|
 s the saying goes, it is a stupid man who keeps coming
back for more punishment from the same source. I am that stupid man, since Legend
of Speed is the second movie directed by Andrew Lau and starring Ekin Cheng
that I have seen in as many days. Why, oh why, did I not learn my lesson?
Legend of Speed stars Ekin Cheng (manga-inspired
strands of hair firmly in place as usual) as Sky, an underground street racing
champion who takes on all comers. Sky, the son of another legendary street champ
known as Black Tone, is a spoiled rich boy who likes to abuse anyone who isn’t
him and break his opponent’s leg. When Sky beats, and then breaks the leg of,
the brother of yet another racing legend name Tang Fung (Simon Yam), Fung
decides it’s time to take the little bugger (re: Sky) down a few pegs.
Recently released from prison on good behavior, Fung challenges Sky to a race,
and in short order, sends Sky and his co-pilot, girlfriend Kelly (Kelly Lin),
plummeting down a highway to certain death. Kelly is killed and Sky arrested,
and that’s only the beginning of Sky’s problems…
It is just another example of cosmic injustice that actor
Simon Yam, a man of prodigious thespian ability and charm, has been relegated to
villain and supporting roles. The man is clearly the best thing about Legend
of Speed, and the movie lights up when he is onscreen. Consequently, the
film’s entertainment value dims greatly and the charisma level drops off
significantly when the movie shifts to focus on Cheng’s Sky and his
neverending battle to stop being such a spoiled jerk.
The movie’s B-plot is Sky’s search for his father,
Black Tone, who is cutting the hair of young kids in Thailand and pimping his
Thai wife to tourists. (Gee, now I know where Sky gets his “class”.) Legend
of Speed’s supporting cast includes Cecilia Cheung (Legend
of Zu) as Nancy, the lovestruck sister of one of Sky’s mechanics. Nancy is
in love with Sky and gushes whenever she’s around him. Cheung’s scenes with
her movie brother, Paddy (Moses Chan) are one of the film’s better sides. The
two have an easy chemistry and Nancy’s protectiveness for the slightly
retarded Paddy is charming and believable.
Legend of Speed is a racing movie focusing on the
underground racing circuit, similar to Rob Cohen’s The
Fast and the Furious. Made in 1999, Legend of Speed obviously came
first, and the movie opens with a very exciting sports bike race between Sky and
Fung’s brother. That race is clearly the best action sequence in the entire
film. When the racers switch to cars, things slow down a bit, mostly because
director Lau relies on fast-motion filming to speed up the action. Another scene
involving a race in the streets of Thailand is laugh-out-loud funny – not
because it’s amusing, but because it’s so badly filmed and choreographed.
Another plus for the film is the minimum usage of computer
effects. Director Lau uses a technique called “blurring” sparingly. The
technique gives the impression of taillights lingering behind as a streak of
primary color even after the cars have sped past. It’s highly effective,
stylish, and its underusage makes it something to look forward to. (See, Andrew?
Sometimes less is more.)
Plot-wise, Legend of Speed slows down after Sky
flees Hong Kong for Thailand in search of his father. The movie wastes about 50
or so minutes in Thailand where nothing much happens except Sky walking around
the city asking total strangers if they know who his father is, or showing them
an old picture of his dad from what must have been 20 years ago. (Not very
effective ways of locating a missing person, natch.) When the father is finally
located, we get one endless scene after another of the two “bonding.” I
guess that’s what they’re called. (I prefer “nap time” myself.)
Once again, I am at a loss to understand the popularity of
Ekin Cheng, who seems capable of only one facial expression. I have said it
often and I will say it again: Ekin Cheng has the charisma and energy of a rock
– and that’s insulting rocks everywhere. I suppose there must be something
about the man that Hong Kong audiences find so irresistible. I guess it’s a
“Hong Kong thing,” and God willing, I will never “get it.”
Legend of Speed features one intense racing sequence
in the beginning and two mildly entertaining car races after that. The rest of
the movie is devoid of interesting action and involves Sky’s “soul
searching” in Thailand. If you like a movie that spends 90% of its running
length focusing on Cheng’s lifeless face and one visible eye (since the other
one is always covered) then Legend of Speed is your cup of tea.
It’s a shame, though, that Simon Yam wasn’t given the
lead role. The man is certainly due for some recognition. His inability to snare
a lead role will continue to be a source of consternation for moviegoers who
like their leading man to show that he’s more than a lifeless mannequin. (Are
you listening, Ekin?)
Despite all of its familiar and cliché aspects, Rob
Cohen’s Fast
and the Furious is actually a better film. At least Cohen understood what
his movie was about, and gave us plenty of exciting car races/chases to past the
time between the inane undercover-cop story.
|
