Reviewed by: Hyomil Date: 04/07/2011 Reviewer Score: 3

Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 01/08/2006 Summary: Tribute to Cantonese humor Fantasia is an excellent resurrection of classical Cantonese humor jumpstarted in the 70s by the Hui brothers. Veteran actors Francis Ng and Lau Ching Wan are impressive as they take on popular characters of then. It's a distinctively local feature where anything goes, and you will find much more pleasure here if you have knowledge of some of its sources of inspiration (again, Hui brothers style humor). I especially like the moment when the green monster whoops out a photo of him and Cecilia Cheung, and look who he is in the photo! Surprise surprise. This is sheer blast from the past wackiness that one can find probably only in HK. [7/10] Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: JohnR Date: 03/24/2005 Summary: Great silly fun. I'm not familiar with the old HK movies this one is said to parody, so that part of it was lost on me. But this movie is hilarious in spots, really funny in others, and a bit dull in spots to the uninitiated like me. I don't see how anyone can watch Lau Ching-Wan cheating at mah jong and not roll on the floor laughing. I'm a big fan of him and Francis Ng and they both showed me that they're even better than the high level I held them at. After seeing Fantasia, I'm convinced Francis Ng can do anything; he's amazing. I didn't even recognize Cecilia Cheung. So high points to her for playing out of character, but unfortunately she could have done a better job with it. If her performance should be blamed on the writer or director then I apologize to her. The Twins just kind of hang around the edges, they don't particularly add or detract. But their roles were intended to be minor, so that's not a criticism. Overall, I would recommend this movie even if you don't get all the references. It's probably a 9 or 10 out of 10 if you get the references; for the rest of us it's 7.5.

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 09/18/2004 Summary: Ummm........ I did see the mandarin version of this movie which may of effected how i will rate this movie I can see the reference to the HUI brothers, and i did like them when they were producing movies but this can not compare to any of there movies. Overal i didn't like it, i didn't find it funny, i like the various paradies but it didn't do anything for me. There is a variety of stars which can not help this movie being more than below average 4/10

Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 06/18/2004 If you're a fan of 60's and 70's Hong Kong movies, then Fantasia is a movie that's right up your alley. Even if you haven't seen many films from that era, it's still a very funny movie that'll appeal to most any fan of Hong Kong comedy. At the very least, it's a refreshing change of pace from the dopey teeny-bopper romantic comedies that have been coming out as of late. Fantasia proves that you don't need a huge budget, lots of blood and boobs, or big special effects to make an good picture. This film is a homage to earler Hong Kong movies, in particular the films of the Hui brothers. Lau Ching-Wan, Louis Koo and Jordan Chan (playing the Michael, Sam and Ricky Hui-based characters) are a trio of bumbling private investigators who are assigned to guard an antique shop. After they botch the job, the gang only has a few broken trinkets to show for their troubles. One of the items is a lamp that ends up producing a wizard (Cecilia Cheung, whose character is a combonation of Harry Potter and Josephine Siao's "Plain Jane") that says she can grant wishes. However, her powers are delayed, so the detectives don't believe her, instead taking her for Jordan's crazy cousin (Christy Chung). After a while, the wizard's powers do kick in, which allows Louis to fight like Bruce Lee and Ching-Wan to always win at mahjong, which infuriates a local gang boss (Francis Ng, doing his best Shek Kin impression) who swears revenge. The detectives have to try and tie everything up and get their wishes without getting killed or going crazy. Complicating matters are Cecilia's "cousins", which include a loose-boweled creature (taken from the star of '60s anti-litter public service ads) and a pair of mischevious twins (played by, of course, Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung, who base their performance on the popular "Chopstick Twins" of the 60's). To be honest, I haven't seen too many of the films referenced in here, so I probably lost some of the jokes. But Fantasia is still a very entertaining movie. Perhaps more importantly, it's smart as well. Instead of yet another Matrix parody, we have some brilliant stuff like a scene that manages to blend Jurassic Park and the Hui brothers classic Private Eyes. It looks like the cast really had a fun time making this movie, and that feeling transfers on to the viewer. Hell, I even enjoyed the Twins (who have been starting to wear thin lately) in this picture, and Lau Ching-Wan and Francis Ng are absolutely priceless. Their performances alone are worth the price of admission. When you add in a whole mess of other stars (the "man" himself, Michael Hui, has a small role, and even Andy Lau makes a semi-cameo) and some truly funny dialogue and physical antics, you have the makings of an outstanding comedy. [review from www.hkfilm.net]

