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盲俠之再踏江湖 (1995)
A Step to Heaven


Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 03/24/2000
Summary: Well, I quite enjoyed it

I agree, it's among the weirder HK films, but I found it held my attention most of the way. Perhaps it's just that I adore the two lovely Lily's. Maybe it's the cute and quick-witted little girl Heartie. And the blind kung-fu ex-cop out for revenge is a great character in any Asian film ! And the background music uses (perhaps over-uses) the marvellous album "Vangelis Themes".
I found myself being reminded of Ann Hui's style. I can rarely work out just what I like about Hui's films, but I like 'em just the same.
Same goes for this one, though it's much more low budget.
Lastly, I've never particularly liked Ng Doi Yung, but he gives the performance of his career as the broody and troubled assassin.

Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: pablo
Date: 12/09/1999

Fen, Tina, and her sister go to Hong Kong, where they immediatelybecome victims of a spiked drink gang (this plot device has become very popular among HK B-movies recently). Fen and Tina escape, but the sister is killed. Tina's kung fu expert father, blinded years ago while saving a child from being hit by a bus, has to come save them. There's also an honorable assassin that Tina runs into, and some sort of plot involving a diskette with arms shipment information. This film is mostly a string of cliches, with very little continuity.


Reviewed by: spinali
Date: 12/08/1999
Summary: NULL

A scratchy, low-budget thriller, made mostly on HK backstreets and under passes. It involves a blind former policeman, able to detect others' movements a la Zatiochi, who sets out to save his daughters from the clutches of a criminal group and their morally ambivalent hitman. The wonder of this film, however minor, is its ability to sustain tension with a series of great chases, not-so-great fights, and (frankly) stock situations. Several of the scenes are badly lit, and look as if they'd been filmed on remainder stock; but strangely, nearly every scene has synch-sound (?). The fights almost always occur close-up so you can't see the foot and hand-work, and sometimes they end for no clear reason. And there's the weirdest synth music mixed in with snippets of borrowed soundtrack music. But with the effective use of hand-held camera and snappy pacing, this reminds you of a (cheap and bad) Costa-Gavras film -- really almost a parody of HK film conventions, especially as it progresses towards its climax. Obviously, I can't possibly recommend this movie, though I am somewhat awed how it works in spite of its worst tendencies.

(2.5/4)



[Reviewed by Steve Spinali]

Reviewer Score: 6