SilverKottage

Going into the cinema, to be honest, I had mixed expectations to The Treasure Hunter. I wanted this film to be good but I’ve been told by others that it’s crap (though, these are the people that would rather watch badly filmed in cinema pirate DVDs).

Kill the bad guy, save the girl. All part of a days work for an action hero.

Well, I’ve finished watching the film and I can tell everyone that this film is actually enjoyable. The story structure is classic treasure hunting and the characters pretty much match the various archetypes of the genre.

Classic Character Archetypes for the action genre. Don’t forget your talking LOLKatz!

We got the hero, the mentor, the damsel, the comic relief, the serious guy. Bit like an RPG, isn’t it? There’s also definite hints of inspirations from other hollywood action films besides the obvious Indiana Jones and The Mummy, such as the Harley scene in T2.

A completely and utterly useless scene that’s only in for the special effects and bullet time action.

What didn’t work with this film is some of the pacing and also the villians of the film. Kevin Chu tries to cram a back story for most of the lead and supporting characters that the film loses momentum and has action pieces that does not forward the story at all.

Also, I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, but he didn’t exploit Lin Chi Ling’s sex appeal. But don’t fear, there is a scene which I thought is much more effective and tasteful.

Well, if Kevin Chu doesn’t think sex sells, I’m sure SilverKottage does!

And another one for luck.

In all seriousness though, this film, although has it’s flaws, did take me on a journey. Maybe the journey had some bumps, but I’d recommend people to still take this journey as you’ll never know when the next Asian film will be up on the big screen in Aussie Land.

This film also has an ending that’s similar to the start of a script I’m writing. DAMN YOU KEVIN CHU!

A big thumbs up to Steph from CineAsia for passing on two complimentary passes to Kevin Chu’s new film, The Treasure Hunter. CineAsia is a group dedicated to bringing blockbuster Asian films to the large cinemas in Australia. So that means no more waiting for DVDs or watching movies in small Chinatown theaters (though, I guess I do miss the stains on the floor).

Things are always better when they’re complimentary

The Treasure Hunter stars Jay Chou, Chiling Lin, Chen Dao Ming and Eric Tsang, this action adventure film opens in just two days in Australia.

I didn’t see it, but I was informed by my brother that the movie trailer was shown before Avatar 3D at Event Cinema. Kudos to the CineAsia team for getting such great support from Aussie commercial theatres! This amount of trailer publicity is on the level of Christopher Nolan’s Inception trailer.

See, it is true, Jesus is Buddha!

From the looks of it, it seems that Kevin Chu has swapped basket balls with whips and motorbikes. Someone sure has been watching recent Hollywood films!

Jay Chou shows that he can start fire by blowing anything.

I’ve always thought contemporary martial art films are making a comeback. That’s what I’ve been telling all my Hong Kong friends and fellow filmmakers. Remember that movie that had Andy Lau in it? No, not Street Fighter…

You better watch it, Jay Chou is on his way to whoop your ass.

So fingers crossed and hope this film does not sink like quicksand.
But either way, it’s got Jay Chou for the girls and Lin Chiling for the guys!

MMmmmmm…. Can’t caption, hands busy.

But yeah, what my girlfriend says is true… she’s definitely putting on a cute voice here.