I had relatively high expectations of Cat And Mouse, being a big fan of Cecilia Cheung, and while it wasn't a terribly good movie, it did have some nice performances, and Cecilia sure enough was cute (and that's even though she spent the first half of the movie wearing a totally unconvincing beard!). It was entertaining and pleasant enough, but not as good as I had hoped. I wanted more action, more kung fu, and more story. It was a comedy, and while Hong Kong comedies are traditionally light on story, this one was definitely not as bad as many others. Except for a few rather silly jokes, there was nothing offensive or disgusting in this movie; it was mainly a mainstream showcase for two of Hong Kong's most attractive stars.<br/><br/>For a Cecilia Cheung fan, it is a very worthwhile movie. Not only does it feature plentiful close-up shots of her delectable face, it also gives her a good character and some good (though perhaps a bit too romantic) scenes to work with. Despite the light-hearted material, she does manage to demonstrate some considerable acting skill, which is the thing that best serves to recommend the movie.<br/><br/>6 out of 10. I found this Chinese film to be quite strange and random. Perhaps I was missing something in the translation. Perhaps I would have gotten more out of the movie had I been Chinese…who knows. All I know is that I often found myself confused by the film and didn't particularly enjoy it.<br/><br/>The story is about a judge (Andy Lau) who is bored since his portion of China has no crime to speak of. He's frustrated with nothing to do and is encouraged to take a vacation to some other part of the kingdom. There, he meets some strange folks (including a lady who sports a van dyke beard–and I have no idea why). Eventually, he learns of a conspiracy in the imperial court and returns to all sorts of strange nonsense and machinations.<br/><br/>Sprinkled throughout are some funny tiny bits–but the film never really is a comedy–but it's too surreal and stupid to be a good drama. There were also some anachronisms–and I wonder if they actually were in the film originally (perhaps the subtitles were NOT what actually was said–such as a mention of HIV–yet it's imperial China!). All in all, the martial arts weren't even that good. Overall, not a lot to recommend this one.
Olyvyqyny replied
345 weeks ago