cityonfire.com | Wonder Seven

	Wonder Seven "A substandard action movie strictly for Michelle Yeoh completists and otherwise desperate individuals." - Numskull Wonder Seven (1994) Director: Ching Siu Tung Writer: Cheung Tan, Tang Pik Yin Producer: Catherine Hun Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Li Ning, Kent Cheng, Roger Kwok, Andy Hui, Xin Xin Xiong, Vincent Lau, Hilary Tsui, Hoi-Shan Kwan, Elvis Tsui, Ho Chin, Kam-Kong Wong, Bobby Yip Running Time: 90 min. Plot: "Wonder Seven", a group of well-trained government secret agents for China, has been assigned to a computer disk robbery. When everything seems smooth, it unexpectedly turns out to be a disastrous national conspiracy. Wonder Seven was trapped in a dangerous plight and was forced to strike back; meanwhile the leader of Seven, Fei, developed a forbidden romance with a mysterious lady... Reviews NUMSKULL'S REVIEW: I expected the worst. I expected cartoony super-heroics ("We are...the WONDER SEVEN!"). I expected each protagonist to provide their names and descriptions of their respective specialties to every bad guy they faced ("WE are, the Wonder SEVEN!"). I expected the heroes to do some sort of catch phrase-spewing Power Rangers routine and to generally serve as cheerleaders for one another ("WE! ARE!! THE!!! WONDER!!!! SEVEN!!!!!"). I got a passable, but far from great, action flick instead. I'm not complaining...much. The film certainly starts off with a bang, with gunfire erupting after less than one minute. There are numerous other bangs scattered throughout the following hour and a half. The problem is, none of these bangs is a big bang. This movie seems to have enjoyed a fairly large budget, but it wasn't put to very good use. If you're gonna do an action movie, you shouldn't be afraid to really let loose with some wild shit, right? Right. The action sequences in Wonder Seven look like the director was afraid they would get out of hand. They're too short and restrained. I guess the Hollywood action philosophy (if the good guys are really good they should be able to dispose of any threat right away) prevailed during production. Pity. The Wonder Seven consists of: Fei, Archer, Nanny, Superman, Dragon, Steelbar, and Shaolin Monk (played by Time & Tide/The Musketeer action choreographer Xin Xin Xiong). Michelle Yeoh, who figures far more prominently on the DVD package than she does in the actual movie, is Ying, a valued member of the Seven's opposition and the object of Fei's affections. This is a plot element I most certainly could have done without, but it was nice to see Michelle playing a villainess (at first, anyway) and not be relegated to the usual action heroine roles she's primarily noted for. Even if you can look past the improbabilities (flying motorcycles; elevator rocket blast) and stupid mistakes (Ying saying "Ying told me" when, in fact, it was Archer who told her; 20 or so hand grenades only blowing up ONE measly police car), this movie still ain't great. The finale does feature some impressive stunts (afraid of heights? These guys aren't) and some solid action that actually lasts longer than it takes to pee, but still...yawn. A substandard action movie strictly for Michelle Yeoh completists and otherwise desperate individuals. NUMSKULL'S RATING: 5/10

Wonder Seven

"A substandard action movie strictly for Michelle Yeoh completists and otherwise desperate individuals."

- Numskull

Wonder Seven (1994)

Director: Ching Siu Tung

Writer: Cheung Tan, Tang Pik Yin

Producer: Catherine Hun

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Li Ning, Kent Cheng, Roger Kwok, Andy Hui, Xin Xin Xiong, Vincent Lau, Hilary Tsui, Hoi-Shan Kwan, Elvis Tsui, Ho Chin, Kam-Kong Wong, Bobby Yip

Running Time: 90 min.

Plot: "Wonder Seven", a group of well-trained government secret agents for China, has been assigned to a computer disk robbery. When everything seems smooth, it unexpectedly turns out to be a disastrous national conspiracy. Wonder Seven was trapped in a dangerous plight and was forced to strike back; meanwhile the leader of Seven, Fei, developed a forbidden romance with a mysterious lady...

Reviews

NUMSKULL'S REVIEW: I expected the worst.

I expected cartoony super-heroics ("We are...the WONDER SEVEN!"). I expected each protagonist to provide their names and descriptions of their respective specialties to every bad guy they faced ("WE are, the Wonder SEVEN!"). I expected the heroes to do some sort of catch phrase-spewing Power Rangers routine and to generally serve as cheerleaders for one another ("WE! ARE!! THE!!! WONDER!!!! SEVEN!!!!!"). I got a passable, but far from great, action flick instead. I'm not complaining...much.

The film certainly starts off with a bang, with gunfire erupting after less than one minute. There are numerous other bangs scattered throughout the following hour and a half. The problem is, none of these bangs is a big bang. This movie seems to have enjoyed a fairly large budget, but it wasn't put to very good use. If you're gonna do an action movie, you shouldn't be afraid to really let loose with some wild shit, right? Right. The action sequences in Wonder Seven look like the director was afraid they would get out of hand. They're too short and restrained. I guess the Hollywood action philosophy (if the good guys are really good they should be able to dispose of any threat right away) prevailed during production. Pity.

The Wonder Seven consists of: Fei, Archer, Nanny, Superman, Dragon, Steelbar, and Shaolin Monk (played by Time & Tide/The Musketeer action choreographer Xin Xin Xiong). Michelle Yeoh, who figures far more prominently on the DVD package than she does in the actual movie, is Ying, a valued member of the Seven's opposition and the object of Fei's affections. This is a plot element I most certainly could have done without, but it was nice to see Michelle playing a villainess (at first, anyway) and not be relegated to the usual action heroine roles she's primarily noted for.

Even if you can look past the improbabilities (flying motorcycles; elevator rocket blast) and stupid mistakes (Ying saying "Ying told me" when, in fact, it was Archer who told her; 20 or so hand grenades only blowing up ONE measly police car), this movie still ain't great. The finale does feature some impressive stunts (afraid of heights? These guys aren't) and some solid action that actually lasts longer than it takes to pee, but still...yawn. A substandard action movie strictly for Michelle Yeoh completists and otherwise desperate individuals.

NUMSKULL'S RATING: 5/10