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Monday, September 13, 2010

[5.75/10] City Under Siege (2010)



After Wong Jing's disastrously awful sci-fi action, "Future X-Cops", which ended up on the top of my list for worst movies of 2010 (so far), I was hoping that Benny Chan's mutant/action flick will clear the shame. It certainly did... at least for most part. It tells the story of Sunny, an ordinary clown in a local circus, who by chance is turned into a mutant with extraordinary powers in a terrible accident. He decides to declare a battle for goodwill on the City with a troupe of circus performers who embark on a crime spree after they acquire superhuman skills in the same accident. Let's face it - "City Under Siege" is completely brainless and ridiculously silly, but also a lot of fun. It is action-packed and moves with a brisk pace, and despite the often messy story and a couple of dull moments here and there, the film was somewhat gripping, and it kept me entertained throughout the entire 114 minute running time. The special and make up effects are extremely cheesy, yet effective and suited well the overall ridiculousness of the film. The action sequences are excellently-choreographed and filled with spectacular stunts and dynamic. The scenery is fine - nothing specilal, but not bad either. Benny Chan is a solid director with huge experience and he has proven that over the years - he was even nominated for Best Director at the 24th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards for his "New Police Story". He does a good job here as well. The cast is rather good, with Hong Kong superstar superstar Aaron Kwok as Sunny being the central figure. Taiwanese actress Qi Shu as Angel is an angel indeed - delicate, charismatic and cute as a button. However, Sunny and Angel’s romance is quite annoying at times and totally unnecessary, but that didn't bothered me that much. Overall, "City Under Siege" is loud, silly and effects-heavy, and it offers some great kick-ass action and fairly entertaining story - pure mindless summer fun!

  • My Rating: 5.75/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
  • IMDb: 5.5/10

2 comments:

Jaccstev said...

Welcome back to the blogosphere buddy :)
Haven't seen the film but I might be agree with you, Benny Chan is much more capable than Wong Jing.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Thanks, pal! :) I missed pretty much everything and I'm so happy I'm back to the 'blogsphere' :) Haven't seen all Benny Chan films, but judging from those films I have seen, he's a very decent director. Give this movie a shot, Jaccsy. It was great silly fun!