In the past year, Aaron Kwok has gained a title that has been widely circulated on the Internet - "the most frustrated of the four kings". The meaning behind this title is that although Aaron Kwok has the halo of Academy Award actor on his head and has the dream of reviving Hong Kong cinema, every move he makes is more eye-catching than the last, and the results are surprising every time.
In February last year, the gangster blockbuster "When the Wind Rises Again" starring Aaron Kwok was released, which caused a great sensation in the industry. Director Weng Ziguang, who gathered the top productions of Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung and Xu Guanwen, has reached a very high standard in terms of cast and costumes and props.
Because Weng Ziguang had an overly freehand script and a bland-like narrative, the audience lost interest in the movie, the people who watched it became drowsy, and the box office collapsed completely, and finally only received a box office of 49.04 million.
Less than a month later, Aaron Kwok's new work "Off the Internet" was released again. The film is based on the theme of cyber financial crimes, and it looks a lot like "Tron: Chronicles".
Although "Anti-Drug 3: The End of the World" brings together stars such as Aaron Kwok, ** Yun, Louis Koo, as well as familiar supporting roles such as Yang Caiyu, Luo Jialiang, and Xie Junhao, the story core of its Hong Kong-style police and gangster films still cannot arouse the interest of the audience, and the word-of-mouth continues to decline, and the Douban score is finally fixed at 55 points, although the box office is slightly higher than "When the Wind Rises Again", reaching 64.88 million.
Although the box office was slightly higher than the previous two, it got 28.4 billion, but after three consecutive defeats, Aaron Kwok has become the focus of **. Some people question his vision for film selection, thinking that the movies he starred in are destined to be a big hit; Some people also questioned his acting skills, thinking that although he won the honor of actor, he was absent-minded when acting, just waiting to clock out from work.
The originally admirable Asian dance king has now been dug out of his young dancing**, which is in stark contrast to the ** that can't dance now, as if it is a toy that is about to run out of power.
It makes people deeply regretful and helpless.
The focus of the Spring Festival stalls has shifted to Andy Lau, and his strong momentum is unmatched. And Aaron Kwok, who once had unlimited scenery, urgently needed a work that could show his strength to stop the decline after a series of setbacks.
At this time, Aaron Kwok's "big test" "Temporary Robbery" is coming. Although in the absence of opponents in the same class, the film received 90 million box office in four days of release, but today we are going to put aside the box office and talk about the movie itself.
"Temporary Robbery" is a unique low-budget movie, and its highlights are mainly three. First of all, as the "lowest altitude" existence among the four heavenly kings, Aaron Kwok's appearance has always been the foundation of his life.
In his acting career of more than 40 years, his singing, dancing skills, hard work and acting skills have been highly praised, and his good looks have made Leung Ka-fai, Andy Lau, Ekin Cheng, Lin Zhiying and other big names imitate his hairstyle and image.
This time in "Temporary Robbery", Aaron Kwok challenged himself and played a "harlequin", which is undoubtedly a highlight.
After focusing on the film field, Aaron Kwok has been consciously transforming his image as he has grown older. He showed people with the iconic "Aaron Kwok Head", showing a more hearty side; At the same time, he tried various types of movies, created characters with different characteristics, and honed his acting skills through continuous performances.
Aaron Kwok has always regarded "ugliness" as beauty, constantly challenging himself and creating multiple roles. In "Treading Blood and Seeking Plum Blossoms", he successfully portrayed a sloppy and unkempt policeman, and his performance not only showed the perseverance and professionalism of the police, but also expressed deep sympathy for the victims and their families.
Aaron Kwok tells us with practical actions that true beauty does not lie in appearance, but in inner quality and spirit.
In "Wushuang", Aaron Kwok plays the leader Li Wen, who is obscene on the outside, but hides a lawless and bold crazy desire in his heart. The movie script is excellent, fully demonstrating the suspense style, and the truth revealed at the end makes the image of the villain Li Wen deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and is one of the characters successfully portrayed by Aaron Kwok.
In "Temporary Robbery", Aaron Kwok challenges himself and subverts his previous image. He deliberately put on buck teeth and a pair of "cauliflower ears", with clear muscle lines and a tanned complexion, showing incomparable ability and handsomeness.
He speaks with a slight lip and a thick Vietnamese accent, like Rami Malek's recreation of Bohemian Rhapsody.
The image of buckteeth in the trailer and short ** is very eye-catching, with funny actions and ** lines such as "I ask you to rob, thank you", "We are bandits, not killers", "You rob me, I rob you, the number of first", etc., successfully attracted the attention of many netizens.
The film follows the route of a black comedy crime film, which is a relatively rare genre among Hong Kong films. Producer Er Dongsheng believes that this is a "less formal absurd crime Hong Kong film".
It is characterized by being "new", "unique", "gripping", and full of dark humor and human elements.
