My first look at a picture by Hong Kong director/producer Johnnie To came courtesy of my local art house, cheerily cashing in on the renewed interest in Michelle Yeoh brought on by the big sweep by
Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Oscars this year. Yeoh is indeed part of this heroic trio, along with the equally iconic Maggie Cheung, plus Anita Mui. They are ridiculously young. Cheung was close to 30 when this was made but she looks closer to 17. She rides a motorcycle and totes a shotgun. Tung (Mui) is known as Wonder Woman. She wears a mask and not even her own police investigator husband recognizes her. Well, that’s par for the course isn’t it when superheroes are involved, but really this movie came out well before the commercial juggernaut of superhero movies. I also noted a special effect around gunshot fire that looked to me like a reasonable approximation of “bullet time,” more often associated with
The Matrix from 1999. It appears someone is kidnapping babies—18 of them and counting in a matter of weeks as the picture starts. No one’s asking for ransom and no one knows what it’s about, but police need to get it under control pronto. The first of several don’t-miss-it sequences in
The Heroic Trio, arriving early, feature the rescue of many endangered infants, who are dropping from buildings, even in their swaddling, and of course helpless as babies as they plummet. The plummeting is generally leisurely, the rescue maneuvers impressively thought through. It’s all a good-hearted romp, built around sensational stunts, special effects, sight gags, and other random switch-ups. Some of them miss but there’s always another on the way. The narrative, coming at us so pell-mell, is confusing—though things like rescuing the babies is entertaining enough and they just keep coming. The humor is broad and transitions abrupt. I sometimes felt like I was at a drive-in show or a midnight madness picture. It never entirely makes sense (how could it?!) but it has a rousing,
Terminator-like finish that’s thrilling to watch and hilarious too. The
Evil Dead movies felt like still another touchpoint here.
The Heroic Trio bristles with energy and resourcefulness and who cares if it’s trashy. Play loud.
So glad to see you writing about this! Johnnie To came to San Francisco a couple of years ago promoting one of his movies, so we got to see him do a post-film audience interview. Prepping for that, I caught up with a lot of his films ... I've seen 14 now. He's always been in the back of my mind, reliable second-level director who has made a few v.good ones, and never seems to make a stinker. Of the trio, I think Anita Mui was the biggest star in Asia at the time. Trying to imagine an American movie with a similar cast, I came up with Charlie's Angels starring Sigourney Weaver, Madonna, and Michelle Williams. Mui would be Madonna, with the added attraction that she could act. Sadly, she died of cancer at age 40.
ReplyDeleteIt's really entertaining, I want to see more by him.
ReplyDeleteIt's not very typical for him ... in fact, I was surprised when I learned he directed it (saw it in the 90s, I think, didn't know who Johnnie To was). Some people like the sequel to Heroic Trio, Executioners, but it doesn't do much for me. He's done a lot of HK gangster movies. My fave might be Vengeance, with Johnny Hallyday (!), but Drug War and Three are also high on my list.
ReplyDeleteI will check those out, thanks! I knew you were a fan and was happy to see a To picture showing up at my local.
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