Midnight Express in the
Orient
Well, its good that Diana Pang Dan is draped all
over the front and back covers of the VCD because she is nearly invisible
in the movie itself. She has perhaps five minutes of screen time as she
pops in from time to time. At least when she does drop by she wears some
alluring outfits but still the cover leads to expectations that are not
remotely met.
The film is really a male version of Thelma and
Louise as two men Yu Rong Guang and Vincent Wan are on a road trip with
the police in close pursuit. Wan is married to Pang Dan and she treats
him like an errand boy. Considering how Pang Dan looks perhaps it is understandable
that he accepts this behaviour but when his friend Yu Rong Guang invites
him to go along for a few days to Shenzen (in the Mainland) for fun and
games Wan accepts.
Trouble comes soon in a big way as Wan brings
a girl back to his room and then changes his mind only to discover
that it is a scam and that her husband is now in the room demanding to
be paid off. When Wan refuses a fight ensues Yu Rong Guang soon joins
in and both the girl and her accomplice are accidentally killed. The
boys panic and are soon on the run in a large truck through the Chinese
countryside.
They quickly pick up a female hitchhiker
who is also on the run - from triad moneylenders in her case. The boys
have a number of adventures on their journey from getting caught in a wild
shootout between the cops and a Bonnie and Clyde couple and then helping
a group of farmers battle off some thugs. On the way, both men grow up
and begin to learn somethings about themselves but the cops are closing
in.
Though the film has some interesting themes and
a few good scenes, it is generally very poorly executed and very slow moving
at times. There are a number of action scenes involving Yu Rong Guang
but the choreography is extremely weak and uninteresting. And of course
there is not nearly enough Pang Dan.
My rating for this film: 5.0