British director Guy Ritchie is undoubtedly a master of playing with this style. His masterpieces, "Two Smoking Guns" and "Kidnapping and Robbery", are breathtaking through their portrayal of a serious but self-defeating portrayal of a gangster, as well as a multi-line narrative and unexpected coincidences.
To this day, these works are still loved by fans. It was this unique style of Guy Ritchie that inspired Ning Hao to shoot his famous film "Crazy Stone".
"Temporary Robbery" adopts a multi-line narrative approach, telling the story of Vietnamese gangster Mei Lantian (played by Aaron Kwok) After a successful robbery, his pig teammates mistakenly put the stolen money in the trunk of the taxi of taxi driver Ah Yi (played by Lin Jiadong), and then entangled with Ah Yi and Murong Hui (played by Ren Xianqi).
Due to the poor management of the nursing home, Murong Hui, who owed a huge amount of money, began to seek illegal ways. He plans to buy ** from the underworld and then rob the bank. However, things did not develop according to his plan, but met Mei Lantian, Ah Yi and others.
The three of them formed a grass platform team and decided to follow the rules of the rivers and lakes and snatch each other. Their goal is Shrimp Shao (played by Kang David), hoping to snatch money from him to solve their respective problems.
Sister Jiang (played by Zhang Keyi) has successfully locked down three people, among which the hairy thief Anan (played by Jiang Zhuowen) and his girlfriend Bingbing (played by Wang Songyin) are planning to escape, and the underworld profiteer Fat Fork (played by Lin Xue) is in deep trouble because of *** and fake passports.
It is a ukiyo-e that vividly depicts the world of gangsters, and the storylines of large and small characters are intertwined to form a fascinating picture. At the same time, it also delves into the living conditions and dilemmas of the people at the bottom.
The three characters of Mei Lantian, Ah Yi and Murong Hui respectively represent the struggles and confusion of middle-aged men in the Hong Kong circle under the pressure of life. Mei Lantian, a retired wrestler with a Vietnamese accent, has a brilliant record, but he is trapped by life, and in order to fulfill his son's wish to buy a house, he chooses to take risks.
However, to his sorrow, his son had already died in an accident, and his obsession with pursuing his dreams had become his illness.
Because Ah Yi is too obedient to his wife, he is often jokingly called "strict wife". He lives with his wife and mother-in-law in a public housing of less than 40 square meters, which leads to great tension between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Ah Yi is a taxi driver who is worried about buying a new house. Because his wife was about to give birth, the original small room could no longer accommodate all the people.
After the death of his wife, Murong Hui and his young daughter lived together and spent the difficult years of life together.
Murong Hui, who runs a nursing home, although he has no family to worry about, is in debt because of financial difficulties. When he shouted the phrase "I'm old, I don't have 20,000 yuan", the theme of the movie began to appear.
02. Under the cloak of joyful comedy, there is a deep heart of humanity that explores "loss" and "pursuit". Compared with "The Case of the Three Wolves", the truth is about to come out - "Guo Tianwang pretending to be ugly" is really a topic, black humor is the feature of the film, and mid-life crisis and human nature** are its core themes.
The plot of the film is fascinating, the actors perform well, and the layout of the script is even more original. It stands to reason that as long as you perform it well, it is very likely to become a popular work.
Although the film was criticized by the audience, director Mak Kai-kwong's resume is excellent. He debuted in the 90s and served as an assistant director under well-known directors such as Tsui Hark, Wang Jing, Chen Musheng, Er Dongsheng, and To Qifeng.
Mak Kai-kwong directed his first directorial work "Ghosts Play with You" in 2000, and so far, he has only 2007's "Time Goes Back", which has more than 7 points.
While resume isn't the only criterion for evaluating a film, let's go back to his film "Temporary Robbery". On the whole, this movie can only be regarded as a "half a good film".
The combination of the two "wastes" of the gangster Mei Lantian and Ah Yi and Murong Hui has brought a lot of comedy elements; The multi-line narrative is also eye-catching; And the shooting of the gunfight scene is also excellent.
Under the mainland's strict censorship system, crime-themed films can be played to their heart's content at the beginning and in the middle, but the ending must be properly grasped and focused on harmony and educational significance.
Our mainland films have a clear way to deal with it, but Hong Kong-made crime films have never been able to grasp this routine. In order to maintain the Hong Kong flavor, most police and gangster films are very exciting at the beginning and during the process, but there are often mistakes at the end. ”
When creating a story, there will always be a dilemma of not knowing how to continue, how to arrange the fate of the characters, and how to deal with the previous foreshadowing. Sometimes, the most convenient way is for all the characters to meet in the story through various unexpected coincidences.
In the end, with a fierce shootout, the villain was wiped out, and the protagonists were on the verge of life and death, and had the last laugh.
