To Kill with Intrigue
Reviewed by Jack Sobjack
In Jackie Chan’s autobiography “I Am Jackie
Chan,” he shares with us what a miserable time he and the crew had while
shooting To Kill With Intrigue. It was filmed in Korea and the weather
was very cold. So cold that the film equipment froze! I would say that’s
pretty cold. And one of the first things I noticed when I watched it was
how you could see the actors breath throughout most of it. But I really
think it paid off though. The location and weather seemed to really help
create the mood of this film even with an already bleak story.
This is by no means your usual Chan film and unfortunately
it may have a very limited audience. People who discovered Chan ala “Rush
Hour” or “Shanghai Noon” will almost certainly not like TKWI. Fans of Chan
classics such as “Drunken Master 2” or “Police Story” don’t/won’t like
it. Even fans of his “old school” films such as the original “Drunken Master”
and “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” probably won’t really like it. But you
never know….
Jackie is Lord Siao Lei whose entire family is
slaughtered by the Killer Bee Gang. The leader of this gang, Ding (Hsu
Feng), spares Siao because…she loves him! I can’t think of a better way
to show someone you care. Well, Ding starts to realize Siao may not be
in love with her as he wanders aimlessly through the countryside shouting
“Chin Chin” (Siao’s girlfriend). Meanwhile, a “good friend” of Siao is
looking after Chin Chin. And this “good friend” not only convinces her
that Siao is dead but that she should marry him. Knowing this, Ding trains
Siao so he may have his revenge. But before letting him leave he must first
defeat her. The kicker is what happens each time that he loses. You’ll
just have to see that for yourself.
I was surprised to see Jackie play such a despondent
character. He’s certainly had dramatic roles before (“Heart of Dragon,”
“Crime Story” and “Dragon Fist”) but I have never seen him more reserved
and melancholy than in this film. This review could in no way be complete
without a word (or two) about Hsu Feng: Incredible, beautiful, mesmerizing,
haunting, soft, lovely and strong. Oops, that was seven words.
Just check this one out. Director Lo Wei was very
generous in giving the viewer plenty of close-ups of Hsu Feng. And the
location was very beautiful. Some of the fight scenes were average at best
but the ones between Jackie and Hsu were very entertaining. And if anyone
knows the name of the actress who played Jackie’s girlfriend please let
me know. Never let it be said Lo Wei doesn’t have great taste in women.
My rating for this film: 7.0