Future Cops (1993) - A Review

 

The infamous Hong Kong take on the Street Fighter characters.

Future Cops is a fantasy comedy movie released in Hong Kong in 1993 and stars Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Jacky Cheung, Dicky Cheung, Chingmy Yau, Ekin Cheng, Billy Chow, Charlie Yeung, Andy Hui, Aaron Kwok, Ken Lo, and Richard Ng. It was written and directed by Wong Jing, with action directed by Tony Ching Siu-Tung. Future Cops features characters based on the video game characters in Street Fighter II.

Dicky Cheung as Chan Tai-hung (left), Andy Hui as Kei-on the bully (right).

In the future, The General (M. Bison, played by Ken Lo) is imprisoned for trying to take over the world. His henchmen, Kent (Ken, played by Ekin Cheng), Thai King (Sagat, played by Billy Chow), and Toyota (E. Honda, played by William Duen) decide to go back in time to 1993 to brainwash the judge that convicted their leader. The Future Cops get wind of the criminals' plans in a battle with them and tell their superior, who sends them to 1993 to protect the future judge. Lung (Ryu, played by Aaron Kwok) stays behind because he is their superior's brother-in-law .

Ti Man (Vega, played by Andy Lau), Broom Man (Guile, played by Jacky Cheung), and Sing (Dhalsim, played by Simon Yam) arrive in 1993 to find that the future judge, Chan Tai Hung (played by Dicky Cheung) is a bit of a loser. He is still in high school, even though he is 28 years old, still lives at home with his mom and sister, and is constantly bullied by everyone at his school. Learning this, they help him stand up to his bullies and become more of a success in school.

As you can imagine, Chan Tai Hung starts evolving as a person, even becoming successful with his crush, Choy Nei (played by Charlie Yeung). Ti Man becomes involved with Tai Hung's sister, Chun May (you can guess who she becomes, played by Chingmy Yau), and Broom Man gets involved with Tai Hung's bully's girlfriend (played by Winnie Lau). Eventually, the bad guys make their presence known, and take over the school. It's up to the Future Cops to level up and stop the General from taking over the world...

The Street Fighters... I mean Future Cops. Yes, that is Simon Yam as Dhalsim (far left) and Jacky Cheung as Guile (far right).

I had heard of Future Cops back in the day after finding out the director of City Hunter (1993) made a 'Street Fighter II' movie. I could never find much information about it, but I saw the odd movie still and trailer here and there. I finally found it on my favorite DVD online store and ordered it (paid for it and everything). It's been close to 20 years and I still haven't gotten it in the mail! As you can imagine, trying to find and watch this movie has been quite the struggle. I finally found the whole movie online, and I watched it. Did it live up to my expectations?

It did not. The director, Wong Jing, is known for making wacky, silly comedies that you either love or hate. I've seen City Hunter (which I liked at first... now I find it too silly) and Last Hero In China (1993, only really liked the action in that one), so I was expecting some zaniness, but... this is just too wacky for my tastes. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of funny scenes, but there is a lot of annoying things in it, too. It also doesn't help that there are only three action scenes in this movie (and much like the Jean-Claude Van Damme Street Fighter movie, most of the actors don't have martial arts skills). The Street Fighter fight scene in City Hunter is better than all of the fight scenes in Future Cops. It also bothers me that all these grown adult men are pursuing relationships with teenage high school girls.

Despite all of that, there are some good performances in this. Andy Lau is good as the sensitive Vega. Dicky Cheung is likable (for the most part) as the bullied future judge, though he says some horrible things to the people that are laughing at him (it's really messed up). Andy Hui as the main bully is great (as is his hairstyle). It's always great when Charlie Yeung shows up in a movie (though she just plays the love interest). Chingmy Yau is the best thing in this movie; she is just so funny. Richard Ng is in this as well, and of course he's hilarious! There is also an homage to a classic video game that was pretty unexpected!

Ken Lo as M. Bison is an inspired choice. Ken and E. Honda are his henchmen.

As stated above, there are only three main action scenes in Future Cops. Inspired by Street Fighter II: Turbo (I assume), the fights are super sped up with special moves galore. You'll see Hadokens, Spinning Bird Kicks, Hurricane Kicks, Yoga Flames, Sonic Booms, and more. Sound effects from the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom version of Street Fighter II are used in the fight scenes, at least. Despite all that, I can't say the fights were actually good or exciting. They are over the top, but not in a good way. Really disappointing. Some may like the fights, though!

