Feng kuang de sai che (2009) Reviews

• Incredible multi-layer story with tons of belly laughs!

  Stskyshaker2009-02-03

  It's been a hilarious roller coaster ride watching Silver Medalist from Ning Hao, the creator of Crazy Stone, which is believed to be a milestone in Chinese comedy. Among the numerous expectations on Silver Medalist, big belly laughs embedded in the the natural flow of storyline are top of the list. And what an excellent job done!! The whole movie are filled with elaborate comedic moments, raw but not vulgar, many plot related, bringing 'substantial' laughs. It definitely takes a talented and patient mind to design this many "evolving jokes". Another big advancement Ning has made is in storytelling, a more complicated multi-layer story, which is rarely seen in Chinese comedy, or any modern Chinese movie, is told in a skillful and meaningful way. Up to six lines of sub stories, yet I had no trouble at all understanding this big plot. The best Chinese film I've watched in years, highly recommended!

• Best Chinese(mandarin) comedy in history

  ninedith2009-01-28

  Am I the first one to comment this movie? Well, nice......as I believe this movie will be remembered as the best comedy in the history of Chinese cinemas. Can't remember when does any movie make the audience applaud in the theater. And everybody laughs almost from the first minute to the last. I went to see this movie with my wife, and then, I took my parents to the theater and watched it again. They haven't been in any cinemas for years, and they love this one. Yes, Ning Hao does follow the style of Guy Ritchie and the director himself doesn't deny that. But this one is much better than Rock n Rolla anyway. A masterpiece, 10 of 10.

• great fun.

  ycbee2009-01-30

  (minor spoilers.) I watched it in a local theater yesterday, laughed out loud along with fellow audiences countless number of times, and am still chuckling at the many hilarious moments that pop out in my mind... It's Ning Hao's second hit in China (the first being "the crazy rock (or stone?)", and people often relate him to directors like Guy Ritche, Quentin Tarantino, or Cohen brothers, given that his recent movies adopted certain ways of story-telling of theirs, i.e., the interweaving of many plot-lines, the bizarre coincidences, and the uncanny humor that comes out of those coincidences... Indeed Crazy Racer (Silver medalist) has a lot of these elements, but all incorporated seamlessly in a genuine Chinese setting (both physically and culturely), with something more. The movie sets in a southern city in modern China, Xia'men, which is close to Taiwan. The figures come from many different regions (North, South, Taiwan, Thailand, etc.). The story starts with an unlucky (and yet funny) incident that happens to our lead role, a professional bike racer. Then the camera rolls to a couple of year later, where several chains of bizarre incidents that happen around and to him… Everyone in the movie, from the lead guy to the passing supporters, from the real gangsters to newbie killers, are all, real and likable, with ridiculously surprising and funny things happen to them. No cliché of China or Chinese people, or the ambition of portraying the whole Chinese philosophy, with which some recent big movie productions from China have played (and failed). Bottom line -- this movie is smart and hilarious -- highly enjoyable. A real gem in current Chinese movie industry, especially considering the outrageous censoring the movie has to go through…

• Ordinary citizen vs. gangster boss vs. cops vs. professional drug dealer vs. petty thieves.

  thankyou612013-10-05

  Each of these groups has something special that allows them to stay in the game. Skills, intelligence, dedication, luck. What happens a lot here is that a character has triggered a major event without even knowing it. It's definitely similar to Arrested Development's style of humor, where different groups of people, each having an agenda of their own, cross each other's paths. The humor: It's VERY funny. But you have to be a native Chinese speaker. There are different dialects. Taiwan people speak the Mandarin but the accent is different. You can't possibly understand the oral expressions and appreciate the nuances if you haven't spent a significant amount of time living in China. The characters are mostly male. Everyone is going after something, often using the wrong method. A good metaphor of life, where we try to achieve something but actually are ruining it. It's entirely plot-driven, not character-driven. The special effects: Really good. They are unnecessary to the plot, which shows that the director is willing to spend lots of money making the movie look great, to try to get people to watch. Indeed, a movie needs to succeed in all departments to be considered a classic, and this one does. Who shouldn't watch this movie: it's significantly more fast-paced than other Chinese movies. It's much faster and denser than Infernal Affairs 3, for example. It's intended for a quick-thinking audience. Other people won't even be able to follow the plot, and won't enjoy it.