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ROB-B-HOOD

 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Comedy/Action
Starring: Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Michael Hui, Charlene Choi, Chen Baoguo, Gao Yuanyuan, Yuen Biao
Director: Benny Chan
Rating: PG
Year Made: 2006

 


SPECIAL FEATURES


- Trailers
- Making of

 


TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Chinese
Subtitles: Chinese, English
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 2 hrs 14 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East

 

 


SYNOPSIS:
 

Compulsive gambler, Thongs, opportunistic Octupus and greedy landlord collaborate to kidnap BB, the grandson of a tycoon. However, when they realize that the triad is after both the ransom and BB's life, they decide to make their hostage their protegee instead. Cornered by cops and threatened by ferocious gangsters, the trio embarks on a hair-raising yet funny escapade to put BB safely back in his cradle.

MOVIE REVIEW :

The most bankable star of Asia is back! And is our dear old Jackie in top form after his disastrous “The Myth”? Well, for a hardcore fan like me who grew up watching Jackie’s movies since his first kungfu flick back in the 70’s, “Rob-B-Hood” is nothing like his past productions. I guess it’s sacrilegious for a reviewer to end with a rating of it right here so bear with me while I blabber a bit more on “Rob-B-Hood” (RBH).

Point number one: It has been decades since Jackie, Sammo and Yuen Biao teamed up on the big screen. Remember “Meals On Wheels”, “Project A” and the “Lucky Star” series? The original plan was to get this dynamic trio for RBH but the plan fell through due to scheduling conflicts and Yuen has to settle for a cameo.

Point number two: Jackie has long lament to the press he’s gearing towards the “Robert De Niro” way, more dramatic roles instead of the usual super cop kind, which apparently our man here is so sick of. In “RBH”, Jackie plays a compulsive gambler and a professional thief at night, a character full of flaws and nothing like his usual goody-two-shoes roles. However, he’s not at all-out bad guy, you see, the audience still crave for a kind-heartened Jackie. That’s where the scriptwriters have to give allowance.

The plot has it that Jackie and his accomplices, played by Louis Koo and Michael Hui are tasked by the triad to kidnap the grandson of a tycoon. But things turned a bit out of hand when the baby gets way too irresistibly cute for the trio to part.

The best part in watching a Jackie Chan’s flick is that there’s always a clear line drawn between the good and the bad. The good will takes on the bad and vice versa thus allowing Jackie and his stunt crew to creatively insert in some fight sequences to please the hungry action fans.

Perhaps my expectations of Jackie’s stunt works are much higher given his past works (Yes, I can hear some people grumbling about Jackie’s age). The fight scenes in RBH are at best mediocre and the car-chase sequence in it is regrettably lackluster for a Jackie’s headed movie. One particularly disappointing scene has Jackie and his old time buddy, Yuen Biao who cameo as a goofy inspector and a group of baddies battling over the baby in an apartment. Truly child’s play indeed.

But then it’s the wish of director Benny Chan who opted for a softer, comical approach to the stunt choreography so action fans like myself, remember to take this into account.

Clocking in at almost 130 minutes, although it kind of sagged a little towards the middle, for character development and romance time. You can hardly feel the clock ticks however given that the cute antics of Baby Matthew make it hard for the audience not to lap it up. And yes RBH is filled with cameos as well, one worthy mention is Daniel Wu and Nicolas Tse’s hilarious appearances as two greenhorn security guards. It’s apparently hard to give credits to Louis Koo or veteran Michael Hui as neither of them shines in this movie. Hui can be forgiven, as his screen appearances are truly limited while Koo, sad to say, seems to be duplicating his charismatic good looks as a playboy from one movie to another.

RBH marks Jackie’s third comeback movie in Hong Kong since venturing into Hollywood in 1998. Minus the crybaby cop in “New Police Story” and the cheesy general romance thingy in “The Myth”, Jackie is a natural though when comes to being a hardcore gambler. But still, “Rob-B-Hood” doesn’t really standout as a JC classic for sure but nevertheless an enjoyable family flick that could be well a whole lot better.

SPECIAL FEATURES :

This Dvd comes with the original movie trailer plus "A Battle of Wits" teaser and "Singapore Dreaming" trailer.

There's only a short 20 minutes making-of which feature interviews with Jackie, Director Benny Chan, Louis Koo and some of the cast members. In addition, some behind the scenes shot and the movie theme song. Nothing fascinating but it's a bit disappointing for the lack of intros to the action sequences.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The movie is presented in only Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 with Chinese and English subtitles. As always the Mandarin dubbing does little justice to the original cast's voice dubbing. If you are not a hardcore audiophile, this dvd is passable in terms of audio and visual.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

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. The Shoe Fairy

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. 49 Days

. REAL

. Dragon Eye Congee

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. Perhaps Love

. SPL

. Election


. The Myth


. Wait 'Til You're Older


. The Maid

 

 


This review is made possible with the kind support from Scorpio East


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