The Wicked City (1992)



	The Wicked City		Return to Review Archive - W
	Year:	1992	Yuen Woo-Ping and Jacky Cheung
	Director:	Peter Mak Tai-Kit
	Producer:	Tsui Hark
	Cast:	Leon Lai Ming, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, Michelle Reis (Lee Ka-Yan), Roy Cheung Yiu-Yeung, Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung, Yuen Woo-Ping
	The Skinny:	Sci-fi actioner based on the notorious Japanese animation of the same name. The HK version is messy and rather cheesy, but it's also great fun.
	Review by Kozo:	This Hong Kong sci-fi action movie is an adaptation of the Japanimation feature of the same name. It’s about strange other-dimensional creatures (called “Monsters”) and the human task-force policing their actions. Leon Lai is Lung, a human cop whose feelings toward the monsters are mixed because his partner and friend Ying (Jacky Cheung) happens to be a mixed-blood. Ying is a moody sort, mostly because he's confused about his own heritage and under constant discrimination and distrust from other monster-cops. The plot kicks in when Lung runs across a monster named Gaye (Michelle Reis). The two were once involved, which seems odd, but considering that this is Michelle Reis we're talking about, why wouldn't Lung be involved with a monster? Lung is assigned to investigate a new super-drug called Happiness, which leads him back to Gaye and a sinister plot masterminded by the evil Roy Cheung (who possesses naughty tentacles, if you get my meaning). This is an elaborate comic book film of the highest order, with all the dopey dialogue, weird camera angles, and poor special effects that you’d expect. It's pretty good too, and makes for a cheesy and enjoyable sci-fi action experience. (Kozo 1995)
	Availability:	DVD Image Entertainment Widescreen Cantonese Language Removable English Subtitles
		image courtesy of Image Entertainment
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