From Beijing with Love (1994)

Funny early Stephen Chow movie

"From Beijing with Love" is an early Stephen Chow movie that is rough around the edges, chock full of problems, but full of the manic comedic joie de vivre that infuses Chow's later "Kung Fu Hustle," "Shaolin Soccer," and others. This film appears to have been made on a shoestring, with subtitles that may be from a fourth grade class in Shandong. But despite the lack of budget and polish, there are some very funny laugh-out-loud bits in here. This movie is not Chow's best, but it shows you how he got to his best, and it's worth at least a rent. August 26, 2007

Not Chow at his best, but it has curiosity value

From Beijing With Love is a minor Stephen Chow spoof of the Bond films that has a few good jokes but never hits the heights. Among the pluses: a neat sendup of the obligatory Bond checking into a hotel sequence, a Q figure who specialises in useless inventions such as a solar powered torch that only works when it's light, and the use of a pornographic video as an anaesthetic while removing a bullet. There's also the novelty of its hero working for the Communist Chinese secret service, but this still feels somewhat strained even at 84 minutes. More two-and-a-half out of five than three-out-of-five. February 22, 2007

A funny and touching action film

This is one of my favorite Stephen Chow movies. Some say this film marks a change in Stephen Chow's style. His prior comedies were really funny but also mostly tongue-in-cheek, where rarely did Chow's characters display any sincerity, and his tears were always fake. But this movie is different. While still gut-bustingly funny, it actually shows real emotions. An example is the bullet extraction scene, very effective, very touching, it makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Being both hilarious and sincere is not easy, but Chow does it to perfection. In fact, this is a distinct trait of Chow's later films such as Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer.

Some jokes may be hard to get for the westerners. The female lead is supposed to be the daughter of a famous real life historical figure who was a singer, movie star and traitor. The song Chow sang on the piano was a tribute to that figure and a real life mega hit by singer Jacky Cheung. But this should not affect your enjoyment of the rest of the movie.

Of course, Anita Yuen's great performance plays off perfectly against Chow's wackiness. The action scenes were beautifully done. Stephen Chow fans should not missed this one. February 14, 2006

Uneven Bond Parody

The jokes in this 007 send-up are hit or miss, mostly miss, with a few instances of inspired comedy. It's also unnecessarily bloody for a light-hearted parody. Stephen Chow, however, is an engaging screen presence displaying the impeccable comic timing that is more evident in the films he directed, "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle". Not a waste of time but you may find yourself longing for a "Get Smart" marathon. October 31, 2005

Great Asian 007 Parody from Chow

1994 Hong Kong 007 Parody. Spy/Action/Adventure.
Also known as: "Guo chan Ling Ling Qi"; and "From China with Love"

DVD Features: The DVD I received is very basic and just contains the movie.

Credits: Stephen Chow (credited as Stephen Chiao; part: Ling Ling Chai; also starred in "Kung Fu Hustle"), Anita Yuen (Siu Kam; "The Monkey King"), Pauline Chan (Woman; "Millennium Mambo"), Joe Cheng (Partner of Woman; "My Sweetie"), Kar-Ying Law (Da Mansi; "House of Fury"), Kam-Kong Wong (Commander; "The Defender"), and Rongguang Yu (Yee; "Iron Monkey"). The credited directors are Stephen Chiao (Chow; director of "Kung Fu Hustle") and Lik-Chi Lee ("The King of Comedy"). Both directors are also credited as being the screen writers, along with Roman Cheung ("Gambling Ghost") & Vincent Kok ("Super Model").

Plot: An ancient dinosaur skull has been stolen by a "superagent" wearing extensive body armor and an agent that has been long on the bench (so to speak) is assigned to investigate the case. His immediate commander, it is very quickly revealed (and is therefore not a spoiler) to actually be the bad guy, and he picked Chow (the benched agent) because of the fact that Chow is considered currently unfit to be an agent (and therefore is expected to fail in his mission). To help Chow fail in his mission, his boss sends him to another Chinese intelligence officer in Hong Kong, who is secretly working directly for the boss, and who has been tasked to eliminate Chow.

Review: This is an early Stephen Chow movie (of the relatively recent: "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle" movies), so early that he is credited as Stephen Chau. This movie is something of a parody of 007 (the opening is very similar to a 007 opening credits sequence, though Bond doesn't normally attack and kill one of the dancing girls). There is a Q equivalent, who is somewhat incompetent and tends to make strange and somewhat stupid inventions. Beyond the asian Q's inventions, there are many other spy gadgets used in the film, which includes the spy phone in the toliet device.

The movie is actually quite good and humorous, unlikely as that might seem. The plot might be a little silly, but is solid. The acting is great. The music is superb. The humor is good, even if you don't understand the language. Overall, I would rate the movie 4.21 stars out of five. June 8, 2005

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