Reviewed by: magic-8 Date: 03/24/2004 Summary: Super Silly "Bokchi" Flick Wai Ka-Fai steps out of Johnnie To's shadow to write, produce and direct "Fantasia," an homage, of sorts, to those super silly "bokchi" flicks of the '70s and '80s. A fond remembrance of the past is the impetus for "Fantasia," as Wai Ka-Fai throws every comedy bit he can against the wall to see what sticks...and I mean everything. Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Jordan Chan get involved with a wizard/genie. Cecilia Cheung plays the genie in Harry Potter attire and will grant the rubber of the lamp three wishes. All the characters unabashedly mug for the camera with emphasis on creating caricature portralyals to the extreme. Somethings work and somethings don't. You may laugh or you may groan, but you will not fault the high energy output by the actors. Although the filmmakers use comedies from the '70s and '80s as a model, movies by Michael and Sam Hui in particular ("Private Eyes," "Aces Go Places"), "Fantasia" has more of a '90s Wong Jing feel, evoking such films as "Whatever You Want" and "Tricky Business." "Fantasia" is goofy fun. One thing that was missing, and thankfully Wai Ka-Fai decided to leave it out, was the cheesy sythesizer music. Besides being a trip down memory lane, "Fantasia" is a pleasant way to pay your respects to the low brow, broad based Cantonese comedies of the past. Now, I can't imagine watching a string of similar comedies, but "Fantasia" is a fine offering and a harmless diversion with some good-hearted belly laughs.

Reviewed by: Mikestar* Date: 01/25/2004 Summary: Side-Splitting Hilarity!! Now I'm not one to usually promote any film as a 'must see', but for anyone who has even the remotest interest in Hong Kong cinema, 'Fatntasia' fits the bill. Its numerous parodies and satires of popular culture)both local and international), drawn together in an entirely absurd manner (one that Peter Greenaway, Derek Jarman & David Lynch would all approve of) makes this a highly rewarding, not to mention satifsying film. The plot itself is absolute anarchic, so much so that to try and explain it here would seriously detract from its overall impact. Needless to say the film is a pastiche, mixing together a wide range of ingredients into a veritable cocktail of HK style satire. Elements from both the present and past are continually 'sent-up' throughout this film, with particular emphasis paid to Harry Potter, Mr Boo, Bruce Lee and Jurassic Park. The performances are universally hilarious, with special mentions to Cecilia (as the dorky 'Harmy Bobo', aka Harry Potter), Louis (as a Bruce Lee wannabe, wearing a wig that bears a strong resemblance to Gigi Leung), and Lau Ching-wan (in an explicit parody of the infamous Mr Boo). The cameos and supporting roles are equally noteworthy, with Francis Ng as a gang leader (providing a riotous send-up of Sek Kin), The Twins as a pair of bee-hived singing and dancing chopsticks! (Don't believe me, just watch the film..) and Jordan/Christy providing parodies of their own personas. The costume and misc-en-scene is similarly excellent, to the point where Wai parodies the nostalgic 'Milkyway' style of 1960s Hong Kong. There are so many side-splitting sequences within this film, that its bound to satisfy almost any type of HK film fan. Whereas it may be Stephen Chiaou, Eric Kot & Cheung Tat-ming that are recongised at large for their absurd comic qualties, Wai Ka-fei more than matches them in this gleaming effort.