High Risk by Wong Jing, Ah Lun (Review)

Not too long ago, I read that Jackie Chan and Jet Li were going to work on a movie together sometime in the near future. Now, if you’re as big a kung fu movie nut as myself, that’s a dream come true. Granted, something like that could turn out to be really bad, but it does get the imagination all fired up, doesn’t it? The two make fairly different kinds of movies — Jackie’s more comedy-oriented, whereas Jet’s more focused on the butt-kicking — but needless to say, I’ll be in the theatre whenever it finally arrives. However, there’s one thing that I can foresee sabotaging this fanboy’s dream come true, and that’s High Risk.

You see, High Risk is nothing more than a parody (perhaps skewering is the more accurate term) of the kind of movies that Jackie makes, and also of the character that Jackie often plays. Oh, to be sure, it has its moments where I was doubled over in laughter at the silliness of it all. If you’re at all familiar with kung fu movies, you’ll recognize all of the jabs. Nothing is safe from Wong Jing (New Legend of Shaolin, Naked Killer), and at times you wonder how much of it is in fun, and how much of it is savage satire.

Kit Lee (Li) is a soldier turned bodyguard for Frankie Lone (Cheung), the biggest action star around. Unfortunately, Lone’s been resting on his laurels lately. He spends all of his time chasing women and getting drunk, and his kung fu abilities are slipping. It’s so bad that Lee has to stand in for him during stunts. Of course, this can’t be made public, since everyone believes Lone does his own stunts. If they find out otherwise, he’ll be disgraced. However, when a snoopy reporter (Yau) starts tailing Lone, his secret’s in danger of getting out.

Jackie Cheung rules in this movie. Lone’s a buffoon, lecher, and coward, and Cheung goes completely over the top with the role. He even manages to pull off a lot of Chan’s little quirks and facial expressions. And he doesn’t stop at Chan; a lot of his character is also a parody/satire of Bruce Lee, especially during the fight scenes. Just listen for the Bruce-like whoops and taunts. In fact, you’ll probably get a bigger thrill from watching Lone get in and out of precarious situations than from any of the action scenes.

But back to the movie… Lone gets invited to a celebrity gala event, a showing of the Russian Crown Jewels, at a plush hotel. He shows up (wearing blue jeans, of course) and proceeds to start chasing girls. The reporter is there as well, hoping to get more evidence of Lone’s fraud. During the middle of the event, a group of terrorists arrive, intent on stealing the jewels. Lee realizes that their leader is the same man responsible for the deaths of his wife and son, a man he knows by voice only, and he charges to the rescue. Unfortunately, he must also keep Lone safe from the terrorists, as well as a man who is convinced that he must fight Lone to prove his abilities.

If you’ve seen Die Hard, you’ve seen much of High Risk. Many of the hotel scenes feel eerily reminiscent of John McClane’s adventure, just with a crazy kung fu twist. And I suppose that should be one argument against High Risk. So much of it feels lifted from other movies. But that’s really all part of the fun. Yeah, it steals a lot, but at the same, it pokes fun at everything it steals. Sometimes, it gets a little mean-spirited, but whenever I think of Lone’s little antics, I have a good laugh. Watching Lone try to hide from the terrorists while still trying to bed pretty women is worth the rental price alone. And his final battle manages to beat Chan at his own game, as common items become deadly weapons (or visual gags) and Lone rediscovers his kung fu abilities.

Just don’t take anything too seriously, and you’ll have a blast watching this one. That goes for you too, Jackie.

Now hurry up and make that movie!