story or some of
the characters all that appealing as the movie is heavy on melodramatic
pathos, with Wu Ma as the patriarch feeling sorry for himself throughout
most of the movie. Further Yuen Biao plays something of an annoying
loud hothead while Donnie Yen is given little to do but to kick ass or
woo Irene Wan’s character.
The film does sport a handful of nice cuties though:
the aforementioned Irene, Cat III actress Lily Lee in a rare role where
she does not have to undress and another unidentified actress playing a
feisty ruthless sharply dress henchwoman with one mean kick. There are
also some touching moments of devotion and friendship though such as when
Wu Ma’s character encounters a long lost fellow circus sister. Ultimately
though, while this reviewer was able to grow at least somewhat appreciative
of the characters and of their plights, chances are that most would find
the story line awfully corny and tedious with no outstanding traits to
redeem it.
Besides Yuen Biao and Donnie Yen, the action is
also delivered by super-kicker Ken Lo as the film’s big heavy. They are
all in great shape and the action design is tops, but just as with the
storytelling, the action scenes are shot and edited much too fast. The
results are that elaborate action effects are indeed delivered but with
no edgy impact to them, which is too bad considering the screen fighters
involved and the ingenious elastic rope trick Yuen Biao pulls against Lo.
Interestingly enough, the customary gweilo head
villain is played by none other than Bey Logan, who’s HONG-KONG ACTION
CINEMA is one of the best books on H-K action cinema. He was also editor
in chief of the action-magazine IMPACT and the screenwriter for GEN Y COPS
(2001) and the upcoming Jackie movie HIGHBINDERS. At the time, Mr Logan
was involved in TIGER STORMS a one time attempt by a group of H-K resident
westerners to fund and produce their own action films which ended up as
a total disaster. Disgruntled, he was planning to return back to Britain
when Donnie Yen invited him to play the villain in the movie he was working
on in Shanghai: CIRCUS KIDS of course.
This was the start of the long-standing relationship
between Yen and Logan. The villain’s loud, coarse voice is not by Mr Logan
himself but by a voice actor (presumably a westerner himself) who had already
done the voice of the H-K governor in Jackie Chan’s classic PROJECT A (83).
Mr Logan who had a background in Thai boxing, Taekwondo, Wing-Chun and
Hung-Gar but had no screen-fighting experience appears to give a half-decent
fighting performance against Yen, although it’s a bit hard to tell because
of the quick-cut and clumsy editing. Logan has commented “Donnie was (and
is) incredibly quick. He could kick five times in the time it took me to
block once!”. The experience made him realise that he was better suited
for work behind the camera; a choice he has stayed with except for some
cameos.
This reviewer feels a little sorry for CIRCUS
KIDS. As mentioned, the idea was good and director Wu Ma tried to instil
a genuine sentimentality into the movie as he has done in many of his previous
films. CIRCUS KIDS was his last movie. What a missed opportunity for Yuen
Biao too, who was still in fine acrobatic form (although some enhancements
and stunt-doubling are obvious) but his character is just too much of a
jerk. As Wu Ma and Biao were leading players in the eighties action stunt-comedy
sub-genre (to which CIRCUS KIDS is a distant offshoot) it’s a bit sad to
see the latter part of their career being so shoddy. In the end this movie
can only be truly recommended to those who are Yuen Biao and Donnie Yen
dedicated fans and don’t mind having a movie shovelled down their throat
by H-K cinema’s hyperactive tendencies gone awry
My rating for this film: 6.0