Jeff Lau's "Chinese Odyssey 2002" is an enjoyable romp more so for its cast filled with stars (Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Vicky Zhao) than its comedy. The comedic elements provide for a few laughs and chuckles but nothing gut-busting. Kay On's script is amusing, clipping plot contrivances from the likes of Shakespeare, involving gender swapping and role reversals. Some of the themes are typical of a film by Wong Kar Wai, like alienation and relationships, except that they are played for laughs. So it is of interest to note that Wong Kar Wai produced this movie.

"Chinese Odyssey 2002" is more humorous than out right funny, but it does contain shades of comedy found in a Stephen Chow film. Much of this is due to Jeff Lau and Kay On. Lau directed and On wrote "A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box," and the sequel "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella," both Chow movies. The film's cinematography and art design are the outstanding features. The colors are vivid and match the palette for the costumes. All of the women in the cast are framed to look gorgeous, as if they have porcelain skin and even flesh tones. It is very hard to suspend one's disbelief when all of the women looked beautiful, regardless of how Faye Wong, Vicky Zhao or Athena Chu dressed.

"Chinese Odyssey 2002" is another in a series of fluff-filled comedies to come out of Hong Kong. And it seems that the more Hong Kong filmmakers churn these comedies out, the better they become at making such films.