So, do I recommend Future Cops? I would say no, unless you are that much of a Street Fighter fan that you have to consume every type of Street Fighter media. You may also like it if you are looking for a wacky and insane over the top type of movie. As I've said in other reviews: humor is subjective. What's funny to me may not be funny to you, and vice versa. Otherwise, steer clear. This movie is a clear case of cashing in on a phenomenon, without actually paying for the license. I was looking forward to this movie for years, and it broke my heart when I finally watched it. It's not the end of the world. There are three excellent Street Fighter movies in existence (two anime, one live action), so I can watch those for my Street Fighter movie fix. If you still decide to watch Future Cops, go into it with expectations for a crazy comedy and not for an awesome action movie based on a video game.

Reviewed by David Williams

Magnificent Warriors (1987) - A Review

 

Magnificent Warriors is an underrated action movie!

Magnificent Warriors is a action/adventure/martial arts movie released in Hong Kong in 1987 starring Michelle Yeoh (known as Michelle Khan at this time), Richard Ng, Derek Yee, Lowell Lo Koon-Ting, Cindy Lau Chin-Dai, Matsui Tetsuya, and Hwang Jang-Lee. Magnificent Warriors was directed by David Chung Chi-Man, with Stephen Tung Wai, Fung Hak-On, and Benz Kong To-Hoi as action choreographers.

Don't let the smile fool you, Michelle Yeoh destroys fools in this movie with no mercy!

In Magnificent Warriors, Michelle Yeoh plays a happy go lucky biplane pilot and adventurer who gets hired by the Chinese government to help Special Agent 001 (played by Derek Yee) to smuggle Lord Youda (played by Lowell Lo Koon-Ting) out of the Japanese-occupied village of Kaal during the early years of World War II. When Yeoh gets there, she meets with a con man (played by Richard Ng) in a mix-up, believing he is Special Agent 001. Yeoh and Ng meet up with the real 001, and they plan to work together to smuggle Youda out. When they meet up with Youda, they find out the Japanese forces are planning to build a poison gas plant in the village, and they agree to stop them. Together, along with Lord Youda's girlfriend Chin Chin, (played by Cindy Lau Chin-Dai), they fight the Japanese forces to prevent the building of the plant and the takeover of the village.

The heroes: From left - Derek Yee, Michelle Yeoh, and Richard Ng.

Magnificent Warriors is one of the last movies Michelle Yeoh made before she got married to Dickson Poon (the co-founder of D & B Films, the company that produced Michelle Yeoh's movies up to that point, along with many other classics) and retired. Back then, it was common for an actress to retire after they got married. Michelle Yeoh really left on a high note! This movie is pretty good! I had never heard of this movie, so when I saw the DVD for it at Walmart back in the day, I didn't buy it. One of the biggest regrets of my Asian Cinema collecting journey. I finally got to see it, and I think this movie is a bit underrated (as I said before, I had never heard of this movie back then).

Michelle Yeoh plays her character with confidence, strength, and straight up joy. She even has some funny moments in this. You never doubt that Yeoh could take on an entire army by herself; she is shown to be totally capable of destroying her opponents with her martial arts skills. She just likes to have fun, as well. When she and her friends are surrounded by incoming Japanese soldiers, she blows them away with a mounted machine gun and a joyous smile on her face. What can I say, Michelle Yeoh rules in this! To me, her character is a mix of Indiana Jones (she even has a whip) and Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan's character in the Armor Of God movies).

Richard Ng is great in this as well. He is funny, as is expected. You even get to see him get injured in battle scenes, which is a bit surprising (I've never seen him get injured like that in a movie). Derek Yee is the serious Special Agent 001, and he goes by the book. Cindy Lau Chin-Dai surprised me the most in this movie. Even though her character is a bit of a ditz, she can really fight! Weird that she wasn't in that many movies, because she was good at acting and action.

If you are wondering why I'm not referring to the main characters' names, their names are revealed in a scene that I don't want to spoil. It's pretty surprising!

The fight scenes in Magnificent Warriors are wild and crazy!

The action in this movie is really good! Michelle Yeoh's character is quite powerful, as she often sends her opponents flying into walls and other solid objects with her kicks! She uses her whip to expertly dispatch her opponents. Her best fight scene in this movie is when they try to escape the village. Michelle Yeoh is taking on multiple opponents at once, using any weapon she can get her hands on, and using the surrounding structures to escape danger or to accentuate the power of the moves she is unleashing. That fight scene rules! Cindy Lau Chin-Dai's introductory scene is great as well. She just wrecks her opponents! The final battle is literally all out war. Michelle Yeoh has a short fight with the incredible Hwang Jang-Lee, and how she defeats him is pretty crazy! I do wish that fight scene was much longer.

I recommend watching Magnificent Warriors. Though the main complaint from other reviewers is that the plot is weak or shallow, I still think it's a good movie. It's interesting throughout, despite the lack of character depth. It is never boring, and the action scenes are awesome. I feel more people should know about this movie, and see this movie! Michelle Yeoh shows why she is the top female action star once again in this movie. Thank goodness she came out of retirement and returned to making awesome action movies!

Reviewed by David Williams