Just Another Pandora’s Box

越光宝盒

China, 2010, colour, 2.35:1, 85 mins.

Director: Ji An 技安 [Liu Zhenwei 刘镇伟/Jeff Lau].

Rating: 7/10.

More hits than misses in this slick, cameo-studded spoof of Red Cliff  and other action hits.

STORY

Ancient China. Itinerant no-good Qing Yise (Ronald Cheng) rescues Rose (Sun Li), a fairy, from a river but then robs her of her magic sword, thus marking him as the love of her life. Pursued by the amorous Rose, Qing Yise manages to steal Pandora’s Box from King Bull (Wang Xuebing) and is transported through time to the Three Kingdoms period, when northern warlord Cao Cao (Guo Degang) is about to do battle with southern warlords at Red Cliff on the Yangtse River. Not only is Qing Yise consistently mistaken for southern General Zhao Zilong but Rose has also followed him through time and won’t give up chasing him.

REVIEW

After his surprisingly low-key Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction 机器侠 (2009), Hong Kong spoofer Liu Zhenwei 刘镇伟 [Jeff Lau] returns with Just Another Pandora’s Box 月光宝盒 to the much more fertile ground of his costume parodies – especially The Eagle Shooting Heroes 神雕英雄传之东成西就 (1993) and the two-part A Chinese Odyssey 西游记 (1995) – in what is best described as Carry On Up the Red Cliff. Packed with often fleeting cameos by Hong Kong and Mainland personalities, this is Liu’s smoothest and technically most ambitious spoof yet, with superb production values as well as references not only to his earlier movies but also to hits like House of Flying Daggers 十面埋伏 (2004), Kung Fu Hustle 功夫 (2004), CJ7 长江7号 (2008), US cartoon Kung Fu Panda (2008) and even Titanic (1997).

Hong Kong comic Zheng Zhongji 郑中基 [Ronald Cheng] and Mainland actress Sun Li 孙俪 (Kungfu Cyborg) make a surprisingly good double act, with the latter even eclipsing better-known Hong Kong actresses Liang Yongqi 梁咏琪 [Gigi Leung] (rather bland as an exotic princess) and Zhong Xintong 钟欣潼 [Gillian Chung] (in the Zhao Wei 赵薇 role) with her relaxed sense of fun. The non-existent plot, with Zheng’s no-good character tangled up with both sides in the Red Cliff battle, is simply an excuse for endless word-play jokes and star cameos, but the handsome mounting is eye-catching on its own terms, with detailed production design by Hong Kong’s Lei Chuxiong 雷楚雄, costumes by Wu Baoling 吴宝玲 [Bobo Ng] that stay the right side of way-out, and lush photography of Guangdong and Ningxia locations. It’s not necessary to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Chinese cinema to enjoy the movie; and this time Liu doesn’t push his (often goofy) jokes beyond their sell-by date.

CREDITS

Presented by Pearl River Film Studio (CN), Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV Production (CN), Beijing Bona Cultural Exchange (CN). Produced by Pearl River Film Studio (CN), Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV Production (CN), Beijing Bona Cultural Exchange (CN).

Script: Liu Zhenwei [Jeff Lau]. Photography: Feng Yuanwen [Edmond Fung]. Editing: Mai Zishan [Marco Mak]. Music: Lei Songde [Mark Lui]. Theme song: Yu Quan. Production design: Lei Chuxiong. Art direction: Liu Jingping. Costume design: Wu Baoling [Bobo Ng]. Sound: Zeng Jingxiang [Kinson Tsang]. Action: Yuan Xiangren. Image design: Wu Baoling [Bobo Ng]. Visual effects: Ma Yongan (Centro Digital Pictures).

Cast: Sun Li (Meigui Xianzi/Rose), Zheng Zhongji [Ronald Cheng] (Qing Yise/Jack), Liang Yongqi [Gigi Leung] (Xiyu Dashi/singing princess), Zhu Yin [Athena Chu] (Zhixia), Zeng Zhiwei [Eric Tsang] (Zhuge Liang), Huang Bo (Zhou Yu), Guo Degang (Cao Cao), Zhong Xintong [Gillian Chung] (Sun Shangxiang), Tan Yaowen (Xia, general), Yuan Biao (Liu Bei), Huang Yi (Xiaoqiao), Fang Lishen [Alex Fong Lik-sun] (Guan Yu), Fan Shaohuang [Louis Fan] (Zhang Fei), Wu Junru [Sandra Ng] (cook), Deng Lixin [Stephy Tang] (Painted Skin), Wu Jing (chief guard), Sha Yi (Qi Yan, general), Li Yixiao (Baby’s mother), Yu Bin, Xu Wanqiu (medics), Li Lichi (mysterious man), Tian Qiwen (bamboo-forest soldier), Zhong Zhentao [Kenny Bee] (soldier with Olympic torch), Jiang Yuecheng (soldier), Wang Xuebing (King Bull), Liu Zhenwei [Jeff Lau] (monk), The Flowers (Cao soldiers), Mai Zishan [Marco Mak] (Du, general), Yuan Kui [Corey Yuen] (Cao general), Lian Weijian (Lian), Guo Tao (doctor), Wang Zulan (Cao special guard), Wang Hexi (Lu Xiao), Liang Hanwen (guard), Yuan Xiangren (tramp), Zhang Li, Ai Mengmeng, Li Na (Liu Bei’s wives), Lin Xue [Lam Suet] (Aosheng), Wei Junjie, Zhao Zhiling, Xing Yu (Wu soldiers), Yu Rongguang (Gan, general), Chen Kaishi (Zhen), Yuan Qiu (woman in curlers), Yuan Hua (her husband), Yu Qian (sign-language teacher), Liu Yida [Tats Lau] (boy), Liang Xiaolong (old assassin), Xu Jiao (kid fighter), Zhong Guoxiong, Fang Haowen (Cao soldiers), Tang Wenlong (Wu general), Cai Shaofen [Ada Choi] (Princess Iron Fan), Li Jianren (Ruhua, transvestite), Lin Zicong (Sunset Warrior), Xie Junhao (fighter in white).

Release: China, 18 Mar 2010.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 15 May 2010.)