Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 01/25/2007 Long-time readers of this site can probably guess that romantic films aren't exactly my cup of tea. But I did enjoy the first two Moment of Romance movies -- even though the weepy melodramatics got a bit over the top at times, at least there was some decent action to keep things interesting. Well, A Moment of Romance III totally ditches the action and ramps up the hankie factor, much to this reviewer's chagrin. In this installment (which has nothing to do with the previous entries), Andy Lau plays a fighter pilot who is shot down over a small village. Wu Chien-Lin finds him and -- of course -- instantly falls in love while nursing Andy back to health. Andy also has "special" feelings for Wu (who wouldn't?) but the village elders don't like the idea of an "outsider" marrying one of their own, so Andy heads back off to the war. Will the pair reunite and find true love? If you don't know the answer to that, then please do yourself a favor and get off the internet, because obviously you're in need of serious help. Instead of Benny Chan, Johnnie To took the directorial duties this time out. But there's none of To's trademark style or wit to be had here. This is by-the-books Lifetime network movie of the week romantic crud all the way, complete with several retch-inducing slow-motion musical montages. One of these is puzzingly paired with footage of Wu and Andy beating the hell out of a cow. I guess there's nothing like the feeling of bonding over some animal cruelty to show what true love is all about. A Moment of Romance III moves at such a glacial pace that even a few frosty ones couldn't help this reviewer from getting extremely bored during the proceedings. Andy Lau's acting didn't help matters any. He was still fully in his stone-faced mode here, and it was impossible to develop any sort of sympathy for his character, and thus any interest in the movie went quickly out of the window. Wu Chien-Lin tries her best, but given the dismal script, she can't really do much other than being the typical "jade vase" seen far too often in these kinds of Hong Kong movies. Again, watching this sort of fluff isn't exactly my idea of fun, so if you're a huge Andy Lau fan or need something to smooth things over with your girlfirend, then A Moment of Romance III might be worth your time. Otherwise, go and seek out Johnnie To's excellent crime movies from this period for an actual satifying film experience. Probably the only positive thing I can think about this effort is that it was a minor hit (probably due to Andy's star power) and the profits allowed To to create "real" motion pictures instead of snore-inducing pop dreck like this. [review from www.hkfilm.net] Reviewer Score: 3

Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 07/25/2006 Summary: 2nd sequel syndrome..... Prior to 1999, Johnnie To Kei-Fung had established a so-so track record of hits and flops as a director. He was better as a producer, for sure. This film used to be the movie that I thought was To’s worst but two years later he directed A Hero Never Dies which is just truly awful. I saw this movie at the old Music Palace in New York City on a Sunday afternoon. The place was packed. When the film was over, there were actually some boo’s and derisive chatter among the crowd. The best thing I could say about A Moment of Romance III is that the cinematography by veteran Poon Hang-Sang is spectacular and, at times, stunning. He makes the two good looking leads look even better looking, which isn’t really possible, is it? [Français] Avant 1999, Johnnie To Kei-Fung a créé une sorte de bilan afin de visites et de flops en tant que directeur. Il a été mieux en tant que producteur, pour sûr. Ce film était le film que je pensais Pour le pire a été, mais deux ans plus tard, il réalise A Hero Never Dies, qui est vraiment terrible. J'ai vu ce film à l'ancien Palais de la Musique à New York le dimanche après-midi. L'endroit était bondé. Quand le film a été terminé, il ya eu effectivement quelques boo et dérisoire bavardages dans la foule. La meilleure chose que je puisse dire à propos de A Moment of Romance III est que le vétéran de la cinématographie par Poon Hang-Sang est spectaculaire et, parfois, à l'étourdissement. Il fait beau les deux conduit regarder encore mieux la recherche, ce qui n'est pas vraiment possible, est-il? More at happyfortune.org Copyright 2006 j.crawford Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: danton Date: 01/03/2002 I really enjoyed the first movie, I thought the second one wasn't bad either, so I don't know why I waited so many years to finally watch the last instalment which once again reunites Andy Lau Tak-Wah and Wu Chien Lien. It becomes immediately apparent that the movie is a sequel in title only - this story is set in the late thirties with Andy playing a pilot in Chiang Kai Shek's army fighting the Japanese invasion forces. He gets shot and is forced to land in some remote Chinese village where he is nursed back to health by Wu Chien Lien who plays a simple yet charming (and obviously gorgeous) village girl. All of this is filmed in cinemascope with lots of sunsets, corn fields and other gorgeous countryside vistas, while the soundtrack provides an abundance of strings at full blast. There's hardly any dialog (or anything happening, for that matter) - instead, we get Kodak moments, postcards from Lover's Lane (look, here we are dancing on the wing of the aircraft amidst the cornfields at sunset). What could possibly make this more romantic, you ask? Why yes, of course there are the song interludes - we have two here, one sung by Andy and one by WCL. The movie gets even worse when Andy goes back to town and his village girl decides to follow (and within seconds in transformed from illiterate peasant to a stunning-looking sophisticated lady wearing make-up and the latest fashion...). Well, I kept telling myself, at least one of them gets killed in the end, so I kept watching, but the movie let me down even in that respect... This movie is contrived, manipulative and lacks any true emotion. Only recommended to ogle at the very photogenic leads.

Reviewed by: Yellow Hammer Date: 05/10/2001 Summary: very different from the first two MOR movies It is the year 1938. Tension is in the air as China is in the throes of an impending war with Japan. Lau Tin Wai (Andy Lau) comes from a well-to-do family who is earmarked for a high-level job in the government. But before he embarks into this job, he is with the 24th Aero Squadron to fight the war against the Japanese. On one mission, his plane is shot down and he ends up in the cornfields in a remote area. Luckily for Wai, a local girl Ting Siu Wo (Wu Chien-Lien) has spied his crash and saves him. It's the rich boy/poor girl other side of the tracks motif again. Will Wai come back for Wo? Will they ever see each other again? One doesn't quite get the energy, the tension, the feelings that were apparent in the first Moment of Romance movie. The movie does drag quite a bit. In fact what most people remember most from the movie is the ugly cow, with a funny disclaimer at the end of the movie.

Reviewed by: hktopten Date: 12/21/1999 Painful to watch. During World War II, an inexperienced Air Force pilot Wai (Andy Lau) is struck down. Luckily he meets simple village girl Siu Wor (Ng Sin Lin). The two fall for each other, but Siu Wor has been married to the village chief's son since childhood, and Wai is notified by the base requesting him to leave the next day. The story made no sense, and Johnny To apparently suffers the same problem Derek Yee has with Full Throttle. Despite Andy and especially Jacqueline tried hard to save the film, the relationship just isn't as intense or realistic as AMOR I & II. Andy was a flower vase. In fact, the whole thing looks like a watch commercial Chow Yun Fat did in Hong Kong. Anyway, the best actor goes to the Big Yellow Cow (TM). Recommended only to die hard Andy and Jacqueline Fans. It's really pretty to look at though. Maybe it's just me, but Andy looks too old for the role. In fact, Andy doesn't match with Ng Sin Lin. Anita Mui is too old, so the perfect fit at this point would be Rosamund Kwan Chi Lam...

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 More disappointing than I ever could have imagined. The best actoris the cow IMHO. [Reviewed by Christopher Fu]