Sadly, the ending of "Temporary Heist" did not live up to expectations. The three protagonists portrayed at the beginning of the movie - the irascible but principled gangster Mei Lantian, the timid and greedy Ah Yi, and the kind and affectionate Murong Hui, all have distinct images and a sense of intimacy.
However, in the end, they all filed according to the labels of "good" and "evil", damn the dead, punished the punished, so that the breath that the audience held in their hearts could not be vented.
Let's draw inspiration from classic old Hong Kong films, such as Douban score 73 points of "The Case of the Three Wolves", which was cooperated by Mak Dangxiong and Huang Tailai in 1989.
The reason this movie was chosen was that it had a lot in common with The Temporary Heist.
Three ordinary people, because of the pressure of survival, were forced to embark on a road of no return. They are makeup artist Ma Ercan, driving instructor Deng Zijing and trading company waiter Li Huai, their characters were created in the early stage of the movie as harmless, timid and fearful, in order to arouse the audience's favor.
However, the injustice of life to them made them begin to have a "hatred of the rich", and they tried boldly again and again, step by step towards the road of crime. The ending of the movie, which is in line with our moral values, can pass the trial even today.
In the end, the three "wolves" were brought to justice and sent to the gallows one by one.
"The Case of the Three Wolves" with its unique straightforward approach, truly showing the whole process of the three from "waiting for death" to being hanged, deeply shocked the audience. The theme behind this crime comedy movie is thought-provoking.
Compared to "Temporary Robbery", its characterization is better, the story is smooth, and the ending is a direct theme of human nature, which is endlessly evocative.
Despite Aaron Kwok's great efforts in "Temporary Robbery", the 2024 film cannot be compared to the old Hong Kong films of the late 80s because the level of the film's story does not live up to expectations, which reflects the regression of Hong Kong cinema.
Although the film received 90 million at the box office within four days of its release, the average daily box office was not as good as "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" that was released for a month. and box office growth was sluggish.
Its final box office will not exceed 200 million. Seeing that Aaron Kwok "pretended to be ugly" in this work but reaped such a result, Brother Pi also felt very sorry.
Hong Kong films are no longer what they used to be, although the group of actors is relatively fixed, but the film creation techniques are constantly breaking through and innovating. Today's Hong Kong films are no longer the same routines, but show a diversified trend, such as "Tomorrow's War" is dominated by science fiction elements, "The Poisonous Tongue" focuses on the theme of law and politics, and "The Corridor of Justice" is a serious suspense film, and all three films have a well-polished texture.
And "Temporary Robbery" is a low-budget black comedy with a low starting point, which is also an attempt by Hong Kong films to try different styles and genres. It can be seen that Hong Kong films are constantly trying and changing, and regaining the love of the audience with innovative and sophisticated production.
In this Hong Kong film, the actors are all experienced acting skills, in addition to the three major actors, Lu Haipeng, Lin Xue, Wang Minde and Bao Qijing also contributed many comedy elements.
The film adopts a multi-thread narrative style, which is not common in Hong Kong films, and the fatalistic ending pays tribute to the classics of galactic movies. Still, the final presentation exposes the inadequacies of the screenwriter and director.
There is also an embarrassing problem, that is, there are always a few leading actors who can take charge alone, and they have all entered middle and old age.
Although the leading actors Aaron Kwok, Lin Jiadong and Ren Xianqi in "Wushuang" are all born in the 60s, the oldest Lin Jiadong is 57 years old. However, Jiang Zhuowen, who plays the little thief Anan, and young actors such as Zeng Bit, ** Shen, and Liang Zhongheng, who play the little brother of the garage, are also appreciated for their acting skills.
What is puzzling is why these post-80s and post-90s actors in their early 20s can't get more performance opportunities? You must know that when the Four Heavenly Kings became popular, they were also at such an age.
We have always emphasized "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts", and for Hong Kong films, this eight-character mantra is also applicable. If you really want to "change", you must dare to try bold changes, and don't always rely on the practice of "new wine in old bottles".
Let the "overage" movie stars take a back seat, leave the stage to the younger generation, and give them more opportunities to show themselves. It's not just the "gimmick" that attracts the audience, but also the engaging storyline.
For the polishing of the script, it is necessary to study the Hong Kong films of the era in depth, learn the "Hong Kong flavor" in them, and also learn from the experience of how to tell a good story.
To get out of this predicament and bring Hong Kong cinema back to life, we need to make changes. Regardless of the final box office of "Temporary Robbery", Aaron Kwok did not lose in this attempt.
He managed to create a distinctive character and get off to a good start in 2024. Andy Lau's full integration into the mainland market also provides a possible path for Aaron Kwok.
Perhaps, by leaving for a while and trying to star in some mainland movies, you can break the current deadlock and find new opportunities. The editorial department of Pippi Films reminds that without permission, any form of ** is strictly prohibited.